For the first time, Estonian angel investors are putting up an EUR 65,000 investment for one of the teams participating in Ajujaht, raising the prize money to a record EUR 140,000. The organisers will postpone the deadline for submitting ideas until 3 November.

Under the leadership of the Estonian Business Angels Network (EstBAN), the investment will be awarded jointly by about ten Estonian and foreign angel investors, who will also be joined by the Ajujaht members and organisers.

The investment is led by Ivo Remmelg, President and investor of EstBAN. “While Ajujaht encourages people to turn their lives around, we still see high-potential business ideas not being realised every year due to a lack of funding. After all, it is very difficult to quit your main job and tell your family that next month, you will not be paid because you are starting to build your own business. This year, we want to help one starting team get a head start faster so those good ideas are brought to life,” said Remmelg.

According to the organisers, joining with the investors will make Ajujaht an even more attractive place to start one’s own business. “We are very pleased that, under the leadership of EstBAN, we have reached the next stage in the development of Ajujaht, where, in addition to funding provided by supporters, stronger teams can also get their first real investment here. By winning the competition, the hearts of the investors, and the special prize of some of the supporters, one team will be able to get EUR 100,000 this year to realise their idea. That is why we decided to postpone the deadline by another week to give the last-minute decision-makers a chance as well,” said Harri Tallinn, head of the Ajujaht team.

All teams in the top 30 teams participating in the Ajujaht Development Programme apply for the investment. The investment will be given to a team selected by a three-member steering group made up of all business angels.

To date, over 200 business ideas have been submitted to the Ajujaht competition. Ideas can still be submitted to the Ajujaht Development Programme until 3 November on the website http://www.ajujaht.ee/en/.

Ajujaht is Estonia’s largest competition for business ideas, offering top-notch mentoring, training, and funding. Ajujaht has boosted businesses like Bolt, Bikeep, Click & Grow, GoWorkaBit, FoodDocs, UpSteam, Groveneer, and many more. Over the past 12 months, start-ups from Ajujaht have attracted investments worth more than EUR 12 million.

The Estonian Business Angels Network (EstBAN) is an umbrella organisation for early-stage private investors who invest in companies with the aim of developing the business environment and increasing angel investment.

The Ajujaht competition has been initiated by Enterprise Estonia. The partner of the competition is SEB and the sponsors are Elisa and Maxima. Enterprise Estonia finances the implementation of the competition from the resources of the European Regional Development Fund.