The agency's role is to support entrepreneurship, Estonia's competitiveness, and other similar aims. It was created following a merger of KredEx and Enterprise Estonia (EAS) in 2022.

In December, EIS' supervisory board dismissed agency boss Kati Kusmin, who had been in the role for just over a year.

Minister of Economy and Industry Erkki Keldo (Reform) has now set new priorities for the agency. These differ significantly from those introduced in 2022 by Minister Andres Sutt (Reform) who put an emphasis on sustainability, including the green, digital, and innovation transitions.

Keldo now wants the agency to focus on on increasing productivity, innovation, exports, investments, and economic competitiveness. Its new strategy should place importance on reducing bureaucracy in service delivery, focusing on customer orientation, and improving EIS' reputation.

The state also wants the agency to cut low-impact services and redirect resources to activities that have the greatest economic impact. It must also speed up the processing of funding applications.

Following Kusmin's dismissal, Sandra Särav, deputy secretary general for economy and innovation at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, criticized her for failing to create a positive reputation for the agency.

This expectation is now clearly stated by the ministry. The state expects EIS to build and maintain a positive image that creates public understanding of the agency's impact and value.

EIS must also engage proactively with the media and maintain good relationships with all stakeholders.

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