Editorial ⟩ Editorial: Estonia has found its Nokia

Photo: Urmas Nemvalts

The listing of the technology firm Wise on the London stock exchange is a testimony of an Estonian success story and proves the necessity of innovation in economy.

Years ago Estonia’s President Lennart Meri asked what could be Estonia’s Nokia. And the idea of finding one was buried for a number of years. Now the answer is here – Estonia’s Nokia is Wise.

The value of Wise on the London bourse is eight billion pounds< thus it is the most valuable technology firm which has been listed on it. The founders of Wise, Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann, also became Estonia’s first billionaires.

Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann. Photo: TransferWise

The name of the company is symbolic. The technology giant created in Estonia is based on brains and the business environment favoring startups. People have sometimes ironically asked whether Estonia really needs so many startups and should it advertise itself in the world through startups. The success of Wise shows that there is future for startups.

One could say that the success of Wise was based on the ability to be in the right place at the right moment. Especially considering the increasing importance of the IT sector in the world economy. But this ability does not come from nowhere, it requires knowledge. On the other hand, the story of Wise, which started as Transferwise, shows that the ability to work with investors and move on gradually matters as well.

We have also seen how Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs, whose activities changed the people’s habits and living environment, started from nothing. Now Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus could be added to that list. This comparison could be too large credit to the founders of Wise – The Financial Times cites Käärmann, who says that “it should be reminded that we are at the very beginning of our journey”.

When talking about the success of Wise we should again emphasize the investment in research and development. The founders have done it as well, investing in turn in new startups.

Sometimes we imagine in Estonia that we are larger than life. In case of Wise this does not hold true. The British prime minister Boris Johnson and minister of finance Rishi Sunak asked Wise to stay in London – it could have gone to the USA or Copenhagen, which has become Europe’s financial capital after Brexit. In its own way, Wise helps to alleviate the impact on the UK of Brexit and the rise of other cities to rival London in the financial sector.

The success story of Wise is a hint of the 21^st century business model: everybody has a chance, even businessmen of small countries. The other aspects are the open borders, including in the cyberspace where business must be safe and regulated.

The rise of Wise to become the most valuable technology enterprise of the London bourse also helps to reinforce the image of Estonia as a successful digital country. We were so far known mainly as the country where Skype was developed and where the e-state is working. Now this image has been increased by Wise. This image matters – it is something Estonia’s state leaders can talk about with their international colleagues and be proud of.