“Tallinn has made a name for itself as one of the world`s best examples of a truly digital society,” Mihhail Kõlvart, mayor of Tallinn, told Emerging Europe.
“Our digital technologies provide new services and products, access to large amounts of information, and help the voice of our citizens to be heard. As cities keep growing, local governments need to deal with rapidly increasing demands for public services and infrastructure whilst keeping in mind the concept of sustainability. Tallinn’s goal is to produce greater economic value and well-being while using fewer resources and creating less waste. Our efforts have also been noticed by the European Commission – Tallinn is one of the four finalists of the European Green Capital Award 2022. Our city is green and innovative, truly one of the best places for conducting business, especially for startups.”
Tallinn is known for several smart city initiatives, the latest addition being self-driving busses being integrated into the city’s transportation network. With long-standing expertise in mechatronics with embedded software, Estonia has a growing specialism in engineering smart hardware and control systems for buildings, lighting and home appliances, the capital Tallinn being one of the development hubs for the technology.
Emerging Europe invited 70 global location experts and foreign direct investment advisers to weigh up the various merits of the 75 cities in the emerging Europe region which are either national capitals or have a population of more than 200,000 inhabitants. The cities were rated in 8 categories related to business-friendliness. Tallinn received top 10 rankings in several categories, including local authority support, business climate and the city’s brand.
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