Estonia eResidency passes first year milestone

A year after Estonia's eResidency launched, the authorities in the Baltic nation have been reflecting on progress made so far.When it was launched in 2014, non-Estonians around the world were invited to join the programme and take advantage of Estonia's eServices. Today, more than 7,200 people from 121 countries have joined and Estonian eResidents have established more than 240 new companies. More than 530 entrepreneurs use eResidency to administer their businesses."eResidency puts Estonia on the frontline of public digital services," says Taavi Rõivas, Prime Minister of Estonia. "More than 7,200 eResidents, among them more than 530 entrepreneurs and more than 240 established companies during beta launch inspires but also binds us to develop the programme further, to offer more relevant services."Those behind the programme say the utility and versatility of eResidency has grown substantially since its launch. NASDAQ recently announced its intent to cooperate with Estonia developing secure eServices. eResidents can get information on best places to live and work from Teleport.org, invest in startups via Fundwise, and will be soon able to lead and trade investments on the Funderbeam's worldwide startup marketplace. SignWise's digital authentication and eSignature solutions make it easy for eResidents to transform paper-based business processes into fully digital ones. There is also a business networking platform, eResNetwork, which provides secure and transparent communications for eResidents. "Although the keystone to the eResidency programme appears to be the eResident's digital ID, the platform goes far beyond that, taking full advantage of Estonia's simple tax system and transparent business environment," says the head of eResidency program board and CIO of Estonia, Taavi Kotka. "It is like an app store – the more partners and services we have, the more people in the world can take advantage of all the good things we have to offer but also increasing Estonian economic space."According to eResidency programme director Kaspar Korjus, the programme is still in beta phase and the team is thankful for all the feedback that early adopters of eResidency have offered. "Estonians have enjoyed eServices for years, we vote digitally, we sign papers digitally, but opening up the system to foreigners is still an enormous work since we need to translate the interfaces, amend the laws and optimize many parts of the system. At the same time we also are winning from all these changes, because it improves services locally as well."eResidents from outside the EU can establish companies and use Estonia as a base for operations in the EU. Companies launched in Estonia can be managed and administered from anywhere in the world and eResidents can conduct banking business, use international payment service providers, declare taxes, and sign all relevant documents and contracts remotely. eResident's digital ID is neither a physical identification document nor a travel document. It has no photo. eResidency does not represent citizenship or tax residency and does not confer the right to live in or visit Estonia or the European Union.

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