In Estonia we focus on:
Supporting investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy. Supporting energy efficiency investments particularly in industrial companies as well as investments in renewable energy generation continue to be the EBRDs key priorities in Estonia.
Improving the competitiveness of the export sector. To assist in improving exporting enterprises competitiveness through increased usage of advanced technology and to invest in equity and mezzanine funds in order to facilitate further development of the SME sector.
Supporting cross-border investments by Estonian companies, particularly in the EBRD’s region of operations, to enable Estonian firms to establish a foothold in foreign markets and benefit from efficiencies that access to larger markets would bring.
Estonia is a supporter of the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership Fund and has contributed €602.000 to date in activities in Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.
The EBRD’s latest strategy for Estonia was adopted on 15 September 2021
- Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania private sector diagnostic
- EBRD's latest strategy
- EBRD’s latest Estonia strategy in Estonian
- Report on the invitation to the public to comment on the Estonia strategy
Current EBRD forecast for Estonia’s real GDP growth in 2022 1.5%
Current EBRD forecast for Estonia’s real GDP growth in 2023 1.0%
Following rapid growth in 2021, GDP growth in Estonia slowed down to 2.4 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2022. Household consumption supported GDP growth, especially via higher spending on services that are rebounding from the pandemic. High levels of accumulated savings, money taken from the funded pension scheme as well as the government’s energy price compensations were able to offset partially the negative impact on GDP of the historically high inflation rate. However, exports have slowed down due to weaker demand from the EU.
In July 2022, the annual inflation rate reached 22.8 per cent, the highest level since 1995. It is mostly driven by high households’ expenditures on energy, heating, gas and solid fuels. Inflation is expected to remain at around 20 per cent throughout 2022, and is likely to decelerate to single digits around the second half of 2023. Households’ disposable incomes will suffer, as average real wages will shrink this and next year. The subdued corporate investments in 2022 are likely to rebound around end-2023, when inflation eases and fresh EU funds will be more vigorously utilised by companies as the outlook improves. GDP growth is anticipated to remain subdued this and next year, at 1.5 per cent and 1.0 per cent, respectively
