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Research: Estonia is among the most exciting startup environments in the world

According to an internationally recognized start-up environment report, Estonia may be one of the smallest start-up environments in the world, but it is one of the most intriguing ones. Clever infrastructure, a newly introduced start-up visa programme, a global mindset, and a unity of the start-up community allows Estonia to predict new Skype and Transferwise-like international success stories.

The report composed by Startup Estonia together with Startup Genome points out that the success rate of approved visa applications for foreign workers is higher than anywhere else in the world (84.5 %), which is over two times more than globally (41 %). Close contact with the largest start-up centres, low costs and high-level technical talents are considered the strengths of Estonia.

The direction towards foreign markets among other start-up countries is one of the highest, and Estonian start-ups are among the most internationally oriented in the world.

From the first day of business, 70 % of Estonian start-ups are directed towards the foreign markets by offering their products and services in two to three languages on average and, by doing so, being on the second position in the world after Shanghai.

Startup Estonia is a support unit for Estonian start-ups. Its goal is to promote the growth and development of Estonian start-ups through providing a strong community, smart people, smart money and better regulations, and to magnify Estonia’s attractiveness and reputation as a start-up country. The Startup Estonia programme is carried out by the state-owned AS KredEx and is funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

International research on the start-up ecosystems by Startup Genome is the largest in the world, involving over 10,000 participants.

(Author: Anne Veerpalu)

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