1. Sinu logo
ESTONIA overview
Andrus Viirg
Enterprise Estonia Silicon Valley
andrus.viirg@eas.ee
www.investinestonia.com
www.lifeinestonia.ee
www.tradewithestonia.com
www.visitestonia.com
www.eas.ee
www.estonia.eu

2. ENTERPRISE ESTONIA
State foundation for Business Development:
Investment, Trade, Innovation/Technology and Tourism
promotion + the Space Office of Estonia
 implementing agency of the EU structural funds in Estonia
 budget of 1.3 billion USD (2007-2013)
 about 300 employees
 providing financing/grant products, advice, partnership
opportunities and training
Investment, Trade & Innovation Promotion
– assisting international companies to estonianize
– assisting Estonian companies to internationalize
– Foreign (promotional) Offices in Stockholm, Helsinki, London,
Hamburg, Moscow, St. Petersburg , Kiev, Shanghai, Tokyo and
Silicon Valley

3. • Andrus Viirg
– Education:
– Tallinn University of Technology (TUT), software/system engineer
– Tallinn School of Dimplomacy: Foreign Trade Relations
– Experience:
– Software & hardware engineering (1980s)
– World Bank Group & IMF + Bank of Estonia (1990s)
– Estonian Investment Agency & Enterprise Estonia (2000s)
• Enterprise Estonia Silicon Valley (since 2007)
– Tech & Knowledge Transfer: facilitating contacts between US and
Estonia among tech companies, R&D Institutions & Universities
– Trade & Investment promotion:
– FDI lead generation, hand-holding services
– Assisting Estonian companies in their expansion to US market

4. Estonia Republic of Estonia
(1918-1940) & 1991 .....
Member of EU, NATO
(2004)
Population: 1.36 million
Territory: 17 464 sq mile
Currency board
arrangement (1992-2010)
GDP: 19 billion USD
GDP per capita: 14 000 USD EURO from Jan.2011
(2010)
Exports 76% of GDP
transit trade comprising over
80% of the general transport
of goods.

5. Estonia:
integrating into
Scandinavia
 Sweden / Finland main
foreign investment (FDI)
& trade partners
 cross border linkages
• banking
• ICT
• timber industry
• engineering

6. e-Estonia
e & m services
e-banking (98% non-cash transactions)
m-parking, m-payments,...
e-government
electronic ID card
e-taxboard, e-schools,
e-health, e-police, e-elections …
 birthplace of Kazaa & Skype
 home of NATO Cyber Defence Centre
 future location of the EU IT Agency

7. Universities & Tech Parks
– Tallinn University of Technology
www.ttu.ee
- 9,500 students
- Tallinn Technology Park: www.tehnopol.ee
– Tartu University (est. 1632)
www.ut.ee
- 17,745 students
- Tartu Biotechnology Park: www.biopark.ee
- Tartu Science Park www.sciencepark.ee

8. Competence Centre
independent state supported research organizations (private
companies and universities, ca 130 mln USD of public financing)
– 3 CCs in IT and electronics
 Software Technologies and Applications www.stacc.ee
 Electronics & ICT (smart space tecnologies) www.eliko.ee
 Innovative Engineering & Production Systems (e-factory, e-production)
www.imecc.ee
– 2 CCs in food related research
 Food & Fermentation Technology www.tftak.org
 Healthy Dairy Products www.tptak.ee/english
– 2 CCs in biomedicine
 Reproductive Medicine & Biology (diagnostics of infertility) www.ccrmb.ee
 Cancer Research (new diagnostic platforms) www.vtak.ee
– 1 CC in nanotechnology
 nano-structural gas sensors & functional nano-materials www.encc.ee

9. Innovative start-ups from
Estonia going global
Six Estonian companies on the 100 global list of
Innovate2010 by Guidewire Group
www.innovate100.com
www.nowinnovations.com
www.fits.me
www.crabcad.com (winner of Seedcamp 2011)
www.taxipal.com
www.edicy.com (winner of Seedcamp 2010)
www.nutiteq.com
On the 100 list of Red Herring Asia
www.guardtime.com

10. Not only e & m
 Cleantech & energy efficiency
– www.crystalsol.ee
– www.goliath.ee
– www.elcogen.ee
 Oil shale chemistry
– Shale oil + fine chemistry
www.vkg.ee www.shaleoil.ee
– Power generation
 Rare metals used in high-tech industries
– www.silmet.ee
3 000 metric ton of rare earth products annually: 2% of
global production (China 97%)

11. www.investinestonia.com
www.tradewithestonia.com
www.visitestonia.com
www.lifeinestonia.ee
www.eas.ee