Jio going global? Mukesh Ambani eyes a foothold in Estonia to capture Europe

After disrupting India's telecom market with freebies and cheap data, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio is now eyeing Europe. It is reportedly planning to set up a subsidiary in a small European country, which has become a favourite with startups for its unique digital policies.

Ambani has expressed interest in the e-residency programme of Estonia, which can give him an easy access to the entire European Union (EU) for his existing business while sitting in India, according to an IANS report. The e-Residency programme offers businesses access to a government-issued digital ID, thus enabling setting up of a global EU company fully online while working from anywhere in the world. The report said Ambani met an Estonian government delegation in March and expressed his desire to collaborate with the country to develop better e-governance solutions for India.

Estonia could be Reliance Jio's gateway to Europe. Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd, an investment holding company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), will give a loan of Rs 12.20 crore (1.5 million euros) to the Estonian unit to begin operations, according to a Mint report. Expanding in Europe can help Jio offset risks in the Indian telecom market where competition is stiff and margins meager.

Estonia is too small a country for a company of the size of Reliance to offer any significant business opportunity. A 2016 Forbes India report said that Ambani's fortune was equal to Estonia's entire GDP. Yet, Estonia has created a unique digital governance system. It has made 99 per cent of its public services available online round the clock. Estonia is pitching for budding Indian entrepreneurs looking to ride the next digital wave and start up their ventures in a seamless, hassle-free and technology-driven environment to set up base in the county.

Firms set up through e-Residency are trusted location-independent EU companies, which allows them to be run remotely from anywhere on Earth with low costs and minimal hassles. They have access to an advanced and secured digital infrastructure along with all the tools required to grow globally. Indian entrepreneurs now can run their micro-businesses not only in India, but grow them with access to the entire EU market.

Estonia says the e-Residency can stand for 'Make in India & Sell in Europe'.

Under the programme, E-residents are able to establish an Estonian company online within a day. They can administer the company from anywhere in the world, managing accounting records, declaring Estonian taxes online, digitally signing and transmitting documents and contracts, accessing international payment service providers and conducting e-banking and remote money transfer. Estonia launched its e-Residency programme in December 2014 and as on date has over 30,000 e-residents from 154 countries. With its advances in digital governance and cyber security over the past few years, Estonia has made doing business very quick and easy. For example, a simple initiative of e-signing of documents has led to saving of almost 3% of GDP.

Jio's foothold in Estonia will give it an easy access to the unified EU telecom market, something that can help it keep fighting the price wars in India for longer without getting bled.