Spanish and German officials explored AI-driven digital public services to boost regional entrepreneurship
From 11–13 February, Spanish and German government officials and representatives of entrepreneur organisations took part in a study visit to Estonia. The visit focused on leveraging digital governance and AI-driven solutions to enhance public service efficiency, streamline decision-making, and reduce bureaucratic burdens. Discussions centred on how innovative technologies can foster entrepreneurship by improving access to digital public services.
“By integrating digital technologies and innovative solutions, we are transforming public services to be smarter, more accessible, and entrepreneur-friendly. Our goal is to reduce bureaucracy, enhance decision-making, and create a seamless digital ecosystem that empowers both businesses,” said Piret Hirv, Project Lead from e-Governance Academy (eGA).
Participants explored user-centric administration, secure eID, and AI-driven services. The visit included, among others, the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs, the Centre of Registers and Information Systems (RIK), and the Estonian Unemployment Fund. The delegation also engaged with Startup Estonia and AI & Robotics Estonia (AIRE), gaining insights into Estonia’s thriving tech ecosystem.
“During our study visit to Estonia, we expected to discover how the whole entrepreneurship ecosystem was built and what the main strategies for the coming years are,” said Annabelle Favreau, EU Project Officer, Directorate General for Enterprise, Regional Government of Extremadura, Spain.
She also pointed out: “It has been very interesting. There are excellent examples of how to support entrepreneurs, especially digital ones. We also appreciate how services are designed, how transparent the government is, and all the follow-up and data strategies in place. We hope to be able to implement some of these ideas in our region.”
Building on this perspective, Jakob Müller, Policy Officer from the Division of Business Creation, Advisory Services on Financing and Funding in the Germain Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action highlighted Estonia’s efficiency in digital public services.
“I came here to Estonia eager to learn more about best practices for digitalising administrative services for entrepreneurship, and business creation. Estonia’s approach to making business creation easier and supporting startups is impressive, and I see many practices I can take back to Germany — especially how fast and digital the services are. Perhaps, in the future, we can apply some aspects of these practices in Germany as well,” he said.
The project is funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) under the project “Supporting Regional Entrepreneurship Through the Adoption of Innovative Technologies, Including AI, in Public Service Delivery“. It is implemented by the eGA, which has partnered with over 300 organisations in 143 countries since 2002 to enhance societal prosperity and openness through digital transformation.
The project aims to strengthen public service support systems for regional entrepreneurship ecosystems in Germany and Spain by integrating innovative technologies, including AI. The project aims to modernise business support services and foster public-private partnerships through digital innovation.
For more information about the project, visit: www.ega.ee.
