OREANDA-NEWS.  September 05, 2012. Of the Baltic States, entrepreneurial activity is highest in Estonia, allowing for both the absolute number of enterprises founded annually and their ratio to the working-age population (people aged 15 to 64), reported the press-centre of SEB.

For every fifty working-age people, one enterprise is founded in Estonia annually; the figures for Latvia and Lithuania are, respectively, every one hundred and every two hundred people. In absolute numbers, nearly twice as many enterprises are founded in Estonia as in Lithuania, even though Lithuania’s population is two and a half times that of Estonia.

“The first half of this year shows the continuation of an earlier trend: the largest share of the increase in Estonia’s small and medium-size enterprises is accounted for by new enterprises in the service sector. SEB’s statistics indicate that, in the first six months in 2012, 35 per cent more enterprises were created in the service sector and 15 per cent more in the information and communications industry than in the same period the previous year,” said Eerika Vaikmae Koit, Head of SEB Retail Banking and Technology Area.

“The potential of the new growth engines of the economy is also driven by the export of services, with Estonia approaching the structure of a more developed economy. For Estonia, this means a shift toward jobs with higher added value and a knowledge-based economy, which will stimulate economic growth in the longer term,” Vaikmae Koit laid out her vision.

Over the years, SEB has been actively involved in the development of the entrepreneurial environment, contributing to the founding of enterprises and supporting start-ups with sound advice and favourable terms. The Ajujaht (Brain Hunt) entrepreneurship competition is a good example of how support by experienced partners is needed already at the ideas stage.

In the EU, small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) are defined as enterprises having up to 250 employees, with an annual turnover of up to 50 million euros or a balance sheet total of up to 43 million euros. Approximately 99 per cent of Estonia’s enterprises fit within the SME category, providing up to 80 per cent of employment in Estonia.