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e-⁠Residency for startups

Estonia, Europe's startup powerhouse, is the ultimate destination to test, build, and scale your groundbreaking tech ideas and innovative products.

Taking a photo on a phone of Estonia, Europe's startup powerhouse
Test your ideas
Build your product
Scale up your venture
Funding opportunities
Hire employees
Join a vibrant community
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Estonia loves ambition

Estonia’s vibrant startup ecosystem and accelerator programmes are open for all ambitious e-⁠resident founders
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Easy to start

e-⁠Residency makes it easy to start and run a company online, including with multiple co-founders
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Test ideas at low cost

Experience a startup-friendly regulatory environment and enjoy low costs to test your innovative tech ideas
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Attract investors

Global investors consider Estonia an attractive and safe business jurisdiction to get strong ROIs from local startups
Portrait of Frank Sondors

Some people hire others to do their admin, but Estonia is able to offer this seamlessly, so I can log in and do my things anywhere in the world.

Frank Sondors
Salesforge
Portrait of Lidia Kuti

It’s been a joy. It’s been really easy. We are so lucky to have heard about the e-Residency opportunity and be part of the ecosystem.

Lidia Kuti
Smobya
Portrait of Santiago Cartamil Bueno

If it wasn't for the flexibility of the e-Residency program I would have shut down.

Santiago Cartamil Bueno
SCALE Nanotech
Portrait of Jose Ernesto Suarez Font

I come from the open-source world, and I really understand how powerful a community can be. Estonia's is small but really efficient.

Jose Ernesto Suarez Font
Glassity
Portrait of Vicky Brock

I can get my tax done in minutes. I just control it with my single ID card.

Vicky Brock
Vistalworks

Become an e-⁠resident

    Apply Now

Hear from e-resident founders

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Ready to start?

    Apply now

Read How-to Guides

    A Guide to Start a Startup
    How to Raise Capital
    A Guide for Hiring Staff

Estonia is Europe's startup powerhouse

Estonia has world-class human capital, unique digital capabilities and ranks highly on ease of doing business, making it a smart and agile country for all companies with global ambitions.

Experience advanced digital infrastructure for seamless, remote business administration. Hire from a STEM-educated, English-speaking labour force. And secure your intellectual property rights with fast, digital registration. Plus:

  • Entrepreneurial culture and easy access to a close-knit startup ecosystem
  • Pro-business regulations, plus supportive state grants and agencies
  • Access the EU market, funding opportunities, and a competitive tax system
  • Easy, quick company formation with e-Residency
Man standing in front of self-driving bus labelled To the Future created by Estonian startup Auve Tech

Interested in personalised support?

Book a call with Ülane, our Head of Business Development, and herself a founder who has successfully raised money for her tech startup in Estonia and beyond.

  • Tell us about your startup idea
  • Understand better, how e-Residency could help you
  • Book a call
Profile of Ülane Vilumets, Head of Business Development at e-Residency

In numbers: our startup ecosystem

Estonia ranks highly in Europe and the world for startups, investment potential, and support programmes:

  • #1 world leader in unicorns per capita
  • 1,500 startups, the most per capita in Europe, 38% driven by e-residents
  • 140+ angel investors and mentors, 60+ accelerator and entrepreneurship programmes
  • Venture Capital of €3,08bn under management, active portfolio of 750 companies (according to ESTVCA)
  • E-residents driving 38% Estonian startups
Image with statistics: Estonia is the world leader in startups per capita, has 1500 startups, the most per capita in Europe, and is ranked number 6 in Europe for its startup ecosystem

Test Your Idea

  • Find support at the early stage, thanks to Estonia’s startup-friendly regulations, low compliance costs, deferred taxes, and liberal labour laws
  • Build and test your innovative tech products, especially in Deeptech, Defencetech, Healthtech and Cleantech sectors
  • Join an accelerator to refine your prototypes and MVPs, find product-market fit, and get mentoring from the best
  • Read what makes Estonia great for startups
Two people talking at Latitude59 surrounded by e-Residency and startup neon signs

Build Your Product

  • Lively early stage investment scene and business angel network (ESTBAN)
  • Bring your team here, thanks to Estonia’s Startup Visa
  • Incorporate a private limited company easily and quickly with e-Residency
  • Spend less time on the legal things by with the help of experienced Service Providers and widely available and accepted Model Documents
  • Get help building your startup
  • Use model documents
An e-Residency card and welcome kit

Scale Up Your Venture

  • A variety of funding and growth opportunities in Estonia are open for e-residents, with a heavy focus on R&D, Deeptech, smart economy solutions
  • Meet local and foreign VCs thanks to close ties and a strong reputation among globally famous funds
  • E-resident companies are eligible for European Union and Estonian grants
  • Intellectual Property protections are in line with EU laws, with counselling, tools, and support from the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency (EIS)
  • Explore funding opportunities
Founders of Glassity awarded top 20 team in Ajujaht accelerator programme

Join a Vibrant Community

  • Be two degrees of separation from Estonian and e-resident founders on the Startup Estonia Database to get advice and learn from their mistakes!
  • Estonia is present at cosmopolitan business events locally (Latitude59, sTARTUp Day), and elsewhere (Bits&Pretzels, South Summit)
  • The e-Residency Community is easily accessible online on social media and webinars, or offline at events and coworking spaces
  • Read about the community
  • Find an event
  • Explore the Estonian startup database
Group shot outside in the garden of participants at the e-Residency study trip for startup entrepreneurs in 2024

Streamline administration with expert help

You don’t need to do everything alone. Working with a verified service provider will save you time and money.

What do you need help with?

Find an expert service provider

Read more on the blog

Why wait for EU-INC when Estonia’s already got e-Residency?

While EU-INC is in the works, discover how Estonia’s e-Residency already lets founders start and scale an EU company fully online.

Justin Petrone • 7 min read
Mar 18

Which of these countries is the best to start a company?

Starting a company in the UK vs USA (Delaware) vs Ireland vs Portugal vs Singapore vs Estonia: comparing cost, speed and digital company formation for foreigners

Andy Stofferis • 11 min read
Mar 11

How Andres Kõpper treats NOËP like a startup

In the Winning Friends podcast, NOËP founder Andres Kõpper shares how he treats his music career like a startup – from branding to TikTok.

Ann-Kristin Kruuk • 5 min read
Mar 10

How to get AWS credits as an e-resident company

This is a guide on Amazon Web Services (AWS) credits and optimisation for e-Residency companies.

Spendbase • 7 min read
Jan 6

Which country has the most unicorns per capita in 2025?

Take a look at the world’s top unicorn company countries, and see why Estonia punches well above its weight.

Andy Stofferis • 7 min read
Dec 2025

Best entrepreneur podcasts to learn, grow and get inspired

Discover the best entrepreneur podcasts to learn, grow and get inspired, from FT News Briefing to Winning Friends by e-Residency of Estonia.

Ann-Kristin Kruuk • 7 min read
Nov 2025

Build your startup in Estonia

Relocate with the startup visa

Estonia's Startup Visa helps non-EU founders grow their startup in Estonia, and eases the process for hiring non-EU talent. If your product packs innovation and has the potential to scale, apply now.
  • Estonian Startup Visa vs e-Residency

Hire staff and rent an office

Be closer to all the action in Estonia’s vibrant startup ecosystem or benefit from the most competitive tax system. Open an office, find partners or hire staff here and experience the benefits.
  • About business presence in Estonia