OREANDA-NEWS. November 28, 2014. Taavi Kotka, the Deputy Secretary General at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, talked to ETV's morning program "Terevisioon" about the e-residency project that is set to launch on Monday, December 1.

Estonia is the first country in the world to offer people from all over the world an opportunity to get a digital identity that gives them secure access to numerous digital services that the Estonian government offers.

Kotka said that e-residency is a privilege that the state endows on people, who pass the standard security check.

The test registration that started in October, amassed more than 12,000 potential applicants. Many who expressed interest are based in the United States, but also in Finland, Canada, and India.

The aim of the e-residency project is to create additional economic and research opportunities in Estonia by making things easier for foreign entrepreneurs, investors and specialists.

"If we want to enlarge our economy, we don't actually need to have more inhabitants: our economy is made up of people and businesses here and aboard. E-residency gives the people who live abroad a chance to use our economic environment, become a part of it, and thereby enrich it," Kotka said.