Inserts:
00:03 Report / Fabian Dittmann
00:39 Liina Vahtras / Managing Director of e-Residency of Estonia
01:40 Michael Opondo / Founder of Kontorva
02:44 Himanshu Kumar / Founder of AMBCrypto
03:09 Vicky Brock / Investor and Serial Entrepreneur

Script:

Kick-off for the Latitude59 tech and startup conference in Estonia's capital, Tallinn. Even the country's president is in attendance, welcoming hundreds of young entrepreneurs and talents from around the world. And Estonia wants to attract many more, banking on their concept of e-residency -- a digital passport that allows companies to be founded online in Estonia, without the founders living there. The small country of 1.3 million hopes this will boost economic growth.
+++SOT Liina Vahtras, Managing Director of e-Residency of Estonia+++
"We want to have more companies in Estonia, and we also welcome foreign founders because they diversify our ecosystem. We find it very interesting to learn from our e-residents who are foreign founders, because they bring a different set of experience and skills."
Like Michael Opondo from Kenya. He became an e-resident in January of 2024, received a startup visa two weeks later, and relocated his IT company Kontorva to Estonia. The visa is granted to young tech companies with global potential. Michael had originally wanted to go to Canada, but that proved to be complicated. Having a presence in Estonia helps him find customers in Northern Europe. Most of his employees meanwhile, mostly programmers, live and work in Kenya, lending IT support to Kontorva's clients.
+++SOT Michael Opondo, Founder of Kontorva+++
"We keep most of our payroll on the Kenyan side because that keeps our costs very low, and that enables us to keep moving without the pressure of having to fundraise or have, you know, big money."
Michael feels well supported by the Estonian authorities. The startup visa also extends to his Kenyan wife and son, who live here as well. And regular events for startups, e-residents, and investors - such as the Latitude59 conference - have proven invaluable for building his business.
+++SOT Michael Opondo, Founder of Kontorva+++
"Nobody is going to do business with you if they haven't met you, if they haven't had a conversation with you. They don't know what you're all about. You have to build those relationships. And that's exactly what we do at these kinds of events."
40,000 e-residents have established companies in Estonia. They hail from all corners of the globe. Take Himanshu Kumar from Bangalore, India. Back home, he found the bureaucracy involved in running his crypto startup too complicated to navigate - and decided to move operations to Estonia.
+++SOT Himanshu Kumar, Founder of AMBCrypto+++
"From that point on, things became much easier. Filing taxes takes barely ten minutes. And if you need to obtain or submit any other type of certificate or documentation, the process is significantly simpler here."
Or consider Vicky Brock from the UK. She sought to gain better access to the EU market by establishing an Estonian-registered company. Initially, she worked remotely from Scotland; now, however, she has no intention of ever leaving Estonia.
+++SOT Vicky Brock, Investor and Serial Entrepreneur+++
"Yeah. It's a really energizing business environment. It's really friendly. It's personal. It's a small country. You can look people in the eye and trust them, but it's also incredibly efficient."
For Michael Opondo, Estonia has become a springboard. This summer, he plans to relocate his headquarters to Finland. He sees even greater potential there.
+++SOT Michael Opondo, Founder of Kontorva+++
"Bigger market, more startups, more companies, bigger budgets as well. More people. Demography. Just a better market."
However, he has no intention of giving up his business operations in Estonia. In the long term, Michael plans to continue expanding, including to Western Europe and Asia.