Business Wire_Estonia’s Prime Minister Opens Enterprise Estonia Technology Embassy in Silicon Valley (November 30)

30.11.2007

SAN JOSE, Calif.--()--Andrus Ansip, The Prime Minister of Estonia will announce the opening of a new “tech embassy” in San Jose this Friday afternoon after meeting with Mayor Chuck Reed and speaking at the Hoover Institute. Estonia is among the most advanced countries in terms of telecommunications infrastructure in Europe.

The popular Internet phone application Skype was developed in the Estonian city of Tallinn. Web based services by the government as well as the private sector for doing business in Estonia are widespread with 98 percent of banking transactions made electronically. More than 80 percent of income tax filings by individual citizens of Estonia were filed electronically in 2006 and 65 percent of the population uses chip-based ID cards.

The Enterprise Estonia Technology Embassy will open up new investment opportunities to the Silicon Valley/Bay Area region and bring in an infusion of new ideas and technology talent.

Bay Area Estonian connections include:

DraperFisherJurvetson (DFJ), a Silicon Valley based VC, and one of the first investors into Skype.

BlueRun Ventures (VC) with investment into FusionOne (development team in Estonia).

Egeen International - a biotech company in Mountain View that has been involved in Estonian Genome Project.

Prime Minister Ansip will be giving a speech from 10:15 am to 11:00 am at the Hoover Institute and will be open to meetings afterwards from 11:00 am until 12:00 noon. A press conference announcing the new Silicon Valley tech office will be held from 4:30 pm to 4:45 pm at 111 N. Market Street, 6th floor, San Jose.

**Security Note:

Due to security requirements, only credentialed members of the media will be allowed into any of these press events. You must therefore contact us and pre-register. Please bring your press credential with you or you will not be allowed in.

This is a rare opportunity to interview the prime minister of Estonia. If your organization is interested, please contact:

Contacts

Enterprise Estonia, Silicon Valley
Andrus Viirg, Director, +1-415-335-3843 (Mobile US)
+372 503 5405 (Mobile EU)
Skype: andrusviirg
www.investinestonia.com
or
AR-Edelman
Bruce Roseman, 650-762-2843 (Office)
650-346-1054 (Mobile)
bruce.roseman@ar-edelman.com
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