Video: Invest in Estonia, 1993

Video: Invest in Estonia, 1993

This is a hidden gem: Estonia's pitch as a startup country, almost 30 years ago. As far as I know, it hasn't been on the Internet yet.

This video (and an accompanying paper publication) was distributed in 1993 by the Estonian Privatisation Agency to invite foreign investors to Estonia.

A few highlights:

  • "Estonia has in a single year succeeded in reducing inflation from 20% a month to 3% a month". Not a year, a MONTH.
  • Using Deutsche Mark to denote monetary quantities.
  • Appearance from Siim Kallas (then President of the Bank of Estonia).
  • Slow-mo shots of 500 EEK bills being counted.

My father was part of the team that put this together and recently rediscovered the VHS tucked away somewhere deep in a closet. I couldn't not share it. It's amazing to see the startup roots of Estonia go back so far, and what a long way we've come.