How to Relocate Your Startup to Estonia

This is not a thread to demarket Nigeria (the tyrants in power are doing that already), but one to show you that if your startup has a product that can scale globally then you can consider relocating it to a place where it can flourish.

Having seen the attacks on startups, as a patriotic Nigerian who would like to see more successes from Nigerian-owned startups, I present Estonia to you for the relocation of your startup.
Why Estonia?
I live in Estonia (that’s a joke, but it’s true).

On a more serious note, Estonia is home to over 1000 startups and has been releasing unicorns steadily (2 new unicorns emerged this year and an additional 2 are likely in the pipeline before the year runs out). A country with a population of just about 1.36 million now has 7.

- Skype, Playtech, TransferWise, Bolt, Pipedrive, Zego, http://ID.me  (highest unicorns per M capita in Europe - 5.3).
Estonia has proven to be a fertile ground for startups as the govt is pro-tech & all govt services are accessible online including voting.

Estonia has seen tech as their own “oil” and they are mining the space through various initiatives such as e-residency, startup visa, and events that facilitate connections between startups and investors to ensure the success of their startups. You have a greater chance of ...

becoming a unicorn in Estonia if your startup is taking on the world than in Nigeria as we have observed that a useless government regulation that has no bearing whatsoever on solving a problem can be introduced overnight to cripple your startup overnight.

The whole of Europe has come to recognize Estonia’s place as a startup hub in its own right even though the UK and Germany are the powerhouse of the continent in this space. Estonia startup space is an ecosystem where you can get almost every service and support you need -

All the services have also been categorized to ensure minimal time is spent looking for the right service provider and you can spend your time on building your startup.

Criteria for Startup Visa
- Pass the eligibility test
- Apply for the startup visa

Things to Note
- Passing the test doesn’t guarantee startup visa will be issued
- Try to make your visa application as strong as possible (be honest with your filings)

- Your startup is like an oil field but you have to make it attractive to get the attention of Estonia as so many startups are seeking similar attention
- You stand a good chance as I don’t think any startup has relocated from Nigeria and even Africa at large to Estonia

Startup founders' visas and residence permit stats since 2018

Employees visas and residence permit stats since 2018

How the startups created with the help of Startup Estonia in 2020 performed. You can see this "oil field" is yielding and adding tremendous value to Estonia's economy.

Take the 5-minute startup visa test and start your visa application here - https://startupestonia.ee/visa 

If you pass the test, my DM is open to questions I can answer.

I am techtusiastic about your startup relocating to Estonia if it fits the bill.

All the best.
cc: @OluyomiOjo