EstBAN is happy to welcome Accelerate Estonia as our newest partner. It is a unique public-sector innovation unit operating under the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. Accelerate Estonia’s mission is to help businesses break through regulatory roadblocks that hinder the development of innovative products, services, and business models.
“Very often, innovation runs ahead of legislation. At Accelerate Estonia we flip the narrative: instead of forcing companies to adapt to outdated laws, we modernize regulations to support bold ideas.” says Oliver Rätsep, Head of Business Development at Accelerate Estonia.
What does Accelerate Estonia do?
Accelerate Estonia does what startups very often need – they work with both startups and established companies that face regulatory barriers when launching innovative solutions. Whether it be outdated legislation or overly complex procedures. What matters most is that removing those barriers can open up new market opportunities and generate positive economic impact.
Before a project is accepted into the program, it goes through a validation process that checks:
- Is there a regulatory obstacle?
- Does removing that obstacle create significant positive economic impact?
- Is the solution scalable?
To help assess the project’s wider potential Accelerate Estonia has an interdisciplinary advisory board consisting of private and public sector experts. Including names familiar for EstBAN members like Ivo Remmelg and Sandor Liive. As an added value, companies can also get general guidance from the board members. After the application process is completed, Accelerate Estonia starts a dialogue with ministries and other relevant stakeholders to find a solution to the regulatory obstacles.
They recently celebrated a huge milestone. On the 5th of June the Estonian Government gave them the green light to go ahead with the experimentation framework initiative. Why’s it important? This means that as soon as the framework is adopted into law, companies will have a chance to pilot their innovative solutions in regulatory sandboxes (read: testing in real-world conditions) right here in Estonia.
Why is this relevant for investors?
For angel investors, Accelerate Estonia offers two key advantages:
- Risk reduction. Startups can receive early feedback on whether legal barriers are solvable.
- Faster growth. If regulation is holding back a product, Accelerate Estonia can accelerate legal and policy changes, helping portfolio companies enter the market sooner.
Examples? – Let’s take Grab2Go, an EstBAN-backed startup building self-service pharmacy kiosks. They wished to pilot their product, but the Estonian Agency of Medicine turned them away due to legislative barriers. They advised Grab2Go to petition the Ministry of Social Affairs to change the necessary regulations and then come back. So Grab2Go did, but came back with the message: “You need to pilot first.”
To find an alternative way to prove the need for legislative change and end this chicken-and-egg game, Accelerate Estonia consulted with all the necessary stakeholders in the pharmacy sector as well as both the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs. This culminated in an in-depth impact analysis from PWC to examine the potential economic and societal effects of Grab2Go’s solution. You can read more about it here.
And as a result, the Ministry of Social Affairs, in collaboration with Accelerate Estonia, is now in the final stages of drafting and implementing legislation to support the introduction of self-service pharmacies in Estonia.
A rare public-private model
Accelerate Estonia provides a unique model not only for Estonian companies, but also for any international company facing problems in their home market. They can set up shop in Estonia to continue with their, R&D, testing and piloting. There are very few public-private sector connectors like Accelerate Estonia. They’re a government-funded unit focused on solving private sector innovation challenges, not from the sidelines, but by directly improving Estonia’s legal and regulatory environment.
“We’re the ones who help swim against the current,” adds Olari Püvi, CEO of Accelerate Estonia, “by acting as a bridge between the conservative nature of the public sector and the forward-thinking world of innovation, we help make illegal things legal.”
Working with EstBAN
The partnership with EstBAN opens new opportunities for deal flow collaboration, joint events, and faster paths for innovative ideas that need policy support. EstBAN’s investor members regularly meet startups pushing boundaries but facing regulatory roadblocks, which is exactly where Accelerate Estonia can provide help.
“If you or anyone you know is facing regulatory barriers, our doors are open to new projects. Come have a chat with us!” Oliver Rätsep concludes.
Startups or investors who believe their innovation is being held back by regulation are encouraged to explore possibilities via accelerate.ee or reach out through EstBAN.
- Find more success stories and look at ongoing projects at accelerate.ee
- Want to become EstBAN partner? See more here.
