Estonia, a country in the Scandinavian region, is not very well known to the people of the world. You will not find the country in the list of countries that are regularly heard in the international media for various reasons. It may even be that today, for the first time, you find out that there is a country in the world called ‘Estonia’! Whatever it is, even if you don’t know Estonia, there is no harm in it. But in the future, the name of this small country will be heard loudly in the technology dependent world. There are not many days left when Estonia will become a role model for many countries in the world. The success story of a country that started out empty-handed and established itself as one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world today will be much discussed in the days to come. In a small country with more than half of its total area covered by remote jungles, its citizens are shaking up the technology world with the ever-evolving concept of start-ups.
The homeland of Skype and Bolt has Europe’s highest number of technology start-ups per capita
In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we talk about the benefits of e-government and e-residency in Estonia. Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid.
Formerly part of the Soviet Union, Estonia is a northern European country that has risen to become a formidable force in the digital world, both in the public and private sectors. It has the highest number of technology start-ups per capita of any European country, having bred companies such as video communication service Skype and e-hailing platform Bolt (formerly Taxify).
In 2020, companies set up in Estonia by e-residents delivered nearly €17.5 million in taxes, constituting a one-third increase, compared with 2019.
This result marks a record for the annual direct economic impact of the Estonian e-residency programme that was launched in 2014. Over the course of six years, the e-residency programme has cumulatively bolstered the national budget by approximately €54 million, the programme said in a statement.
Read more: Tax revenue from Estonia’s e-residents’ companies grows steadily
The Estonian e-residency programme is opening ID-card collection points in Brazil, South Africa, Singapore and Thailand to accommodate for the increase in the e-residency applicants.
According to the e-residency programme, the new locations are meeting rising demands from local entrepreneurs that are seeking to scale their businesses internationally and expand into the European market.
Read more: Estonia opens new e-resident ID-card collection points in four countries
The Estonian e-Governance Academy and Japanese think tank Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Co., Ltd (MURC) have established a joint venture to provide digital transformation services for governments in Japan and the Asian region. The name of the new enterprise is Digital Governance Academy Asia-Pacific or D-GAP.
The D-GAP will use the knowledge accumulated in Estonia to provide high-quality training, survey and consulting services to meet the diverse needs related to the digital government in Japan and overseas.
Read more: EE: eGA co-founds digital governance academy for Asia-Pacific region