Last month, the Estonian e-residency card was issued to the 100,000th person, marking a significant achievement for the e-Residency program since its launch in 2014. Its features aim to empower economic growth, boost FDI flow, and, ultimately, entrepreneurial activity.

For more than three decades, Tallinn has been bent on creating an economy around research and technological innovation. Indeed, the country has the most startups and unicorns and the highest business density per capita in Europe.

The e-Residency vision is to create an environment for entrepreneurs that could give them the tools needed to manage their businesses, regardless of their location. Bringing all of those entrepreneurs under the roof of e-Residency, would also pull in tax revenue and boost the numbers of Estonian firms.

Using this state-issued digital identity, e-residents can sign documents with a digital signature, file their taxes within minutes using Estonia’s e-tax system, and create and administer companies online.

In addition to its membership figures, the e-Residency program has generated more than €150 million in taxes and state fees for Estonia, and this revenue stream is growing every year. The program has also helped to boost Estonia’s global visibility and impact as an innovative digital country.

“In addition to being Estonia’s international calling card, the e-Residency program has also proven to be exceptionally profitable, generating annual revenue that is six times higher than the program’s operating costs”, Minister of Entrepreneurship and IT Kristjan Järvan said in 2022 to ERR. The 23,200+ new Estonian companies created by e-residents generated an estimated 1.8 billion euros in turnover and created 6,700+ jobs in Estonia.

Estonia now has e-residents from 176 countries across the world, reflecting the global reach of this innovative digital initiative. Thus making a tremendous contribution to Estonia’s international reputation, boosting the country’s brand value, and enhancing its security, particularly in today’s circumstances.

Although Estonia was the first to introduce e-Residency in 2014, other countries have devised similar programs. For example, the United Arab Emirates, Lithuania, Portugal, and Ukraine have launched similar efforts.

While competition exists, Estonia’s strengths continue to lie in its e-services: the ability to sign documents using a digital signature, do your taxes in a matter of minutes, and create a company online. “Access itself is not enough. If your services are either too complicated or expensive to use, then they won’t work. There’s nothing founders hate more than bureaucracy, and in Estonia, 99% of public services are accessible online. That’s hard to beat”.