Posts Tagged ‘Estonia’
Iute Group Strives to Enter Ukraine with Acquisition of Banking License
Iute Group, a European digital-first banking group, is striving to enter the Ukrainian market by establishing a regulated bank with a strong focus on digital banking services for everyday financial needs. The market entry is to be based on an agreement with Ukraine’s state-owned Deposit Guarantee Fund following approval by the National Bank of Ukraine. Under the agreement, Iute Group is to acquire a banking license held by a bridge bank together with a selective transfer of low-risk assets and corresponding retail deposit liabilities with a total volume of approximately EUR 4 million from RWS Bank to Iute Group’s newly established bank entity in Ukraine.
The purchase will be financed from existing Group liquidity. Iute Group applies a strict investment discipline and expects the net loss of the Ukrainian banking operations in 2026 not to exceed EUR 3 million.
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Originally published on 6 Jan
Read MoreNearly 3.5 million passengers at Tallinn Airport in 2025
In 2025, 3,488,104 passengers travelled through Tallinn Airport. Passenger numbers at regional airports also increased, resulting in a record total of 3,581,620 air passengers using airports in Estonia.
“The past year proved to be one of the most successful in the history of AS Tallinn Airport and its subsidiaries. Although Estonia’s economic situation has been challenging in recent years, demand for travel has shown no signs of decline. This is reflected in Tallinn Airport’s passenger numbers, which were only 4,000 passengers, or just 0.1%, below the previous year. At the same time, passenger numbers at Tartu Airport grew rapidly, meaning that the total number of passengers at Estonian airports reached an all-time high,” said Riivo Tuvike, Chairman of the Management Board of AS Tallinn Airport.
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Originally published on 5 Jan
Read MoreEstonia to chair the Nordic-Baltic (NB8) cooperation format as of 1 January 2026
As of tomorrow, 1 January 2026, Estonia will assume the coordinating role as chair of the Nordic-Baltic (NB8) cooperation format, with the aim of strengthening regional cooperation, increasing the international visibility of NB8, and deepening the region’s strategic integration.
According to Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna, NB8 has developed into the most important platform for political coordination in the region. “NB8 must be firmly established as a cross-regional centre of political cooperation through which we pursue our shared objectives,” Tsahkna stressed. During the 2026 coordinating period, Estonia intends to use the NB8 format as its primary international political coordination tool at the level of leaders, ministers, senior officials and diplomats.
Another key objective is to strengthen the global image of NB8 as a group of highly like-minded countries with a strong and unified identity. “Together, the NB8 countries are significantly larger, more visible and more influential than when we act individually. We want to be seen as a unified and strong region that, despite the relatively small size of its countries, is one of the most important economic and political partners in the Euro-Atlantic space,” said the Foreign Minister. In 2026, Estonia plans to raise awareness of the nature of NB8 and to highlight the region’s role in the global economy and international politics.
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Originally published on 31 Dec
Read MoreEstonia Signs Contract with the First Manufacturer of the Future Defence Industry Park
The Estonian Centre for Defence Investments (ECDI) and the company Nitrotol OÜ have signed a contract for the production of military explosives and ammunition, including mines and charges, in the defence industry park to be established in Ermistu, Pärnu County.
Deputy Director General of ECDI Asko Kivinuk thanked the company for the good and smooth cooperation. “Nitrotol OÜ has already started production in Ämari, and the first deliveries to the Estonian Defence Forces will arrive from there soon. The experience gained in Ämari will certainly help ensure that the new and larger production unit is completed smoothly and as quickly as possible,” said Kivinuk. “At the same time, I would like to thank ECDI’s partner notary office for their utmost precision and thoroughness in preparing such complex contracts,” he added.
In the first phase, four companies will be able to establish their factories in the defence industry park being developed in Ermistu, Pärnu County: Nitrotol OÜ, Frankenburg Technologies OÜ, Infinitum Strike OÜ, and Thor Industries Ltd via its Estonia-registered subsidiary Odin Defence OÜ.
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Originally published on 30 Dec
Read MoreEstonia to Purchase at Least Six South Korean–Made Chunmoo Multiple Rocket Launchers
The Estonian Centre for Defence Investments (ECDI) and representatives of the South Korean defence industry company Hanwha Aerospace have signed a contract for the procurement of six Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers. The contract, worth nearly €290 million, covers the launcher systems, three types of missile systems (CGR-080, CTM-MR, CTM-290), as well as operational and training support. In addition, modifications to the platforms will be ordered to ensure they meet Estonian conditions and traffic regulations. Deliveries will begin in the second half of 2027, and the framework agreement allows for the future procurement of additional systems.
“Estonia began developing its deep-strike capability this April with the acquisition of the U.S. HIMARS systems. Since multiple rocket launchers are of invaluable importance from a military capability perspective, I am extremely pleased that, in addition to U.S. HIMARS, we will now also acquire South Korean Chunmoo systems, thereby significantly enhancing both Estonia’s and NATO’s overall deterrence and defence capability,” said Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur.
As part of the framework agreement, Hanwha Aerospace will also make investments in Estonia’s defence industry in accordance with the volume and conditions set out in the contract. “As part of the agreement, the company will invest one-fifth of the total procurement contract value in Estonian industry. The initial investment should return amount value of €40~60 million to Estonian defence industry companies,” explained Katri Raudsepp, Acting Director General of the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments (ECDI).
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Originally published on 21 Dec
Read MoreEstonia joins Nordic AI Gigafactory project
Estonia is no stranger to frontier AI projects, already using the most modern tools in the education system and producing an impressive array of AI-first startups and scale-ups. Now, there’s more on this front, as Estonia has signed a cooperation agreement with Nokia to participate in a Nordic consortium developing sovereign AI infrastructure across the region, Justice and Digital Affairs Minister Liisa Pakosta announced today in Oulu, Finland.
The project currently includes Estonia, Finland, and Latvia, with ongoing negotiations to bring Sweden and Denmark on board. The initiative responds to the European Commission’s program supporting the development of European sovereign AI infrastructure—specifically, AI gigafactories—designed to reduce dependence on third-party computing resources.
For Estonia, the agreement means establishing an AI-ready data centre on its territory that would integrate with both existing Estonian and broader regional infrastructure. The facility would provide essential computing capacity to the public sector, research institutions, and private enterprises.
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Originally published on 19 Dec
Read MoreLatvia’s Beneflo admitted to Visa’s VIPE European Innovation Programme
Eight financial technology companies from the Nordic countries have been admitted to the international payment technology company Visa’s European innovation programme, VIPE. Among them is Latvia’s Beneflo, which is developing an employee support solutions platform that simplifies the international allocation of various bonuses and benefits to employees using a Visa card and app.
In addition to Beneflo, the programme has also admitted Enable Banking from Finland, Kardio from Iceland, Juuli from Estonia, Ledyer and Betalo from Sweden, Beep from Italy, and Myver from Denmark.
The VIPE Baltic and Nordic programme is a pilot project–focused collaboration platform that aims to accelerate digital innovation in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland, and Denmark. During the six-month programme, the startups involved will have the opportunity to develop their business ideas and innovations, implement pilot projects, build partnerships, and engage in networking activities with Visa partners worldwide.
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Originally published on 18 Dec
Read MoreNIB to support Tallinn Airport expansion
The project will support Tallinn Airport’s long-term development by increasing capacity, improving the passenger experience, and enhancing operational efficiency. By strengthening international air connectivity, the expansion will contribute to the growth of Estonia’s business and tourism sectors.
In 2024, Tallinn Airport served 3.5 million passengers, exceeding its current design capacity of 3 million. To respond to rising demand, the expansion will increase annual capacity to up to 5.5 million passengers, ensuring the airport can continue to operate efficiently and comfortably as traffic grows.
“We highly value our long-standing relationship with NIB, whose support has been instrumental in advancing essential infrastructure across the Nordic–Baltic region. Their confidence in our development plans is an important recognition of the work we are doing to ensure Tallinn Airport can grow sustainably and continue serving passengers at the highest level,” said Anneli Turkin, CFO of Tallinn Airport.
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Originally published on 19 Dec
Read MoreMyDello Secures €3.1 Million to Accelerate the Digitization of Global Logistics
MyDello, the digital freight forwarding platform dedicated to simplifying global trade, today announced it has successfully closed a €3.1 million funding round. The round was led by the Icelandic fund Frumtak Ventures, with significant follow-on participation from early investor Superhero Capital.
This new capital will be used to accelerate MyDello’s mission to transform the deeply fragmented and antiquated global logistics industry. The investment will fuel the development of advanced AI-powered solutions, drive strategic expansion into new European markets, and further enhance MyDello’s digital platform, which has already onboarded over 12,500 businesses.
The global logistics industry, valued at an estimated $6 trillion annually, has long been a bottleneck for businesses worldwide. For decades, it has operated on outdated systems involving faxes, phone calls, and mountains of physical paperwork, creating a frustratingly opaque and inefficient environment. MyDello was founded to solve this problem head-on by providing a single, digital-first platform that makes shipping goods simple, transparent, and efficient for everyone.
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Originally published on 16 Dec
Read MoreCybersafety in numbers Nordic-Baltic cyber consortium
Seven countries in the Nordic-Baltic region have agreed to pool their resources to stave off cyberattacks. Funded by the EU, hosted by Denmark, and with the participation of Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania and Norway, the Nordic-Baltic Cyber Consortium will serve as a means for national cyber-security agencies in the seven countries to share information and to work together to develop new ways to counter cyberthreats.
The threat of cyberattack is not unique to the Baltic region, but the countries taking part in the consortium are among the most digitalised in the world, and thus particularly at risk. One strategy to protect themselves would be to take their foot off the pedal and move some services offline again, but that would mean losing many of the efficiency gains digitialisation has created, especially in the public sector. Doing so would also spoil plans to roll out artificial intelligence. By doubling down on digitalisation, they have decided that what makes them vulnerable is also what can make them stronger.
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