Estonia – the environment of continuous financial IT innovation

e-Estonia:

Early adopters

! 100% of schools and government institutions have broadband connection

! 68% of households have broadband connection (Statistics Estonia 2011)

! 98% of bank transfers are made electronically

! 92% of income tax returns are submitted via the e-Tax Board

! 1,163,917 active ID cards

! Digital signature legislation

Source: Eurostat

96%

94%

92%

90%

87%

87%

87%

84%

82%

73%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120%

Finland

Sweden

UK

ESTONIA

EU 27

Czech Republic

Lithuania

Hungary

Latvia

Poland

Enterprises with fixed broadband access 2011

86%

81%

81%

67%

66%

63%

61%

61%

59%

57%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Sweden

Finland

UK

EU 27

ESTONIA

Czech Republic

Poland

Hungary

Latvia

Lithuania

Households with fixed broadband access, 2011

Efficient place to do business

Source: World Bank Group Source: Wall Street Journal; The Heritage Foundation

! Estonia is consistently ranked by IMD, World Bank and the World Economic Forum

as one of the easiest and most efficient places to do business in the world

! No 17 out of 181 economies in ease of doing business. Transparent

regulations, easily understandable taxation systems, readily available credit, etc.

! Country’s credit ratings

! Fitch A+

! S&P AA-

! Moody’s A1

! Member of the European Union, eurozone, OECD, Schengen area and NATO

4 5

13 14 17 18

22 23 24

46

63

70

Ease of doing business

rankings 2011

9

14 16 17

20 22 23 24

28

51

56

68

Index of economic freedom

rankings 2011

One of the safest places for banking IT

! Very high cyber security level

! Safe to operate, safe to share information, high knowledge of cyber security

! In comparison with the other 58 countries included in the IMD world

competitiveness survey, Estonia is ranked seventh in cyber security

! In 2008, the NATO Cyber Security Centre was established in Estonia

! In 2011, the European Union IT Agency was established in Tallinn

Source: The IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2011

7.26

7.22

7.13

6.95

6.29

5.84

5.58

5.36

4.34

0 2 4 6 8

Finland

ESTONIA

Sweden

Lithuania

Germany

Czech Republic

UK

Poland

Hungary

Rate of cyber security

Testimonials

Symantec is a world leader in cyber security and employs 120 people at its research centre

in Tallinn, Estonia.

“Without a doubt, Estonia is a leader on these subjects [IT and cyber security issues], not only in the

Baltic region but in the broader area of Europe.”

“Estonia is highly developed when it comes to the use of online applications and the use of the

Internet […] Estonia is a natural fit for Symantec as an anchor for our operations, not only in

Estonia but throughout the Baltic region.”

John Thompson, Chairman, Symantec Corporation

In 2008, the NATO decided to establish its Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of

Excellence in Tallinn, Estonia. The centre conducts research and training on cyber warfare.

“Estonia has shown that it is not the matter of the size of the defence forces, but the level of

special capabilities, that shows their role in enhancing NATO’s defensive capabilities. We appreciate

Estonians initiative in the field of cyber defence.”

Koenraad Gijsbers,

Major General, NATO

The strength of Skype - and perhaps the strength of Estonian IT - is that its

hallmark is simple efficiency. It is not burdened with layers of cumbersome

management or formalities. “Before I came to Skype,” says former Skype’s Chief Evangelist

and General Manager of the Tallinn office, Sten Tamkivi, “I used to bid against a lot of

western European companies for jobs. They would offer a three-layer project organisation

with complicated reporting structures. We’d put four guys in a room and get the job done.”

In four short years, Skype’s user base has grown from 54 million users to 520 million. Skype

has offices in Tallinn, London, Luxembourg, Stockholm, Prague, San Jose, Sao Paulo, Hong

Kong, Tokyo, and Tartu, a university town of 100,000 in Southern Estonia. Still, the

majority of Skype’s staff is Tallinn-based. Among Skype’s slightly over 300 Tallinn

employees, 24 different nationalities are represented.

Sten Tamkivi, Former Skype’s Chief Evangelist and General Manager of the Tallinn office

Additional information and video interviews

Success stories

Contacts Mr. Tanel Kõrvel FDI Project ManagerEstonian Investment Agency / Enterprise Estonia Phone: +372 6279 525 Mobile +372 5305 4221 email: tanel.korvel@eas.ee Mr. Andrus Viirg Director Enterprise Estonia Silicon Valley email: andrus.viirg@eas.ee

www.investinestonia.com