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Is Estonia the model for Asia?
Every Indonesian may have a phone but its utilization is limited to few activities.
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The capital of Estonia, Tallinn. (Shutterstock/File)
T
here is a country in Northern Europe which borders the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland that has accomplished the unique distinction of going paperless. Everything is digital.
Welcome to Estonia. In many ways the land of around 2,400 islands has not received its due. While Singapore has received global acclaim for its incredible transformation from a third-world nation to a developed country, Estonia’s achievements are worth giving a serious thought as well.
In 1987, it had a paltry GDP per capita of merely US$2,000 — a fraction of its neighbor, Finland. Today the nation of 1.3 million people has a per capita income of $20,000. Its moment in the sun arrived at the start of the millennium when its citizens created the video chat application — Skype that would go on to disrupt the telecommunications industry. In 2011, Microsoft Corporation acquired Skype Communications for $8.5 billion.
Skype was just the precursor to what eventually came. Today cabinet meetings are paperless; 95 percent of people file taxes online; voting during elections is online. Even getting an Estonian e-Residency card is digital — Japanese prime minister and German chancellor are Estonian e-residents.
For citizens across the world, these are jaw-dropping simplification of norms. It’s also economical — digitizing processes has saved the nation 2 percent of its GDP in administrative expenses.
In comparison, emerging markets in Asia are lagging. Malaysia has regressed away from digital towards cash given the unpopularity of its Goods and Services Tax. The Philippines is distracted towards other tasks and challenges. Vietnam still has almost half its population that is not online. Every Indonesian may have a phone but its utilization is limited to few activities.
That will change gradually. India is a good example of the upcoming change wherein economical Chinese phones today command half of the Indian handset market. With Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, entry into the telecom industry — tariffs have plummeted with its flagship plan offering 1.5GB data per day, unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS per day for a cost of just over $2/month.
