Ideas were sent from all counties of Estonia and one idea was also submitted from India. The qualifiers for the next round will be announced next week.

Tanel Rebane, Director of Enterprise Estonia’s Trade Development Agency, is pleased that this year, Ajujaht has become more popular among those who have had previous business experience. “Of all those who submitted their idea this year, 65 percent have experience as an entrepreneur, which once again confirms that Ajujaht is seen as a meaningful and necessary programme to help get your business started,” Rebane said.

65% of all people who submitted their ideas are men and 35% are women. The oldest competitor is 73 and the youngest 13. 54% of the competitors are highly educated.

Ideas were submitted from all counties. Most of the ideas were submitted from Tallinn (144). Ideas were also submitted from other counties: Tartu County (50), Harju County (46), Pärnu County (11), Ida-Viru County (8), Järva County (5), Lääne-Viru County (5), Saaremaa (5), Võru County (5), Rapla County (4), Valga County (3), Jõgeva County (2), Viljandi County (2), Hiiumaa (1), Lääne County (1), Põlva County (1). One idea was also submitted from India.

Business ideas were submitted from the following sectors: ICT (83), social entrepreneurship (38), energy and environment (27), health and biomedicine (25), industry and design (24), tourism and the service economy (21), creative industries (9). 67 ideas were categorised as ‘other’.

The 100 best business ideas will be revealed next week. The Ajujaht management team invited eight teams straight to the next round from the pitching events that took place during autumn.

Ajujaht is the largest business ideas competition and development programme in Estonia, offering top-notch mentoring, training, and funding for start-ups. Ajujaht has boosted businesses like Bolt, Bikeep, Click & Grow, GoWorkaBit, FoodDocs, UpSteam, Groveneer, and many more.

The Ajujaht competition has been initiated by Enterprise Estonia. The partner of the competition is SEB and the sponsors are Elisa and Maxima. In addition, Ajujaht is supported by TRINITI Law Office, Lingvist, Tartu Centre for Creative Industries, UMA Workspace, Harku Rural Municipality, Saue Rural Municipality, Tartu City, Pärnu City, Tallinn City. Enterprise Estonia finances the implementation of the competition from the resources of the European Regional Development Fund.