Estonian start-ups eye Singapore as ‘natural gateway’ to build digital trust in Asean

Perched on top of a shoe shelf at the entrance of Veriff’s headquarters in Tallinn, Estonia, is a sign of a cartoon unicorn that reads “Welcome to Unicorn Land!”, serving as a reminder of the identity verification company’s rise from a local start-up to a valuation of US$1.5 billion in seven years.Veriff, which boasts clients including PayPal, Bumble and Visa, was founded by Kaarel Kotkas in 2015. It is one of at least 10 unicorn companies – privately held start-ups valued at more than US$1 billion – in Estonia.The country, with a population of 1.3 million people, is one of the most successful breeding grounds for these rare start-ups per capita, producing well-known unicorns including Wise, Bolt and Playtech.Now, Veriff and other Estonian start-ups are increasingly eyeing the fast-growing Southeast Asian market and targeting Singapore as the prime spot for their regional headquarters.Its chief executive, Kotkas, 31, told This Week in Asia from his Tallinn office last month that Singapore would be the hub for his company in the region in light of its digital advancement.“Singapore, for me, shares quite a lot of similarities to Estonia especially regarding digital services and digital identity adoption. We know that every single service eventually will depend on it and every country will get there with its own base,” Kotkas said, adding that one of his employees was scouting prospects in Singapore.Veriff CEO Kaarel Kotkas. Photo: Veriff