Big in Asia 2024

The undersecretary for economic and development affairs directs the work of the Department for External Economic Policy and International Economic Organisations, Economic Diplomacy Department, and the Department for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid.

From 1 September 2022, Mariin Ratnik serves as the Undersecretary for Economic and Development Affairs. Mariin Ratnik has worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2000 and has been ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Andorra, Algeria and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Vienna. Between 2017 and 2019, Mariin Ratnik was the prime minister’s foreign relations adviser at the Government Office.

Mariin Ratnik graduated from the University of Tartu with a degree in economics and she has studied international relations at the Estonian School of Diplomacy and the Humboldt University in Berlin.

Creator of an internationally awarded brand with a science-based social impact. Committed advocate of leadership diversity. Well-versed in branding, cross-cultural communication and business development.

More than 10 years of business development and entrepreneurship experience:

– Head of Investment Baltics at Department for International Trade

– consulting Baltic start-ups and social enterprises in business development

– founding an internationally acclaimed leadership accelerator for future leaders

– designing Switch events for professionals at career crossroads

Founder & CEO of Future Heroes, an impact & leadership accelerator.
Founder of Brave World Conference and Switch events, targeting the future of work and leadership.

Member, Supervisory Board, Innoplexus AG, Germany

Degree in Law and Science; Master’s in Industrial Relations and Personnel Management. Over 44 years’ experience in international work, largely based in Europe. Initially, nominated by Ministry of Commerce, Government of India as India’s Representative to UNITED NATIONS-IPS, Paris and Zurich. 1995 Director, Europe, CII, Cologne, Germany. CEO of Deutsche Bank subsidiary. Since 2004, Managing Director, Europe, Reliance Europe. Member, Supervisory Board, Innoplexus AG. International Industry Arbitrator. Frequent guest lecturer at European management schools. Op-Ed Columnist. Author of 5 books. Keynote speaker. Expertise: India & EU market entry strategies, cross-cultural trainer in aspects of doing business, M&A transactions, joint ventures, legal contract negotiations, FDI and technical collaborations.

Betty is an accomplished entrepreneur, tax consultant, chartered accountant, a certified Lead Auditor of ISO27001, professional corporate & market entry consultant in HR. tax, accounting and legal for more than 25 years, Partner of Acclime Group (a regional corporate services company focusing in Asia, headquartered in Hong Kong) and a founder of HR Forte System (a cloud HR Payroll systems for Asia & global).

Marek is an experienced trade executive with 15 years of international B2B sales & marketing experience. He’s main role has been driving business growth of Estonian based innovative companies mostly from robotics and cleantech industries. Recently he joined Enterprise Estonia where he is leading a team of trade advisors helping Estonian companies to succeed on Indian, South-Korean, Japanese and Singaporean markets.

I have 10 years of experience in education, focusing on international development, admissions, research project execution, program designing and training at higher education levels in Vietnam and Taiwan. My career has involved working with diverse teams from Taiwan, Singapore, Canada, Estonia and other countries.

My academic background includes a BA, MBA and Ph.D. in Vietnam, Taiwan and Estonia, which provided a strong foundation in research, analytical skills and international development. These experiences also helped me build a network with scholars and leaders across Asia.

From February 2024, I started working as an International Development Specialist at DreamApply with a mission in fostering internationalization and digitalization within the education sector in Asia and Africa.

I joined Enterprise Estonia in 2018 as a project manager for the Japanese market. Before joining Enterprise Estonia, I have worked in the automotive, electronics and telecommunication industries in Japan and the UK. After moving from the UK to Estonia, I worked in the renewable energy sector as a sales manager, which was very challenging and exciting. But after 3 years, there were not much I could support in the company in terms of sales. Then I decided to work for Enterprise Estonia so that I can support more Estonian companies to export their products to Japan. Japan is well-known market to most of Estonian companies, however, many of them think it is easier to sell their products because Japan is the 3rd largest economy and there is a big portion of middle-class families who can spend a lot of money. The truth is that Japan is one of tough red oceans with big domestic brands and popular global brands. It is not easy certainly, but it is not impossible to enter the market with right products and strategy. I provide as much as the market information to Estonian companies so that they can judge to worth entering the market.

Being at the helm for almost 6 years, EIS India office has rendered wide range of services in form of sector/s overview and assisted Estonian companies with background search and finding local Indian partners. Covering different sectors, our wide range of services have covered Estonian ICT, Defense, Wood pulp and wooden articles, electronics, F&B and agricultural products respectively. It is both exciting as well as challenging to bride the cooperation avenues between the two ecosystems since India, emerging as the fastest growing economy in the world offers multiple market opportunities across sectors but at the same time is considered difficult, complex and distant among Estonian exporters fraternity. Perseverance and patience are the key words to be successful in this market and we have seen multiple success stories of Estonian companies adopting the said principles along with right approach and much needed business model tailor made for this market.

Enterprise Estonia opened its office in South Korea for the first time in January 2022, I am the first export advisor in South Korea with over 15 years’ work experiences in international trade. For the past three years, we have explored new business opportunities and enhanced existing business cooperation in the field of wood, prefab and modular houses, energy, marine and shipbuilding and F&B by implementing President visit with business delegation, incoming/outcoming trade missions, participating trade fair with joint stand, Korean media visits to Estonia, and hosting hybrid seminars. Several agreements and MOUs have signed, and new Estonian products and services are introduced to Korea and Korean companies including gin crafters, prefab/garden houses, furniture and modular technology. South Korea is growing market for Estonia!

For the first time since 3+ years, Enterprise Estonia opened its office in Tokyo this April (2024) and I joined there as export advisor. Till then, my professional background was focused on energy infrastructure development for 40+ years and luckily, I was given opportunities to be stationed outside Japan for 14 years. Japan is quite matured market and capable big names in most of industries domains are existent. Therefore, it is not easy market to enter, and new entrants must figure out what you can offer as niche or substantial advantages over your competitors. Nevertheless, I see there are big opportunities for Estonian companies because Japan is currently getting out of decades long low economic growth with virtually no inflation period and a lot of “changes” are now recognized as “must happen”. With changes in mindset of Japanese society, the market will be opened for innovative approach from outside. I believe there are many things to offer from Estonia to help Japan to overcome social and economic issues ahead. I am delighted to become bridge between you and Japanese counterparties to help creating win-win business partnership.

It’s no secret that India offers incredible potential for business growth, but navigating this diverse and dynamic landscape requires a lot of preparatory work and above all a good understanding of the market. To help the Estonian companies take their first steps in their export development process, I have been working as Project Manager for India in Tallinn since 2019, prior to which I was engaged with South Korean Trade Promotion Agency in New Delhi. From my past nine years of experience in providing market entry facilitations for India, the most common pitfall the companies should avoid is to treat India as “One Generalized Business Destination”; one must be prepared for the multifaceted nature of the market. A winning formula in one part of the country may not work in the other, hence patience and flexibility is the key – even for Team India at EIS as we strive to bring the best possible value to the companies – whether it is at the business events in India, contact facilitations in the market or providing market information.

Henry Choi is an entrepreneur connecting South Korea and the Nordics. His expertise are arranging business meetings, coordinating delegation visits, and communication for business entities and public organizations.

Kelly is a dynamic professional, driven by a passion for linguistics, education, and technology. With over a decade of experience in leadership roles, she has contributed significantly to both the public sector and the global startup ecosystem.

She holds 10+ years of experience in the Public Sector as she led the nationally acclaimed Estonian Terminology Programme, promoting linguistic excellence and standardization. She managed and directed international EU projects in the field of language technology, fostering cross-border collaboration and innovation.

Currently, she is spearheading ALPA Kids, a leading Estonian edtech startup. They are committed to creating impactful and engaging educational experiences in native languages for the youngest users of the internet.

ALPA Kids is developing culture-based e-learning games for preschool and elementary school-age children. Currently, they are the most active in the Baltics, Nordics, and the CEE region and India having reached more than 1M children in 170 countries.

She is also proudly serving as a Linguistics Knowledge Transfer Doctoral Fellow at Tallinn University, bridging the gap between academia and real-world applications while working as a Junior Researcher at the Institute of the Estonian Language. She is also collaborating with the Ministry of Education and Research as a Founding Member of EdTech Estonia to enhance public-private research partnerships for the advancement of education.