During May 2-4, Nordic Equities had the great pleasure of participating in the company delegation at the official State Visit led by HMK Carl XVI Gustaf, HMD Silvia, Minister of Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström, Minister of Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Johan Forsell and Minister of Defense Pål Jonson. At a forum during the State Visit, Jonas Jakobson, founder of Nordic Equities, also gave a speech.
Entrepreneurship, sustainability and digitalization
During two intensive days, the delegation met with representatives from companies and authorities and had the opportunity to listen to interesting speeches from each country’s heads of state, ministers and business representatives. There were also panel debates focused on entrepreneurship, sustainability, digitalization and artificial intelligence.
One of the most digitalized public sectors in the world
Starting in the 1990s, after gaining independence from the Soviet Union, Estonia has made significant investments in its digital infrastructure and services. Perhaps Estonia’s most significant digitization project is the establishment of a secure, digital identity system that allows citizens to access a range of government services online, such as voting, paying taxes and accessing health records. This system, known as the e-Estonia system, is built on a public key infrastructure and uses strong encryption to protect user data. Estonia also has a comprehensive e-government system that allows citizens to interact with the government online, as well as a range of e-services in areas such as education, healthcare and business. Estonia has also developed a thriving start-up ecosystem, with many innovative digital companies, several of which we met.
A whole new generation of companies with 10 Unicorns
Estonia has many interesting companies in many interesting future areas. A whole new generation of companies has emerged over the last 30 years. In fact, Estonia is the most advanced country in the world in the digitalization of the public sector. One is struck by the entrepreneurial spirit that seems to prevail in the country. It is possible to digitally create a company in a few days, which many Estonians seem to have done. They joked that there are practically as many companies as Estonians. Despite its size, Estonia has managed to create 10 so-called Unicorns, companies valued at more than SEK 10 billion. TransferWise (now Wise) – a money transfer and currency exchange platform; Bolt – an app for transportation and food delivery; Playtech – a gaming service and software provider; Pipedrive – a sales management platform; Skeleton Technologies – a manufacturer of ultracapacitors, Veriff – an identity verification platform, Zego – an insurance platform for the sharing economy and mobility, Monese – a digital bank for people moving across borders, Starship Technologies – a developer of self-driving delivery robots, Nortal – a digital transformation consultancy company.
Cyberrange 14 – training center for NATO
We also had a very interesting visit to Cyberrange 14. Cyberrange14 is part of the Estonian Defense Forces and is the country’s main cybersecurity unit. Its main mission is to protect Estonia’s digital infrastructure and maintain the country’s defenses against cyber threats. NATO uses the facility as a training center for cyber defense. After Estonia was subjected to several powerful cyber attacks starting in 2007, the country has placed a lot of emphasis on building its ability to defend itself against cyber threats. Cyberrange14 has played an important role in this work by providing expertise and technical solutions to protect Estonia’s digital infrastructure but also to cooperate with other countries in cyber security work.
