Meet the innovation lab charged with reinventing Estonia

Published: March 13, 2020 Source: apolitical

Imagine a country where entrepreneurs can call out the government and redesign a really bad national image in money-laundering issues into an exciting market for new fintech companies.

Or where the government will challenge the private sector to develop the country into a centre of gravity for digital nomads. Or where the economy is accelerated into adopting a circular model faster than anyone else.

That is the reality we are building in Estonia.

So what is happening here?

Democratic governments often find themselves in a paradox — we are supposed to tackle complex issues that the private sector can’t solve, but we are usually only equipped to solve issues within our silos.

One policymaker may want to pave the way for flying cars, but all she can do is regulate for flying drones. A policymaker in another department might yearn for more technology in healthcare, but he has no say over startup policies. And I may want to reduce the gender pay gap, but I can only use the tools I already know. And so forth.

Read more here.