Estonia launches global business ambassadors network

The Estonian Business Ambassador Network will serve as a framework to connect companies which need assistance in export markets with local business people who are willing to help.

This article is published in partnership with Life In Estonia magazine.

Wouldn’t it be great to travel to a foreign country and have a friend waiting there? Isn’t it much easier and more interesting to visit a country you have never been to accompanied by a local buddy who tells you about the best sites and dangers to avoid? This is the logic behind the Estonian Business Ambassador Network: to have a global business family which helps exporters new to the market with experience and contacts to make market entry smoother.

Enterprise Estonia is the Estonian national export and investment agency which has brought this network to life.

“We saw so many friends of Estonia willing to contribute and help; however, there was no good framework on the business side for this. I believe the Estonian Business Ambassador Network will serve as a framework to connect companies which need assistance in export markets with business people who are willing to help. No less important is the fact that with this network we can extend our export promotion organisation in a clever and resource-efficient way to far away markets“ explains Indrek Pällo, from Enterprise Estonia, who is behind the idea. However, the network is not only for assisting exporters, but also, with the help of Business Ambassadors, the aim is to collect interesting investment leads from countries and companies which so far have been unreachable for Estonia, as they are without direct coverage from Enterprise Estonia.

Jana Krimpe, who resides and conducts business in Azerbaijan, was the first Estonian Business Ambassador to sign up. “Estonia does not have a physical diplomatic presence in Azerbaijan, but it is very important to me to develop relations between the two countries. I am active in local business and I think Estonian companies have a lot to offer Azerbaijan. Therefore, I have made myself available to the Estonian Business Ambassador Network. I believe I can assist and provide insight, which is necessary when entering the market here,“ says Krimpe, who mainly works on conveying the Estonian e-Governance and IT experience to Azerbaijan.

With the network launched in summer 2014, the Estonian companies will have a business friend to contact and guide them in markets unknown to them. “We hope that good news travels fast and we hope that Estonian companies find this network and use it actively. We also wish to see a lot of Business Ambassadors join the network so that in a year’s time we have 70-80 countries covered,“ says Pällo, shedding light on the future ambitions of the network.

If you would like more information or to become an Estonian Business Ambassador around the world, please contact trade@eas.ee

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