When Velve took over leadership of EIS about a year ago, she examined the foundation's marketing and communication activities in detail. Previously, each EIS department had its own marketing and communication team, and when information about all their activities was compiled, the list contained about three hundred items.

EIS merged these teams, and at the beginning of 2026 the number of employees there was reduced from 70 to 39. "We have critically reviewed all the activities we do and all the people, so that everyone contributes to the maximum," Velve said.

Velve said that when she started, she questioned above all those EIS communication expenses related to conferences or events aimed at small groups — events similar to those organized by the private sector — where costs were quite high while the value gained for the state was questionable.

Although public‑sector institutions employ a large number of communication staff, the state is paying increasingly large sums to private PR firms. EIS is among the biggest user of PR firms, despite having 39 employees working in marketing and communication.

According to Velve, the EIS communication budget this year is 6.5 million euros, divided across 20 countries in five fields: export, investment, growth of the start‑up community, e‑residency and tourism. Therefore, Velve noted, the amount per country and field is very small.

She gave an example from her previous experience working at a large electronics company, where the marketing and communication budget was about 2 percent of turnover — 3 million euros per year. "If a single product‑group company in small Estonia markets with 3 million, then our 6.5 million to make Estonia visible globally is still a very small amount."

She said that of the 39‑member EIS communication and marketing team, only three work on domestic communication, while the rest work outward toward 20 countries.

"The issue is that there are not many specialists or agencies in Estonia that truly have a strong international contact network in foreign markets. For example, last year we helped the EIS carry out a project aimed at supporting Estonian companies in export markets. To do such work, you need knowledge, experience and contacts in countries such as South Korea, the United States, Japan, Germany and many others," said Miltton New Nordics CEO Annika Arras.

"If we consider that we have large countries — the United Kingdom, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Singapore, South Korea and others — then inevitably each country has its own cultural differences and channels. On our own we simply cannot grasp what is most effective in a specific country," Velve explained.

Therefore, local partners must be involved.

"For example, there was a defense‑industry fair in Poland, where we took Estonian companies. Before and after the fair we did a lot of communication, which resulted in a defense‑industry media trip to Estonia that brought us 23 million contacts through coverage. Through this, cooperation between Estonian and Polish defense‑industry companies significantly intensified," Velve noted. "On one hand, the sums may seem large, but considering what it brings back to Estonia, it is certainly a worthwhile investment."

EIS has discussed with Estonian ministries, the Government Office and business associations how to organize Estonia's international marketing, and everyone says that marketing Estonia is extremely important, Velve said. "No one else in Estonia does it, so EIS must continue."

EIS is also involved, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, in organizing 2027 Ukraine reconstruction conference in Tallinn. "There we need good project‑based people who can bring defense‑industry companies from across the Nordic region to Estonia."

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