Ladies and gentlemen,
I am here to say greetings from the fellow startup nation and the Land of Unicorns.
The digital sector has been one of the main drivers of growth in recent years as its part in economic progress has been much higher than its share in GDP both in Denmark and Estonia. The tech sector challenges cemented thinking, disrupts old business models and introduces innovation where it seems impossible. Despite of the volatilities of the recent years, the tech sector has continued to grow steadily.
The start-up mindset and digitalisation could, however, benefit many fields of the society. The Covid-19 related restrictions had only limited impact on the economy a year ago thanks to the use of online sales platforms, digital payment methods, and connectivity tools.
Similarly, the education system benefitted from online platforms, and remote work became a standard in many companies after the digital solutions had proven to be reliable and convenient during the Covid-19 period. Tech solutions have proved to be very useful even for fighting crime and in the defense industry.
I hope we can go eve beyond that. Digital platforms could be used to fight climate change by optimizing use of resources and by creating new markets to decarbonize the economy, stop deforestation and so on. There are many fields, where technology could be of use.
Estonia and Denmark are both small countries, but the startup and technology sector is making us bigger. It is nearly impossible to scale a production of physical products in a small country, but scaling a digital company is a different story. This is our opportunity and I believe we have done it well.
We have to look at the current obstacles as challenges in order to turn them into a business case. I know you see opportunities where others see risks.
I wish you joyful evening and lots of success for your newest start-ups.
