Nordic Startup News Early Stage Startup News From The Nordics
Tallinn — Minister of Economic Affairs & Industry of Estonia Erkki Keldo said Estonia wants to be a place where bold new ideas could be tested safely and quickly. “The next generation of billion-scale companies will be born where technology develops faster than legislation, and where the state dares to say ‘yes’ while others are still hesitating. Estonia does not want to be a place where innovation gets stuck in permits and bureaucracy. We want to be a country where the world can test what still seems impossible elsewhere. Our strength lies in the courage to make fast decisions, offer new technologies a safe testing ground, and turn regulation into a competitive advantage,” said Keldo.
Liisi Org, CEO of Latitude59, said that year’s “Thinking in Billions” addressed questions that were high on the agenda around the world. “The rapid development of technology is creating entirely new challenges for countries and governments, and calls for fast adaptation. Estonia is in a strong position today because, as a small country, we are used to being quick and flexible. We have a lot to share with the world, but also a lot to learn.
The event was opened by Estonia’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Industry, Erkki Keldo. Keynote speakers included Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand and Takeshi Kito, co-founder & CEO, GFTN Japan. Estonia’s perspective was presented by Sigrid Rajalo, Deputy Secretary General for Economy and Innovation. Rajalo and Kito then discussed the Estonian and Japanese approaches in a panel moderated by Olari Püvi, CEO of Accelerate Estonia.
The programme continued with a discussion by Bolt and Wolt, where the two companies drew on practical case studies to explain what drove decisions to enter highly regulated markets and how they approached the process. The panel brought together Irina Kuzina from Wolt and Triin Toimetaja from Bolt, and was moderated by journalist Tarmo Virki.
A panel of startups and investors explored why unregulated or still-emerging markets mattered for both investors and companies. The discussion featured Leo Ringer, founding partner of Form Ventures; Julian Glaab, founder and CEO of Bliq; and Doron Appelboim, co-founder and CTO of Aerolane. The panel was moderated by Ben Brabyn, Director at Amitypath.
The day concluded with a public sector panel asking how to overcome one of the biggest practical barriers to implementing innovation in government: ensuring that public sector leaders do not avoid making necessary decisions simply out of fear for their careers. The discussion featured Sandor Liive, co-founder of Gridio, and Takeshi Kito. The discussion was moderated by Erkki Karo, who had studied “innovation bureaucracy”.
“Thinking in Billions” was the official opening event of Latitude59. It highlighted the measures that innovation-minded policymakers were testing in cooperation with the private sector. The event was organized by Latitude59 in partnership with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications and Accelerate Estonia
