Promoting entrepreneurship

The aim of the Association of Municipalities of Tartu County is to contribute to the balanced and sustainable development of the county through the joint activities of local governments of Tartu County. The mission is to create the best environment for the development of entrepreneurship, the dissemination of entrepreneurial knowledge and the development of entrepreneurial people.

The largest companies in the region operate in the information and communication sector, the wood sector, the metal industry, mechanical engineering, the plastics industry, the electronics industry, the packaging industry, the textile industry, the beverage industry, the furniture industry, plant and animal production and the food industry. In addition to the above, micro and small enterprises also operate in the tourism and creative industries sector. Tartu County is rich in terms of the diversity of companies' fields of activity.

As in Estonia as a whole most of the registered companies are micro or small in size (SMEs), the situation is the same in Tartu County. The development and support of SMEs is very important in terms of rural development, because larger companies in the service economy and manufacturing industry are concentrated in Tartu or the surrounding municipalities. Developing and supporting micro and small businesses creates opportunities for the people of the region to be more independent and create more value for the economy.

In this respect, we cooperate with:
Tartu Business Advisory Board
Tartu Science Park
The local LEADER action group Tartu Rural Development Association

Business environment

Estonia is known for its economic freedom. The country has some of the most liberal trade and investment laws in the world. The Wall Street Journal and Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom 2017 ranks Estonia as one of the freest economies in the World and the most tax competitive country in the world (Tax Foundation).

Estonia is among the leading countries in Eastern and Central Europe for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) per capita. With transparent governing Estonia has a ranking of 22nd in corruption perception index (scoring 70 out of 100), which offers great potential for international business.

ICT integrations make business administration simple. As an example, the Estonian Taxation Board has launched a new e-revenue service where tax income-returns can be dealt with on the net. There are also excellent e-commerce systems in place in Estonia, with many of the leading banks offering the latest on-line services from personal to commercial transactions. Many companies are using e-billing. Altogether 98% of bank transfers are performed online in Estonia. One could tap into all these possibilities with becoming an e-resident.
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