Innovative power from the Baltic States – Why we work with Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia

The current Federal Minister for Digital Affairs and Transport in Germany, Dr. Volker Wissing (FDP), visited the Baltic States last year to learn about the outstanding digital pioneering role of the Baltic states. Particular attention was paid to the area of digitalization within society and the promotion of bilateral cooperation.

We at birkle IT have been focusing on intensive collaboration with the Baltic States since 2017, and for good reason:

Comprehensive collaboration planned

Impressed by the end-to-end digitalization of these countries, he launched the initiative called “Innovation Club” and shortly afterwards met with the leaders of the Baltic countries: Aušrinė Armonaitė (right in the picture), Minister of Economy and Innovation of Lithuania, Inga Bērziņa (2nd from right), Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development of Latvia and Tiit Riisalo (left in the picture), Minister of Economy and Information Technology of Estonia.

Bildnachweis: BDMV

The cooperation partners then presented a 9-point paper for further cooperation on the fringes of the “AI as an innovation driver for Europe” conference.

According to the paper, the Baltic experts are to help Germany implement nationwide internet expansion, IT innovation projects, the digitalization of authorities and public institutions and other relevant projects. The cooperation is to be expanded in terms of both business and industry as well as public law.

As birkle IT AG, we have been relying on the expertise and experience of Baltic specialists since 2017, one year after our foundation, and have developed a very close cooperation with our locations in the Baltic States. The interdisciplinary teams not only extend to the project teams, but are also used in the back office on a daily basis. For example, 50 percent of our marketing team consists of colleagues based in Germany and 50 percent of employees from our Estonian subsidiary birkle IT Estonia OÜ. Our Talent Acquisition team consists of colleagues from Germany as well as from Estonia and Lithuania: (from left: Kadi Niggulis from Tallinn, Nicole Andres from Düsseldorf, Christina Mimiyiannis from Berlin, Mira Dobi from Tallinn. Not in the picture: Global Head of Talent Acquisition David Fricke from Munich and Julija Kulesova from Vilnius).

In this article, we would like to show why we create an ideal environment for innovation by combining technical experts from different cultural backgrounds.

Estonia – Cooperation with the “hidden champion” of the EU

Estonia is considered the most digitized European country and is an absolute pioneer when it comes to digital infrastructure. Yet the country is initially inconspicuous on the map:

Estonia has an area of around 45,000 square kilometers, making it roughly the same size as Denmark or the Netherlands. It is the smallest of the Baltic states in terms of area. Like Latvia and Lithuania, it has been part of the European Union since 2004. With a population of around 1.3 million, Estonia can be described as rather sparsely populated. By comparison, the city of Munich has around 1.5 million inhabitants. Nevertheless, Estonia, with its capital Tallinn, has an impressive economic performance and an indisputable lead in technology. If purchasing power parity and the number of inhabitants are statistically added to the gross domestic product of 36 billion euros, Estonia is the 39th richest country in the world.

How did the Estonians create this situation?

Estonia became independent in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. For a long time, Estonia was under different rulers. With independence, which is celebrated every year on February 24, a great sense of community and proud patriotism emerged in Estonia, which is characterized by a great openness. Estonia is one of the few countries that make it possible to set up a company there with an electronic identity – a so-called e-residency.

The almost 100% digitalization of public administration has made this possible. With an income tax burden of around 10 percent, Estonia is increasingly attractive for young “digital nomads”. Added to this is Estonia’s excellent education system – Estonian students regularly prove their pioneering role in the PISA study. Estonia’s simple bureaucracy, high tech affinity and lack of fear of technology mean that an above-average number of start-ups are founded in Estonia. Skype is just one of the many unicorns whose software was written by developers from Estonia.

All of this contributes to the implementation expertise of our Estonian Innovation Hubs, which gives our customer projects a decisive advantage. As an EU member state, Estonia is bound by all regulations that are important for the D-A-CH economic area, such as the General Data Protection Regulation.

Undisputed fintech hub: Lithuania as the second success story

Programmers' Day Lithuania — “Programmer’s Day” at birkle IT Lithuania in Vilnius

from left to right: Andzej Cernevic, Aivaras Ruzveltas, Julija Kulesova, Aiste Petkeviciene, Dr. Kestutis Bagdonavicius, Justinas Indrasius, Lukas Liudvinacius

Lithuania, with its capital Vilnius, is another country of superlatives. According to The Fintech Landscape Lithuania 2022-2023 report, Lithuania alone is home to 263 fintech companies. With a combination of accessible regulation, digital administration and infrastructure, Lithuania has everything the fintech industry needs. Lithuania does not have to hide behind Estonia when it comes to digitalization. On the contrary – Estonia and Lithuania are competing in terms of internet coverage. Lithuania currently leads with a total coverage of 78.2 % against Estonia with 73.4 %. Lithuania can therefore even call itself the world leader when it comes to the Internet, whereas Estonia is clearly ahead when it comes to the digitalization of administration.

Our Fintec hub in Vilnius is an important part of the bestshoring service model. The local experts at birkle IT AG, such as business analysts, project managers and lead developers, work directly with the development teams at our Innovation Hub in the Baltic states – onshoring and nearshoring from a single source. This enables us to offer our DACH customers optimal, individually tailored solutions from the Baltic States.

Our colleagues in Vilnius celebrated “Programmer’s Day”. The diversity within the team is also evident here: Lithuanian programmers develop software solutions for major companies in the DACH region.

Latvia: A petri dish of technology with a perfect mobile network

Latvia has not yet made as many headlines as Estonia and Lithuania, but with its capital Riga and 2 million inhabitants, it is also a digitalization partner that should not be underestimated.

Latvia has an astonishing 99% mobile coverage (4G) and is therefore suitable as a digital testing ground for technologies that rely on mobile communications. For example, the development of delivery drones and the resulting infrastructure is in full swing in Latvia.

How can D-A-CH companies benefit from the Baltic States?

German politicians have recognized the potential of the Baltic region and are trying to promote cooperation extensively. For example, there are many networking events and institutions such as the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce, which brings companies together with partners in the Baltic States.

If you too would like to work with the Baltic superpower, birkle IT AG will provide you with comprehensive access to our innovation hubs in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and relevant contacts* in the respective tech scene.

We are looking forward to work with you!

*Transparency note: Dr. Kestutis Bagdonavicius – CEO of birkle IT Lithuania and Latvia – is Vice-President of the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce (AHK).

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