Overview
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Dear entrepreneur, statesman and fellow-thinker!
The idea to set up the Development Fund dates back to 1999-2000 when President Lennart Meri - in his figurative call to look for Estonia's own Nokia - implied to the relevance of establishing a national development programme. The objective must be to foresee accelerated production restructuring and developing technological companies. Meri concluded his speech on the 82nd anniversary of the Republic of Estonia on 24 February 2000 with the following words: "Finland built itself up at a rapid pace through a union between money and mind, and the Finns call that union SITRA (Finnish Innovation Fund). We, too, should focus all our strength on these tasks. Let us create a beautiful Estonian SITRA, and by doing so we can also achieve that something that we call happiness."
The Estonian Development Fund was launched in April 2007. It was created by the Riigikogu (Estonian Parliament) with the purpose of initiating and supporting changes in the Estonian economy and society that would accelerate modernisation of our economic structure, lead to growth in exports and contribute to creating new jobs requiring high qualifications.
In order to achieve these goals, we organise foresight projects and, in cooperation with private investors, make venture capital investments into Estonian companies that are innovative, expanding and have international potential.
Setting up a national development fund represents a critical turn in how our country is run. On one hand, it marks the end of a turbulent era in the Estonian economy, when extremely rapid developments did not allow contemplation or planning very far ahead. On the other hand, we have matured as a society, and a strategic and systematic look into the future is becoming an inseparable part of the decision-making process.
The Development Fund is the meeting point for future ideas.
If you have business projects with international ambitions or if you wish to join the discussions on the future of the Estonian economy, do not hesitate to contact us!
