A coffee with… Viljar Lubi, Estonian ambassador, UK

Estonia boasts a remarkable portfolio of tech start-ups despite having a comparatively tiny population.

Ride-hailing app Bolt, identify verification platform Veriff, and fintech site Wise are but a few of the success stories — though, of course, it all began with Skype.

While the company was founded by a Swede and a Dane,   Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis — it was four Estonians: Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu, Jaan Tallinn and Toivo Annus who developed the software.

Viljar Lubi, Estonian ambassador to the UK, met with TI’s Ricki Lee at a London events venue to talk about how the digitalisation of the country and implementation of an e-residency scheme has positively impacted private and public sector collaboration.

Lubi describes what it is that feeds the country’s drive for technology, the legacy of Skype, and how it all began in schools.

Where did Estonia’s passion for tech come from?

The educational system is fundamental to this. One of the first things the government did after gaining independence in 1991 was to bring internet access to every school; not all the banks, not all the ministers, but the schools.

It was called the Tiger Leap program and also gave all teachers access to basic IT training. We refer to those kids now as the Tiger Leap generation.

I often ask people about their favourite decade in history. Many people say the 40s, the 90s, or even the 1810s when the UK defeated Napoleon. For me, I’m extremely happy to live in Estonia right now. Estonia’s glory days are right now.

What has Estonia done to be such a fantastic tech hub?

In Estonia, we always try to do our own thing. Everything Estonia is famous for has been original, never a copycat. Yes, we are small, but we are also smart.

We’ve never been driven by legacy. We know that we always need to build something from scratch, and this has been vital.

Skype is a perfect example. Not many people know that Skype was founded by Estonians. It took a Danish guy and a Swedish guy to understand how great the idea was, and then Microsoft did.

It was then that we realised — it doesn’t matter how tiny Estonia is, we can do huge things.

The tech sector has become like a holy cow, and people are really supporting it. It’s not something that’s just for hipsters; it’s real. It’s real for the economy and has a massive macroeconomic effect.

What about Estonia’s e-Residency scheme? How has that impacted the tech sector?

The e-Residency programme had a significant impact on Estonia’s business environment, providing both income for the Estonian state and global market access to entrepreneurs. So far, the programme has generated approximately €200m in tax revenue and state fees for Estonia.

e-Residency allows over 110,000 foreign nationals from over 180 countries to establish and manage location-independent companies in Estonia entirely online.

This has led to the registration of nearly 30,000 companies in Estonia across a variety of sectors, including IT, marketing, e-commerce, and business consulting. Every year, e-residents start 20% of all the new companies established in Estonia.

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How did Estonia facilitate the huge success of the scheme? Do you think others will replicate it?

For 30 years, Estonia has provided secure digital state services ranging from e-voting to e-tax boards, positioning itself as a digitally advanced society compared to other EU countries. But it wasn’t until the launch of e-residency 10 years ago that the Estonian public fully appreciated the uniqueness and benefits of their digital governance system.

Estonia’s digital infrastructure has continued to develop, like a start-up refining its services. Yet the number of users who could benefit was always limited to the number of citizens and residents of the country. This established digital ecosystem made extending services to e-residents a strategic and manageable next step.

This initiative not only demonstrated the advantages of Estonia’s digital transformation but also showcased how high-security digital ID and a transparent business ecosystem can provide a competitive edge in attracting talent, start-ups, and innovative companies.

In terms of our founders, there have been many e-resident success stories, both globally and from the UK. While some countries have developed their own e-residency schemes, replicating Estonia’s success is a significant challenge.

Achieving this elsewhere requires not just technological advancement and fostering a culture that embraces digital governance and innovation but also a significant overhaul of tax policies to ensure they are appealing and competitive for international businesses.

How do you take your coffee?

Strong, with a little splash of milk. Coffee can never be too strong, and you can never have too little coffee. I have six or seven cups a day. I do love my coffee. I’ll never drink a coffee if I’m unsure of the quality — crap coffee is just not worth it.

If you could have a coffee with any business leader, past or present, who would it be?

I would pick a technology star, but, you know, I have a dilemma because the big stars often want to keep what they have or have even more.

So, to answer your question, my answer would be to have dinner with aspiring deep-tech companies that still want to disrupt.

The advantages of AI will push the globe towards a more consolidated economy and AI, but I think in the longer term, that’s a bad thing, so we still need those disruptors.

Being an ambassador must be hard work. How do you switch off at the end of the day?

Estonians are very shy and very modest. There’s a joke that implies that’s why Skype was so big in Estonia; because it was a perfect way to communicate without meeting people in person. But I really enjoy people.

One thing I never had, and never will have, is Facebook. I understand the value of Facebook in keeping up with what friends are doing, but we all know that loneliness is the biggest disease we suffer from. So, I prefer to meet people in person and talk to them because it’s always a bit fake or artificial in cyberspace.

And learn! I always want to be learning something new. I also like to travel. I travel a lot. I’ve been to about 130 countries. I don’t have a favourite, but Madagascar is outstanding!

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