In 2021, e-Residency made the decision to switch from posting content on Medium to our fresh new blog on the e-Residency website.

It took some time to update and transfer older content over from Medium, tweak how the new blog looks, and fix little bugs here and there. But, aside from ongoing improvements and new features, these activities have been completed.

Since June, we have published around 30 articles on the new blog about:

• inspiring e-residents such as Soumya, Orest and Natasha,
• renewal of e-Residency digital ID cards,
• transfer pricing regulations,
• new business banking options for e-residents, and
• digital nomad guides and health insurance.

This Medium blog is now officially retired and we will no longer be posting articles here or monitoring/responding to comments.

If you enjoy reading e-Residency content, please check in on the new blog each week and subscribe to the e-Residency monthly newsletter for a great summary of what we’ve published that month.

Thanks for being part of our community! See you at e-resident.gov.ee/blog.

E-Residency Blog is now at e-resident.gov.ee/blog was originally published in E-Residency Blog, E-residentsuse blogi on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

For the last 13 days, I have been locked up alone in hotel quarantine in Sydney. Thankfully, I have been lucky to stay in a spacious room in the Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel with a harbour view and lots of light.

Given I am working remotely full time and am pretty used to my own company in general, it’s been a generally positive experience. I’m quarantining on my own without kids or a partner, (which could be a blessing or a curse depending on one’s comfort with being alone!) But I have wonderful family and friends from around the world supporting me via care packages, calls, messages, and pep talks. The only downside is not being able to open a window for fresh air.

I already wrote this article about the planning and preparation it took to get to Australia from Europe. Now, with just 1 day to go, I wanted to share my top tips for surviving hotel quarantine. Broadly, my main advice is to keep busy and to fill your days with meaningful activities that are good for your mind, body and soul. If you have tips to share, add them to the comments!

1. Adopt a mindset that commits you to get through quarantine

Accept that you need to quarantine, commit to get through the 14 days, and set your mind and actions accordingly.

This doesn’t mean trying to stay positive all the time. It’s more about accepting that having to do quarantine is not something you can control or change, and instead recognising that there are steps you can take personally to manage it.

I recognise that for many this will be the toughest part of the experience and will require different actions for everyone, depending on your own circumstances. For me, it meant minimising news, prioritising exercise for my mind and body, and committing to daily tasks that connected me to friends and family outside.

2. Treat each day like any other

Think of each day as just another day. Wake up at your usual time, do your standard morning routine, and go about your day in a way that makes the most of your time — whether that be work, sleep, play, exercise, mindfulness, or catching up on reading or shows.

There are some added bonuses of quarantine for some as well:

• Precious time alone to rest, think, or create
• Useful time to get over jet lag
• An opportunity to kick-start an exercise regime
• Two weeks without drinking alcohol, smoking, or eating junk food (if you are so inclined!)
• No need to plan meals or cook for 14 days
• Breakfast in bed every day!

3. Prepare for no fresh air

The air in hotel rooms is dry and you may not have an open window or balcony, so be prepared for constant AC.

In the weeks leading up to travel, prepare for this by getting lots of sunshine and fresh air or, if this is not possible, taking vitamin D supplements. Also, pack lots of moisturising products for your skin and hair and essential oils for some natural aromatherapy.

When quarantining, make sure you drink lots of water to stay hydrated. Bottled water is provided by the hotel and tap water is drinkable, but you might want to consider ordering a few big bottles from the grocery store to keep you going. Consider asking a friend to drop off a plant, air purifier or a humidifier. If you have a big window, make time to sit with the sun on your face.

4. Check in on your mental health daily

The hotel has a team of nurses and doctors available and the opportunity to request to speak to a counsellor as well. You also get a daily call from the nurses to check in on your physical and mental health. The daily phone call is comforting and the team at the Marriott Hotel has been upbeat and caring so I have really appreciated this.

And, if you don’t already do it, meditate! I have a daily meditation practice anyway, which has really come into its own for the last two weeks. Given the lack of air, I have prioritised practices focused on the breath and longer sittings. There is a ton of meditation content online, but one I really recommend is the Fitmind app, which provides a simple yet profound set of meditations and guidance notes to help train your mind and learn more about the huge variety of practices available to us.

Finally, avoid consuming too much news, especially about covid. Instead, listen to podcasts or audiobooks or watch feel-good movies and TV shows. Believe me — this will really help your mental health!

5. Be a social butterfly

It goes without saying that your friends and family will be your main source of support during quarantine. Make time to speak with or message them daily as their words of encouragement will keep you going.

One thing I did — which is slightly out of character — was to share my experience in a daily vlog on Instagram. It blew me away that people took the time to watch and send lovely words of support and motivation every day. I chatted with people I haven’t seen in years — it was really a wonderful way to reconnect with old friends and colleagues.

A point of caution here as well — preserve your boundaries and time so you don’t get overwhelmed or exhausted. Switch off your devices and have some me-time each day — take advantage of this opportunity to rest and recover.

6. Think about your dietary requirements and plan accordingly

Before travelling, think about your own needs. Are there drinks and food you can’t live without?

The hotel will ask what your dietary requirements are on arrival — I indicated I am a pescatarian and I have mostly received vegetarian meals with a few lovely fish dishes sprinkled throughout. By and large, the food has been nutritious, filling, and varied, with a good mix of protein, vegetables, salad, fruit, dairy and carbs.

You get three meals per day provided but no snacks in between so either save some food from meals to nibble on through the day or organise for what you need to be delivered by a friend or via a grocery shop.

While I’ve had a great experience with the food provided by the hotel, there were a few things I am glad I brought along with me, the main thing being coffee! I packed an electric cooker, a mocha pot, and ground coffee so that I could have my usual few proper strong cups each day. My family delivered some milk and I purchased from Coles online extra fruit, vegetables and hummus to snack on in between meals.

7. Get your sweat on

It goes without saying that exercise is an absolute necessity and will be one of the best ways to stay sane in quarantine. Being in captivity for two weeks is actually a really good opportunity to kickstart a fitness regime.

And to make things easier, there is a growing cottage industry of fitness startups from whom you can rent a bike or treadmill, yoga mat, weights, etc. Definitely take advantage of this — my treadmill from Quarantine Fit Club has been a lifesaver. Also, take advantage of the wealth of HIIT, yoga or pilates videos online and you will leave quarantine feeling strong and ready to face the world.

8. Work is a great way to pass the time

As mentioned above, I have worked remotely full time during quarantine. Given Sydney is 7 hours ahead of Tallinn, I made sure to diarise my work hours and availability in my calendar prior to travelling. I shared this with my colleagues and have kept them updated in our Slack workspace on a daily basis when I’m logging in and out.

If you will also be working, make sure to plan and pack all the equipment you need, like charging cables, speakers, headphones, HDMI cables, keyboard, mouse, camera, lights, etc. Most quarantine hotels provide open wifi. If you need secure wifi, e.g. if you are remote working and your employer has a policy requiring it, then you will need to organise your own secure hotspot.

If you don’t plan to work, I highly recommend planning some personal projects, e.g. writing, creating, etc, to keep you busy each day. It will really help the time fly.

9. Balance work with play

Pack books or load them on your e-book device. Bring items to satisfy your love of arts and crafts, games, or puzzles. Bring an HDMI cable to connect your laptop to the TV. Remember the importance of good sound — bring a portable speaker and headphones (especially if you are quarantining with someone!)

Join quarantine Facebook groups like this one to get more quarantine tips and to enjoy the fruits of creativity of other quarantine inmates around Australia!

10. Essential items to pack for quarantine

Last but not least, don’t just pack for your stay in Australia… pack for quarantine.

I have already mentioned a lot of these things above, but to recap, here are some of the essential items I packed for quarantine (or organised to be delivered):

1. An electric cooker, fry pan, cutlery, bowl, plate, sharp knife or swiss army knife, bottle opener, coffee pot
2. Tea, coffee, drinks, snacks, condiments
3. Electrical adaptors, power board or extension cable, HDMI cable, speaker, headphones, books or e-book, arts and crafts, games, puzzles
4. Cleaning products for washing clothes, cleaning kitchen items, toilet
5. Lots of moisturiser, face masks, face and body oils, hair care products
6. Very loose, comfy, airy clothes for lounging and exercising
7. Slippers or ugg boots

Soon after the coronavirus was proclaimed a global pandemic by the WHO in March 2020, Australia moved quickly to fortify its borders. Now, over a year on, this has culminated in a variety of border restrictions and biosecurity measures for people wanting to visit (or leave) the country.

In short, only Australian citizens and permanent residents and their immediate families, or others with a special exemption, can enter from overseas and there are capped numbers of people allowed into the country each week. Anyone entering Australia must quarantine in a hotel or other designated facility for 14 days to control entry of the virus into the country and prevent its spread into the community (regardless of whether you are vaccinated or not). In addition, Australians wanting to leave the country must apply for a special exemption to do so.

I recently arrived in Sydney after months of preparation to visit a family member being treated for a serious illness. I am an Australian citizen and reside in Tallinn, Estonia. This article sets out some of the steps I took to get here. I am now 9 days into hotel quarantine so will post another article over the weekend with some tips on how to stay sane while locked up!

This article is not intended to cover the specific legalities of the border restrictions — for these, take a look at the Australian Department for Home Affairs covid-19 website. I also won’t cover the above-mentioned exemptions for entry for non-Australian citizens or residents. And, I am definitely not getting into the firestorm of politics surrounding Australia’s strict border response to the pandemic — I will leave that to political commentators and your opinionated Aunty Sharon.

Planning to travel

Travelling to Australia is tough at the moment. The overseas arrival caps were halved last week. Now, only about 3000 people are allowed into the country per week. So, my first advice is to really think hard about whether now is the time to travel to Australia. I know you probably haven’t seen family in a while and miss your friends and homeland. But if it’s not super essential, perhaps consider waiting until next year when the Government has indicated the caps will rise again.

If you really do need to travel, then the first thing to do is to provide your details on the DFAT COVID-19 Register on the Smarttraveller website. Registering will not guarantee your return to Australia but it will provide DFAT with information about who is trying to get home and help them plan. They are prioritising vulnerable people so make sure you provide as much information about your specific situation as possible, such as any medical or other vulnerabilities affecting you or your family members.

The second thing to do, especially if you are a vulnerable person or need to travel to Australia on compassionate grounds, is to contact your closest Australian consular representation — which you can find here. Speak to them about flagging you as a vulnerable case and they might indicate this in the DFAT Covid-19 Register. They can also provide more details on how to get financial assistance and direct you to information about facilitated commercial repatriation flights.

Once you have registered, then it’s time to find a flight. Contact airlines directly and don’t use flight comparison websites like Skyscanner or online travel platforms like eDreams. Try several airlines for different quotes and itineraries. You’ll be better off if you book a few months in advance and are flexible with your travel dates.

I directly contacted the Singapore Airlines ticketing office for Europe and I think having a real human person to help with my travel booking made all the difference as I could check with them from time to time to make sure everything was confirmed. I paid a little extra for a Premium Economy ticket as I had heard that the airlines are more likely to bump cheaper fares.

I understand there are a number of Facebook groups for Australians stranded overseas, where you can ask questions or read the experiences of others — e.g. this one. I didn’t join them as I think hearing the horror stories would have stressed me out. But I’m raising it here as another potentially helpful step for you!

And another thing that might help is to contact your local Federal or State members of parliament for assistance or, if your situation requires amplification and some lobbying, the Australian media. Commercial television breakfast shows like Today or Sunrise are sympathetic to stranded Aussies in difficult situations and may be able to help you if necessary.

Preparing to fly and international travel

First up is to check the covid-related travel requirements of all the countries through which you will be transiting and/or staying in. The rules will differ depending on the country you are departing from. Some countries might require you to fill in an arrival form or show proof of vaccination or a negative covid test, even if you are simply transiting through the airport.

For Australia, you’ll need to get a COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test within 72 hours of your scheduled departure and a certificate showing that you have tested negative (even if you are fully vaccinated). The certificate must be in English and contain your full name, date of birth, passport number, a clear indication that the test result was negative, the type of test, and the time and date when the sample was collected. You’ll need to show this certificate at check-in and possibly during transit. I had a digital certificate on my phone, which I showed at the Lufthansa check-in counter in Tallinn and at the Singapore Airlines transit counter in Frankfurt.

You will also need to submit an online Australian Travel Declaration at least 72 hours before you fly. Through the declaration, the Australian government collects your contact details in Australia, flight details, quarantine requirements, and your health status. You’ll need to show this at check-in, during transit, and upon arrival in Australia as well.

Masks must be worn on all international flights, including in airports, so make sure you have a good supply in your hand luggage. Most airlines and airports require you to use surgical or N95/FFP2 masks. Airline staff will check before you board the flight and ask you to swap your homemade or other fabric masks out for the medical standard ones mentioned.

Due to ongoing travel restrictions around the world, flights are almost empty and airports are not fully open. Whilst sad for international trade and movement, it does mean that the usual stresses of long queues, flight delays, and crowded departure gates are not really a thing. My experience of travel was very smooth, if a bit eerie. Just follow the instructions of flight attendants and airport ground staff and the whole journey should pass by in a quiet and orderly manner.

Singapore Airlines provided a full in-flight service so I didn’t need to bring snacks or drinks with me, and the in-flight entertainment system was working normally. But check with your airline about what services they are providing or not and plan accordingly (especially if you are travelling with kids)!

More information for international travel is available at the Australian Department of Health website:

Coronavirus (COVID-19) FAQs - international travellers to Australia

Arrival in Australia

Regarding arrival in Australia, it’s important to note here that each State and Territory has different requirements regarding health regulations and procedures so make sure you familiarise yourself with the relevant ones before you arrive. I arrived at Sydney Airport so the following information relates to the State of NSW.

Upon arrival, my fellow passengers and I were escorted through the airport by ground staff. First, we had to show our Australian Travel Declarations. We were then screened for covid symptoms by a representative of the NSW Health Board. Once they were satisfied that I was healthy and had no symptoms, I was allowed to proceed through immigration, collect my luggage, and go through customs. If you have ever arrived at Sydney Airport before, you will know this process can take up to an hour or more at particularly busy times. Well, this time it took about 10 minutes!

Following customs, we waited in a holding pen for a bus to take us to our quarantine hotels. Once the bus arrived, we were escorted onto the bus by members of the Australian Defence Force and NSW Police. Once all passengers from the flight were on the bus, we were driven to our quarantine hotel. NSW Police and ADF members greeted our bus at the hotel, gave instructions to us about the procedure and requirements, and escorted each of us through the check-in process and eventually to our rooms for our mandatory 14-day quarantine.

More information about quarantine is on the NSW Government website:

Quarantine in NSW | NSW Government

I will publish another article over the weekend about my experience in hotel quarantine and my tips on what to pack and how to get through it.

In the meantime, feel free to comment below your own experiences with travelling to Australia in the last year or post any questions you might have!

sTARTUp Day is fast approaching!

The iconic Estonian business festival, which brings together startups, entrepreneurs, investors, innovators, and students in the gorgeous university town of Tartu, will take place online and in-person over 3 days from 25 to 27 August 2021. The aim of the event is to connect like-minded people and celebrate startups and entrepreneurship.

Tickets for the event are on sale at the sTARTUp Day website.

Why attend?

First and foremost, to get inspired by a packed stage program of expert speakers, motivational coaches, and startup gurus. Second, to be wowed in the Demo area by innovative new products, like-minded entrepreneurs, and surprising opportunities. Third, to network with the cream of a globally-minded community of startup founders, investors, and business partners in the dedicated networking hub, at side-events, online, and at the festival’s famous parties.

Read this recap from the 2020 addition of sTARTUp Day and hear from e-residents Oliver and Alexander why you should attend this year!

Last but definitely not least, sTARTUp Day provides the opportunity to pitch your own startup for a chance to receive cash investments, coaching, and other prizes via the sTARTUp Pitching Powered by EstBAN competition.

sTARTUp Pitching Powered by ESTBAN

Applications for sTARTUp Pitching Powered by EstBAN are open until 1 August.

This year, there is an added incentive for e-resident startup founders to apply. For the first time, to demonstrate the power of e-Residency to the world, at least one startup with an e-resident in their team will be shortlisted in the top 40 of the competition.

Applying is free, so e-resident startup founders really have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

This year, the prize pool is worth over €600,000, including three syndicate investments, and comes with the prestige of pitching to the festival’s 4000 attendees from all over the world, including potential investors, clients, partners and international media.

The prizes on offer include:

• Two investments of up to €200k from EstBAN-led syndicate
• Up to €150k syndicate investment from .Cocoon Ventures
• €10k equity-free cash from Swedbank
• €5k worth of legal counseling from Sorainen
• €10k AWS service credits from Cloudvisor
• S2B Work Space for 3 months
• Prize package worth $30k from Founderly
• Mentoring sessions from Elisa
• … and more

Who should apply?

sTARTUp Day judges are looking for early-stage to scale-ready startups who are looking to raise funds. Preferred applicants have a strong mission and a scalable business model. Your startup should have a functioning product with traction/feedback, a strong team, and be ready for an investment.

All teams will have three minutes to pitch and two minutes for questions from the judges. The top 40 startups will receive pitch training during the month of August before they compete and a free ticket to sTARTUp Day. All rounds can also be successfully completed online, so don’t worry if you’re unable to travel to Tartu.

For more information and to learn how to apply, visit the sTARTUp Day website.

Apply for sTARTUp Pitching Powered by EstBAN was originally published in E-Residency Blog, E-residentsuse blogi on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

After months of frustration of trying to set up a company in Germany, Santiago Cartamil-Bueno was on his honeymoon in Montenegro in August 2018 when he finally pulled up the Estonian e-Residency application on his smartphone and filled it out.

“That’s how you know it didn’t take very long, or my wife wouldn’t have let me,” he says, laughing. “It was so fast you can almost forget you did it.”

But Dr. Cartamil-Bueno, PhD is hoping his Estonian company, called SCALE Nanotech OÜ, will leave a more lasting impression.

Cartamil-Bueno — who grew up in Spain and studied in the U.S., Denmark, Switzerland and The Netherlands — founded the company to develop a new (and eco-friendly) technology that can be used for virtual and augmented reality, as well as potentially for space travel.

“We want to set sail to Mars before Space X,” he jokes.

SCALE Nanotech grew out of a discovery Cartamil-Bueno made while working on his Ph.D. in applied physics at the University of Delft in the Netherlands. He was experimenting with graphene, an incredibly strong material that’s also one of the thinnest known to man (it’s one atom thick.) Graphene is used in things like microphones and to keep smartphones small. Cartamil-Bueno was working on a pressure sensor when he realized that when he applied voltage to freestanding graphene suspended in silicon, the graphene physically moves and also changes color. This allows the graphene to act as a pixel — except one better suited for the faster speed required for virtual and augmented reality than what’s currently available. Why? Because graphene can produce the full spectrum of colors, so you don’t need sub-pixels.

“The refresh rates are higher,” says Cartamil-Bueno of his discovery. And these pixels consume less power (they actually consume none during the day) and can be made without toxic materials (very different than current commercial displays.)

But how does space travel fit into this?

Ultra-thin graphene sails — powered by light, instead of wind — could speed the journey to other star systems, and make it more affordable. Because the sails don’t require fuel to move (only lasers), they’d save on the (costly) weight of fuel and tanks.

Cartamil-Bueno knew setting up his company in the US would be great for funding but not so great for healthcare. He considered several places in Europe before settling on Cologne, Germany, in part because his then-fiancee, now-wife is German, and also because he hoped he’d be able to get some help from a research institute nearby. But he spent months unable to make much progress, and the hoped-for boost from the institute didn’t pan out.

“Every day there was this bureaucracy to deal with, and I couldn’t even get the company started,” he says. “It made me feel like I was in this hostile country, just constantly fighting.”

He can’t remember where he first heard about Estonia’s e-Residency, only that it was exactly what he wanted:

“Digital, English, smooth, fast, painless. It was, ‘Let’s just do it.”

He filled out the application and a month later he started SCALE Nanotech just as he was picking up his e-Residency card in Brussels. (“Scale” doesn’t refer to scaling up a business; instead it refers to scales, like those of a scale-armored knight, that protect an idea or a business. While working on his PhD thesis, Cartamil-Bueno compared the Middle Ages to academia.)

After so many months of nothing happening with the company, suddenly everything started falling into place quickly for SCALE Nanotech. Just after Cartamil-Bueno incorporated his company, he applied to the European Commission for funding and immediately received 100,000 euro, which funded SCALE Nanotech’s first project — working on the graphene displays.

“It was brilliantly unexpected,” he says. “I went from total despair of, ‘why did I do this? Why did I move to Germany?’ to actually everything starting to work.”

The funding — and the free time he suddenly had when he no longer had to fight to get things done — also allowed him a bit of breathing room to learn about running a business, something he didn’t have much experience with as an academic.

Read more about the technologies and services Cartamil-Bueno offers on the SCALE Nanotech website:

SCALE Nanotech - Consultancy and R&D services

Currently, Scale Nanotech has a Dutch client interested in the possibilities of its technology, and Cartamil-Bueno is talking to another in the US. In the future, he hopes to collaborate with other e-Residency deep-tech startups. He also hopes the European Commission may cooperate with e-Residency sometime soon, perhaps giving additional benefits to e-Residency startups for their digital ambition and social impact.

“Being digital is not a fashion, but a need to make a sustainable world, (e.g., reducing the carbon footprint of paper and transport) and hence a state of mind and responsibility,” he says.

Also in Cartamil-Bueno’s future: an in-person visit to Estonia, which he had planned to do in summer 2020. (That, of course, was scuppered by the pandemic.)

“E-Residency means Estonia is often in my head, despite the distance. “It’s on the upper list of places I want to go with my family once we are vaccinated.”

Learn more about how starting a company in Estonia with e-Residency could help your ambitions in science and technology become a reality:

Become an e-resident | Learn the Benefits & Apply

This scientist´s space ambitions are powered by light and e-Residency was originally published in E-Residency Blog, E-residentsuse blogi on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

This blog post was written in collaboration with the Estonian Chamber of Notaries. Visit their website to find out more about the e-notary services.

A lucky coincidence in otherwise unfortunate circumstances: last year, weeks before the global pandemic broke out, the Estonian Chamber of Notaries launched its new platform of online services which included a pilot project for remotely authenticating notarial acts, otherwise known as ‘e-notary’ services. The novel service had been in the pipeline for over 5 years but came to life at the most crucial time. And it is a huge boon for e-residents, who no longer need to travel to Estonia to use the services of a local notary.

From registering a company to paying taxes, most public services have been available online in Estonia for years. Yet, certain processes still must be validated by a notary in order to protect the interests and rights of all the parties and to prevent shady dealings, like money laundering, use of shell companies etc. For example, in order to buy/sell real estate or transfer shares in a company, one must use the services of an Estonian notary to confirm the transaction. Until last year, this could only be done in-person at a notary’s office, which was clearly an inconvenience for e-residents managing their affairs from overseas.

Not anymore.

It goes without saying that during the global pandemic, it was critical to maintain the function of notarial acts so that real estate and business transactions could continue uninterrupted. The initial plan was to start slowly and pilot the new service step-by-step. As we reported on the blog back in March 2020, the initial trial allowed e-residents to use the e-notary service in Estonian Embassies in Helsinki, Brussels, Stockholm, London, and Riga:

New e-notary initiative allows e-residents to buy and sell company shares remotely

However, the unprecedented circumstances brought about by the coronavirus pandemic pushed the government to roll out the remote authentication service to the fullest extent possible earlier than initially planned.

Now, almost all types of notarial acts can be authenticated remotely. The only exception is marriage — you really should show up for that one!

The new service allows real-time online identification using a remote verification service. The whole system is built around the Estonian digital ID card and is thus also available for all e-residents. So, if you are looking to, say, buy or sell assets in Estonia — be it real estate or shares of a company, you no longer have to visit Estonia and show up at a notary bureau. (Of course, you are most welcome to Visit Estonia for other reasons!)

Now, all you need to do is to set up an appointment on https://www.notar.ee/en with one of the many notaries providing remote authentication services and then conduct the transaction remotely via video-bridge. Simply use your e-Residency digital ID card to log in to this portal, where you can:

• Choose a notary and make an appointment, whether in Estonia or for remote verification
• Initiate transactions that require a notarial act and enter transaction details
• Examine draft contracts issued by the notary before the transaction
• Check the history of all your notarial transactions and invoices
• Confirm transactions with electronic signature using your e-resident digital ID

Please be aware that in order for the notary to officially identify you, in addition to your e-Residency card, you must present an official ID issued by your country of citizenship, such as your passport. This is an extra layer of identification that employs the Veriff biometric facial recognition system, which uses algorithms to make sure that the person in front of the screen matches the one pictured on his/her ID.

This is not your usual Skype, Zoom or Teams call. The whole process takes place on a secure platform where you can talk to the notary, exchange documents, and ask any questions you might have. Such a solution for notarial services with its functionalities and security architecture is the first of its kind in the world!

Now just take a minute to imagine how useful this new development has been for Estonians and e-residents over the past year. By now, thousands of notarial acts have been sealed without people having to leave their home or travel here from abroad.

Visit the official website of Chamber of Notaries to get more details on how to use the e-Notary platform, book an appointment and make sure you have all you need to perform an online notarial act:

Remote authentication and facial recognition | Notarite Koda

Please note that notaries are not legally obliged to provide remote authentication — so in some cases notaries may refuse to validate a transaction. We thus recommend checking with a notary prior to making an appointment that they are willing to use the remote authentication service. If not, we recommend asking for an explanation or booking an appointment with a different notary.

Estonia’s e-notary services change the game for e-residents was originally published in E-Residency Blog, E-residentsuse blogi on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Recently, e-Residency happily welcomed AWS Activate provider Cloudvisor as a new member of our Marketplace.

This is great news for e-resident startup founders, who want to apply for the Amazon Web Services (AWS) startup program AWS Activate.

From Airbnb to Zocdoc, the world’s top startups build on AWS. Even familiar startups with Estonian roots like Pipedrive, Bolt, and Realeyes have discovered the benefits of building on AWS, from the agility of operating in the cloud to the security AWS infrastructure affords.

AWS Activate is designed for early stage startups across all industries. The programme provides startups with a host of free benefits, including AWS credits, resources and tools to help startups get started on AWS. The program’s mission is to help startups succeed by offering a broad range of programmes and events beyond just their infrastructure services to help startups launch, grow, and scale. Eligible startups can participate in the AWS Activate program and receive up to $100,000 in AWS credits to build and grow their businesses.

Cloudvisor is an AWS Advanced Tier partner operating in the Nordics and Baltics. As an official scout for the AWS Activate program, Cloudvisor can consult with your startup on AWS infrastructure, share expert insights, and help you optimize performance and costs.

Cloudvisor is proud to be growing the AWS community in the Baltics, actively sharing the latest news related to AWS to local startups, and often organizing a variety of workshops and webinars on topics relevant for the AWS community.

To see if your startup is eligible for AWS Activate, fill out Cloudvisor’s screening form available on its website at https://cloudvisor.eu/for-startups/. If eligible, your application will be passed on to AWS, who will make the final decision as to whether your startup can join AWS Activate.

Once your startup has credits from AWS Activate, check out more AWS startup programs below that could help you save costs, shorten time to market, and sell more.

1. Co-sell with AWS — For validation and growth stage startups that have synergies to sell product/services together with AWS, join AWS Partner Network (APN) to go to market together with AWS and win more enterprise business customers.
2. AWS Marketplace — list your B2B software startups on AWS marketplace to be visible to over 260,000 AWS customers; Lower legal and compliance barriers in your sales and software delivery processes. More information.
3. Cost Optimization: many startups could use their credits much more efficiently and avoid burning too fast if leveraging the optimization practices. AWS provides plenty of self-service cost-optimization tools and mentoring.
4. Well-Architected Review: Free review of workloads by AWS solution architects to ensure secure, high-performing, resilient, efficient application infrastructure, and cost optimization. Popular topics: Scalability, Cost optimization, Artificial Intelligent setup and optimization, IoT, Serverless, Security and Compliance, etc.
5. Business coaching and supporting: fundraising, go-to-market, customer connections, etc.
6. Exclusive events and office hours with AWS experts: https://aws-startuploft-emea.com/

Learn more about what AWS Activate provides to startups by visiting https://aws.amazon.com/activate/.

So whether you’re looking for help solving a technical challenge, hiring the right engineers, or finalizing a fundraising round, AWS has all the resources you need to get started. And with Cloudvisor being the new entry point to AWS for your Estonian startup and a trusted partner of e-Residency on our Marketplace, you now have the support to help you apply.

AWS Activate provider Cloudvisor joins e-Residency Marketplace was originally published in E-Residency Blog, E-residentsuse blogi on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

1. Write story in your author account (don’t worry too much about formatting or editing as the e-Residency Head of Content can do this). Make sure to add any images you want to include (or send them to me by email).
2. Do not publish before submitting to publication.
3. Add the article to the e-Residency blog. You will find this option under the 3 dots in the top right hand corner, i.e.

3. Choose the e-Residency blog publication and then click ‘select and continue’, i.e.

4. Medium will then send me a notification as editor of the blog and I can finalise it for publication.

Last week was a momentous day for Estonia’s space ambitions as well as for e-Residency. On 12 May, Director-General of the European Space Agency (ESA) Josef Aschbacher met virtually with Estonia’s Minister for Entrepreneurship and Technology Andres Sutt and agreed to increase Estonia’s participation in the European space sector. They also executed a cooperation agreement between Estonia and the ESA, which they signed digitally thanks to Aschbacher’s status as an Estonian e-resident.

E-Residency is a digital identity issued by the Government of Estonia to people outside the country’s borders. One of its main features is to give e-residents the ability to digitally sign, encrypt, and send encrypted documents.

Learn about more of the benefits of becoming an e-resident here:

Become an e-resident | Learn the Benefits & Apply

Electronic signing allows for the full digitalisation of business processes, eliminating the time and costs of printing, faxing, mailing, copying, scanning and physical filing, thus giving businesses the freedom to be truly paperless. Plus it mitigates the risk of loss or destruction of signed documents, enhances security of filing processes, and eliminates the need for carrying or storing paper documents.

The electronic signature generated by the e-Residency digital identity card meets the highest standard of EU regulations. Since 1 July 2016, electronic signatures in the EU have been governed by the Electronic Identification and Trust Services (eIDAS) Regulation. eIDAS provides a predictable regulatory environment directly applicable to all EU Member States to enable secure and seamless electronic interactions between businesses, citizens and public authorities. It also ensures legal certainty for cross-border use of e-signatures, e-seals, time-stamps, and the like.

The strongest electronic signature of the three levels set out in the eIDAS is the ‘qualified electronic signature’ (QES). While different levels of electronic signatures may be appropriate in different contexts, only QES are explicitly recognised to have the equivalent legal effect of hand-written signatures all over the EU.

Estonian digital signatures are QES as they meet the technological requirements established in the eIDAS. Firstly, the backgrounds of both the owner of the signature and the issuer of the certificate are checked. Additionally, the signature is given with a means that is deemed suitable and trusted (ID-cards, digital IDs, mobile-IDs and qualified Smart-ID accounts) in Estonia.

But back to the most exciting news … why are e-Residency digital signatures heading to space?

Last week, Estonia’s Minister for Entrepreneurship and Technology Andres Sutt met with the new Director-General of the European Space Agency (ESA), Mr Josef Aschbacher from Austria. At the virtual meeting, the two discussed the new Director General’s priorities for the ESA and how Estonia could increase its contribution.

Josef Aschbacher on Twitter: "New #Estonian space policy sees large increase to #European space activity. Its current participation @esa is strongly IT/data-oriented & they have proven themselves vital in this domain. I just met Minister Sutt to discuss how best to support Estonian ambitions moving forward. pic.twitter.com/9Es2nUa9Pa / Twitter"

New #Estonian space policy sees large increase to #European space activity. Its current participation @esa is strongly IT/data-oriented & they have proven themselves vital in this domain. I just met Minister Sutt to discuss how best to support Estonian ambitions moving forward. pic.twitter.com/9Es2nUa9Pa

According to a press release of the Ministry (in Estonian), Estonia is increasingly having a say in space issues and this is good for the local technology industry, especially in the fields of cyber security, innovation and artificial intelligence. Minister Sutt explained that “cooperation with ESA creates excellent opportunities for Estonian companies to find applications for cyber security technologies already used on Earth in the rapidly growing field of space.”

In addition, according to Sutt, Estonia has a clear ambition in organising space traffic. “This is a global challenge that can be solved by secure data exchange, and there are many similarities with the structure of our digital state. Estonia is currently also developing a space law, which would enable the creation of an e-service for space traffic management,” said Sutt.

At the meeting, ESA proposed to establish an ESA Lab in Estonia in cooperation with universities, to contribute to research and development activities in the field of cyber security and machine learning.

Sutt and Aschbacher also digitally signed a new national traineeship program agreement between Estonia and ESA, which gives Estonia the opportunity to send two Estonian trainees a year to ESA in the period 2021–2027.

The agreement was signed digitally as Josef Aschbacher is an e-resident. He was presented his e-Residency kit in early May by Estonian Ambassador Clyde Kull at the Estonian Embassy in Paris, France.

What’s next?

An e-resident in space?!

Well it is a strong possibility if an ESA astronaut becomes an Estonian e-resident.

And if they exchange encrypted documents with Estonia while in space, e-Residency really will go out of this world.

E-resident digital signatures are heading to space! was originally published in E-Residency Blog, E-residentsuse blogi on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

A successful SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) business can be extremely profitable as it generally has high margins, recurring revenue, and can be run with a lean and remote team. Plus, a longstanding love affair between VC investors and SaaS continues to attract investment and acquisitions.

E-Residency can be a great match for SaaS companies, particularly those of the micro kind, due to location-independence, low bureaucracy and remote management solutions.

So why not consider a SaaS venture yourself?

What is SaaS?

SaaS is a business model that involves creating and running software to help people solve a particular problem or provide a useful add-on to an established product. The goal is to get people to value the software highly enough so that they subscribe and pay a monthly fee to access it.

Companies like SalesForce, ClickUp, Pipedrive, and countless others, are all SaaS businesses. They offer software that can be used against recurring payments.

There are a growing number of ‘micro-SaaS’ companies now as well building very simple plugins on top of market leading products, such as Gmail and Slack. A micro-SaaS is generally run by one person or a very small team at low costs with a narrow focus and a small but dedicated user base.

Why SaaS?

SaaS certainly offers a lot of opportunities, and the micro models are particularly attractive to solopreneurs due to their low running costs, recurring revenue, and remote management opportunities.

A micro-Saas can be run by one person or a very small team, meaning wages and other overheads such as rent for office space are kept low. As a result, many such ventures are bootstrapped in their startup phase so there is no need to distribute dividends to investors or pool massive amounts of money to get the software up and running.

The subscription business model provides a recurring stream of revenue, which allows you to focus on supporting and retaining your customers and not one-off sales.

As SaaS is a digital product and service, it can be created and provided totally online, making it a flexible enterprise for people working location-independently. Essentially, SaaS is a match made in heaven for digital nomads and remote workers!

Italian e-resident and SaaS entrepreneur Mike Rubini loves SaaS for three key reasons:

“1. It’s a very honest business model. Can you deliver and help people? Fantastic, you get traction. Do you drop the ball? People cancel, usually with just a click.

2. The subscription model provides predictability and certainty because you are not relying on one-time purchases. With recurring payments, you can plan ahead, forecast, and focus on retention of customers.

3. Finally, investors are very interested in acquiring SaaS businesses for their high-profit margins and predictable revenue.”

How to get started?

The first thing to do is to come up with an idea, build a prototype, and test its product-market fit and value. This involves validating that the product is valuable to enough customers who want to use it and who will pay a recurring fee for access. Customers will be happy to make such investments if it improves their overall experience or addresses a niggling frustration.

Mikk Maal, a partner from e-Residency Marketplace member Comistar, advises those interested to “validate your idea before setting up the company. At Comistar, we’ve encountered many starting entrepreneurs who’ve had an idea, and set up a company before they have surveyed potential clients. Making sure your idea has value is really the hardest part.”

Once you have validated the product, it’s time to make your business plan.

Writing a business plan forces you to review everything about your business at once, from value propositions and risks to team and financial plans, to keep you focused on reality rather than dreams.

As Maal notes, it is prudent to make a business plan “even if your idea has been validated, as many good products never fly if they are too expensive (to compete) or too complicated to find their right audience.” A business plan could help reveal these challenges before too much time and money is spent launching a product that will not sell.

As this point, you can also analyse the best locations to register your business by looking at all relevant factors, including where your targeted clients are, where you might want to get investment, taxation considerations, and access to banking.

Read our tips to write a solid business plan on our Knowledge Base:

How to write a business plan

Rubini’s advice on how to get started in SaaS is based on several years of experience trying different approaches. He says that there’s “no right answer here, so explore different models. Maybe you will start with investors or prefer to bootstrap; do you build a team or work solo; will you build the code yourself or do you prefer no-code solutions.” Based on his own experience, he suggests a solo approach at least at the start:

“Personally, I think the best way to start is to start alone and to test the market before actually making the product. This allows you to acquire skills (such as programming, marketing, doing support, doing sales) that will make you t-shaped. Even if your SaaS project goes wrong, you can still go back to the job market and you will be more valuable because you would now have useful skills that you acquired by trying to build a SaaS product.”

Rubini counsels that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel either — there are many useful SaaS products out there that are only slightly different to others on the market but still prove useful and competitive. But, he cautions, “you have to do your homework and identify a gap in the market.”

Read more about Rubini’s SaaS experience in this blog post, in which he also recounts his e-Residency journey:

The improvising entrepreneur

Setting up a SaaS company with e-Residency

So you have an existing idea for a SaaS business, a validated prototype, and a plan. But how can you put it into action? And where is a good place to register a company for your SaaS product?

Have you thought of Estonia as an option?

There are several benefits of why Estonia is a great place to launch and sell SaaS. Estonia has already produced world-renowned unicorn SaaS businesses like Pipedrive and Xolo. Maal — a proud Estonian — says that seeing such success stories up close “motivates the young entrepreneur community here. There’s also plenty of investor money around to fuel the SaaS business once you get traction.”

The Estonian startup ecosystem is indeed flourishing thanks to the country’s digitalised governance structures, entrepreneurial attitudes, and smart and tech-savvy labour force. It’s no surprise therefore that the global trend to build SaaS businesses is as strong in Estonia as it is anywhere else.

In addition, e-Residency makes it easy for people outside of the country to start and run a company here without ever needing to visit. The programme provides foreigners with digital access to Estonia’s advanced e-services. This allows entrepreneurs to be truly location independent, easily register a company in the EU, and manage it fully online and remotely. Estonia’s secure digital infrastructure and transparent business environment translates in everyday business terms to minimal bureaucracy, low compliance costs and hassle-free, paperless administration.

Rubini adds that a further benefit brought by e-Residency “is the large and supportive network of people from whom to get help whenever you are stuck.” In addition, he enthuses that “if you are in a non-European country, or a country where payment vendors are still 1.0 — then you can get access to great payment vendors such as Stripe.”

This last point of Rubini’s is especially important when considering the recurring nature of payments for SaaS products— e-Residency makes it possible to use payment service providers like Stripe, Payoneer or Paysera to collect payments from your customers on behalf of your Estonian company.

To get started, first visit the e-Residency website and apply:

Become an e-resident | Learn the Benefits & Apply

Once you have picked up your digital identity card, you can easily register a company in Estonia with the help of expert service providers from the e-Residency Marketplace, such as Comistar.

Comistar holds a special focus and attention to SaaS businesses, as, according to Maal, “it’s probably our favourite type of business model for online entrepreneurs.”

Comistar onboards SaaS businesses to their Zero To Scale company management platform, where they can easily run and manage their business (and track their financials by connecting their company’s LHV or TransferWise business banking accounts). Meanwhile, Comistar will take care of the accounting and taxes. In-house lawyers can also help draft legal documents like terms of use and privacy policies for your company’s website.

To consult with Comistar, reach out to estonia@comistar.com or visit www.e-resident.me.

So what are you waiting for?

With the low running costs and recurring revenue features of SaaS and the remote management opportunities of e-Residency, they are a match made in heaven.

Take the plunge and get started. If everything clicks, SaaS can be magical.

How to start your SaaS venture with e-Residency was originally published in E-Residency Blog, E-residentsuse blogi on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.