Estonia set to woo biz via e-residency

Hyderabad: With a no-deal Brexit still a possibility, Estonia, in a bid to attract business, is hard selling its e-residency scheme as a “good vehicle” for foreigners to set up business in the country, according to Estonian ambassador to India.

“In the past, Estonia has held roadshows in the UK on how to keep doing business in the European Union.... We said that with a base in our country, business will still have access to the European Union and have free movement of labour,” said Riho Kruuv.

Speaking about the e-residency scheme, he said, “The nearly two-decade old authentication  scheme was expanded to include foreigners a few years back. With this, a person will be able to open a business in the country within an hour. However, the person will need to visit the country once to set up a bank account. Such ease of doing business has managed to attract not just companies outside of Europe but also from countries such as Finlad, Ukraine, Germany and Russia.”

Some of the notable person who are e-residents  include Mukesh Ambani and Union IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

“Very prominent people are also Estonian e-residents. Present Minister of IT and Law and Justice honourable Ravi Shankar Prasad is an Estonian e-resident. Business tycoon Mukesh Ambani is an e-resident. Pope Francis and Bill Gates also have accepted it.”