President Karis in Texas: Estonia is a hub of digital business

In a talk given at the University of Texas in Austin, President Alar Karis remarked that the path chosen 30 years ago, pursuing democracy and the opportunities of the free market economy, has made Estonia a successful digital nation. The head of state reassured his audience that doing business in the country - a true land of unicorns - was easy and invited them to do so.

President Karis described Estonia as one of the 10 greatest innovators in the European Union. "As a New Nordic, Estonia is the hub of digital enterprise in Northern Europe," he explained. "It is internationally known as an outstanding place to start innovative businesses. The unique environment we offer digital start-ups has helped to create 10 unicorns so far, and we hope that will continue. Our aim is for us to be a home to 25 unicorns by 2025. And let me put that in context for you: Estonia is a nation of just 1.3 million people. That is the same population as the city of Dallas. We have 10 burgeoning companies worth more than a billion dollars. The start-up sector has taken a small country and made it a big name on the world map."

President Karis added that in discussing business there is no escaping the geopolitical circumstances in which it exists. "The situation we find ourselves in at the moment has prompted many people, primarily outside of Estonia, to recall that we share a border with Russia," he remarked, adding that doing so presents no threat. "We are a member of the world's most powerful security alliance: NATO. Residents of Anchorage, Alaska live as peacefully as the people of Estonia. However, that privileged status makes it incumbent on us to guarantee security in our region more widely. That is one of the reasons Estonia has thrown all of its support behind Ukraine." The head of state went on to outline the helping hand that Estonians have extended to Ukrainian refugees.

President Karis also met with University of Texas Chancellor James B. Milliken and President Jay Hartzell, with whom he talked about prospective cooperation in the fields of education and research. Furthermore, the head of state participated in the opening of the EyeVi Technology office in Austin, where he encouraged Estonian and American entrepreneurs to invest and establish business ties.

Accompanying the head of state on his visit to Texas is a business delegation comprising representatives of the companies SolarStone, Bikeep, ELMOrent, Clevon, BugBox, CleanTech Estonia, EyeVi Technology, Karma Ventures, NordicNinja VC, Tera Ventures, Trind Ventures, United Angels VC, VergeHealthtech Fund, Sienna Secondary Fund, SmartCap, Superangel/Tallifornia/Fortumo, EstVCA, The Better Fund and the joint agency of KredEx and Enterprise Estonia. Their visit has been organised by the latter in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.