Press releases

At the Development Fund Supervisory Board meeting today the Fund's Supervisory Board members elected Raivo Vare to be Chairman.

Raivo Vare is also a member of the Supervisory Board of the Estonian Cooperation Assembly and actively participated as an expert and practitioner in the elaboration of the Development Fund's "white paper to the Riigikogu".

According to Raivo Vare, it is important that Estonia comes out of the crisis stronger. "For creating these spaces, it is necessary to work on a whole package direction of activities which ensures the state and economy success. The Development Fund has consistently and continually given its strong contribution here as well as planning strategic activities and investing into progressive technological projects. I am certain that the Estonian state continues to support such kind of activities in that direction in spite of current lightning activities derived from the crisis," commented the Development Fund's new Chairman of the Supervisory Board.

The Development Fund CEO is Ott Pärna. In addition to Raivo Vare, the Development Fund's supervisory Board consists of  the Director of the Estonian Institute for Future Studies, Erik Terk, who is also the Development Fund's Deputy Chairman

of the Supervisory Board; the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Bank of Estonia, Jaan Männik; the Rector of the Tallinn University of Technology, Peep Sürje; the Rector of the University of Tartu, Alar Karis; Riigikogu member Mart Laar; Minister of Finance, Jürgen Ligi and Minister of Economic Affairs and Communication, Juhan Parts.

Further information: Raivo Vare, mob: +372 503 0900

Press release by SmartPOST, the Development Fund's portfolio company

SmartPOST set about to build a network of self-servicing ‘post offices' in the summer of 2008. The web of self-servicing automatic parcel terminals now covering the whole of Estonia has been designed to service mainly the clients of mail order catalogues and Internet vendors. The equipment based on cutting-edge technologies allows customers to receive the products that they have ordered fast and conveniently.

Likewise, modern technology also provides an opportunity to offer a more favourable alternative to the services of the national postal company Eesti Post. A client who has ordered goods will receive a code via a text message on his or her cell phone and via an e-mail. When this code is entered into the parcel terminal's computer, the client will be able to collect the merchandise. Parcel terminals have been installed in shopping centres across Estonia so as to spare the clients the trouble of having to spend extra time on collecting the goods that they have ordered.

So far 31 parcel terminals have been installed and SmartPOST's network is available in all counties. The network has been tested and pilot projects have been successfully carried out and currently all companies have the opportunity to hook up with the service over the Internet at the following address: www.smartpost.ee/eteenindus.

The respective video presentation can be viewed here:

Smartpost OÜ is a logistics company which aims to make the delivery of goods purchased from distant selling companies, i.e. mainly on the Internet or by mail as fast and convenient as possible.

Further information:

Indrek Oolup
Chairman of the Board, SmartPOST OÜ, mob 5056222

On December 11, the Development Fund organises the EST_IT@2018 conference to discuss the future prospects (up to 2018) of using Estonian information and communication technologies (ICT).

The forum is to be held at the Swissôtel Tallinn conference centre and is expected to attract over 140 Estonian opinion leaders. The Development Fund introduces the outcome of the EST_IT@2018 foresight project and discussions focus on ICT prospects in the most relevant fields of use highlighted in the foresight project: education, medicine, industry, energy, financial services and ensuring the security of the ICT systems.

The conference also offers insights into global ICT trends and developments in Estonia together with an overview of our sectoral opportunities and threats. The participants will also contribute to creating an IT vision for Estonia.

According to Marek Tiits, Economy Expert of the Development Fund, the number of computers and Internet connections compared to other countries served as a gauge for IT success in the 1990s. Today, it is much more relevant to ask how IT could further support Estonia's social and economic development.

"The key is simple! The biggest changes in Estonia are expected to occur in education, medicine, energy and industry. Meanwhile IT enables to make things much more comfortable in these areas both here and elsewhere in the world. Why not do it?" Tiits said.

The main speaker, Associate Editor and economic commentator at the British newspaper The Independent, Hamish McRae, is to introduce global trends in the ICT area.

Tiits will also speak about the outcome of the EST_IT@2018 foresight project. The second part of the conference has been earmarked for discussions in six workshops where experts reveal future visions for the fields of IT use.

 1. Education: Janar Holm, Secretary-General, Estonian Ministry of Education and Research; Ene Tammeoru, Head of Estonian e-Learning Development Centre

2. Health care: Madis Tiik, Estonian eHealth Foundation, Member of the Management Board; Kristjan Port, Tallinn University, Institute of Health Sciences and Sports, Director

3. Industry: Jüri Riives, Federation of Estonian Engineering Industry, Chairman of the Board; Kalle Kuusik, Enics Estonia, Chairman of the Board

4. Energetics: Tarmo Mere, Eesti Energia, Distribution network, Director; Jaan Järvik, Tallinn University of Technology, Professor of Power Engineering

5. Financial services: Andrus Alber, NASDAQ OMX Tallinn Stock Exchange, Chairman of the Management Board; Tõnu Grünberg, EMT, Executive Vice President in charge of Development and Technology

6. ICT security: Ülo Jaaksoo, Cybernetica AS, Chairman of the Board and Margus Vaino, Santa Monica Networks AS, Member of the Board

The objective of the workshops is to identify potential sectoral development visions and resultant risks and opportunities for the Estonian information and communication technology sector.

Additional information about the conference can be seen on the Development Fund Events webpage here.

The EST_IT@2018 foresight project can be seen here.

Further information:

Ott Pärna, CEO, Estonian Development Fund, Tel: 616 1100
info[A]arengufond.ee 

Kristjan Rebane, Information Society Expert, Estonian Development Fund Tel: 616 1063 kristjan.rebane[A]arengufond.ee

The industry forum held at the Swissôtel Tallinn conference centre in the context of the Development Fund's foresight project ‘Industry Engines 2018' ended with the conclusion that the industry showing the largest growth potential in a 10-year perspective represented environmental and energy products as well as health and welfare products.

According to the Development Fund Economy Expert, Siim Sikkut, development opportunities can be found in almost all industries. "But the areas with the greatest probability of fast growth represent environment and energy as well as health and welfare products. Meanwhile, it is possible to operate successfully in nearly all areas, if we manage to move on from today's production-based industry," Sikkut said. The forum concluded that there are currently three principal ways of increasing the value within the industry:

• Moving from simple production towards product development services 
• Manufacturing products with higher value added 
• Striving towards becoming a brand holder

Ära märgiti ka sihtturgude olulisus, kus eristub samuti kolm keskset võimalust:

• Saturated but rich markets in ‘old' Europe 
• Fast-growing Eastern European and CIS markets 
• Far away and currently exotic markets with large growth potential

"Companies that advance towards increased value added, particularly in faster-growing business areas, can become industry engines. Meanwhile, brand holders, product developers and subcontractors have equally good opportunities. We also have to contemplate which markets would be the best for our value added products. Such markets are mostly unknown to us today," Siim Sikkut explained the opportunities for creating industry engines.

The Industry Forum videocasts can be downloaded here and presentation material and discussions can be downloaded here siit.

Some 150 shapers of the future of Estonia's industry representing both the business and the public sector took part in the industry forum. Presentations were made by Richard K. Lester, Professor of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and one of the leading industry development researchers, Antti Herlin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of KONE Corporation, a major Finnish company, Joe Harford, head of a high-level working group that advised the Irish government, and Siim Sikkut, Economy Expert at the Development Fund.

"Industry Engines 2018" is a foresight project focusing on the future of the manufacturing industry in Estonia. The objectives of the project include identifying the growth possibilities for Estonia's industry in the globalising world in the next 10 years and defining the steps needed to utilise these possibilities within the next 3-5 years. In other words, the Development Fund is looking for engines that could drive Estonia's industry into the future and in the future.

A final report will be produced in February 2009 providing guidelines for exploiting the growth opportunities of Estonia's industry in the global context.

Further information:

Siim Sikkut
Economy Expert, Estonian Development Fund,
Tel: 616 1065,
siim.sikkut[A]arengufond.ee

•  Estonia has dropped to 32^nd position in the Global Competitiveness Report while continuing to lead among the new European Union member states. 

•  Estonia's situation has not improved as regards several competitiveness indicators (e.g. innovation, infrastructure), meanwhile we have yielded positions in areas were we have been traditionally strong (e.g. macroeconomic stability).

•  Above all, Estonia lags behind the world's most competitive countries in the area of business sophistication.

According to the most recent report by the World Economic Forum, Estonia ranks 32^nd among the countries of the world as regards competitiveness. Compared to 2007, Estonia has dropped 5 places. The United States continues to be the most competitive country in the world, followed by Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Singapore and Finland.

Estonia still ranks first among the new European Union member states. "So far Estonia stood out primarily with good macroeconomic indicators," said Kitty Kubo, the Head of Foresight of the Estonian Development Fund, when presenting the report. As these indicators have deteriorated considerably in Estonia during the past year, it has also affected the ranking. Corporate competitiveness is being undermined by fast inflation. "Meanwhile, other competitiveness indicators have not significantly improved," Kubo added. Besides statistics, business leaders also are polled when compiling the list.

"Compared to the most competitive countries in the world, Estonia is mostly lagging behind in the field of business sophistication," Siim Sikkut, Estonian Development Fund Economy Expert, underlined. Simply put, business sophistication indicates what kind of work companies do and how they do it. The more sophisticated business activities are the largest slices in international value chains they take and the highest value added they produce.

The World Economic Forum has been issuing the World Competitiveness Report since 1979.  Its partners in Estonia for the purpose of the report are the Estonian Development Fund and the Estonian Institute of Economic Research.

Please click here to open the official press release and the materials regarding the report by the World Economic Forum.

Further information:

Marje Josing, Director, Estonian Institute of Economic Research, Tel: 646 6439

Kitty Kubo, Head of Foresight, Development Fund, Tel: 616 1061

Siim Sikkut, Economy Expert, Development Fund, Tel: 616 1065