Tartu, Tampere and Kaunas: strong innovation cities make stronger countries
Tartu City Government Press Release
/ Tartu, Tampere and Kaunas brought a common message to Startup Fair in Vilnius: smaller countries gain more when they build on strong innovation ecosystems across the country, rather than concentrating opportunities and capabilities mainly in their capitals. The panel highlighted specialisation, connectivity and smarter use of existing regional strengths as key to national competitiveness.
The three cities face the same challenge from different starting points. Kaunas is building its own technology strengths alongside the strong pull of Vilnius. Tampere learned through the Nokia transformation that the real value of an ecosystem lies not only in headquarters, but in the talent, knowledge, R&D and networks that remain and create new companies. Tartu brings a strong concentration of research and talent, but operates alongside the economic gravity of Tallinn. Together, the three cases show why countries should recognise and build on strong capabilities wherever they already exist.
The discussion pointed to a common solution: cities should specialise around genuine strengths rather than become smaller copies of their capitals or key global hubs, while national policy should connect these centres to capital, talent, infrastructure and international markets. The objective is not to weaken Tallinn, Helsinki or Vilnius, but to create additional centres of economic gravity that make the whole country more competitive.
“A stronger Tartu does not mean a weaker Tallinn - it means a stronger Estonia. We should look at where research, R&D, talent and specialised expertise are concentrated and build on those strengths. If we only invest where most companies are already located today, we should not be surprised where the next companies will go tomorrow,” said Roomer Tarajev, Business Development Manager at Tartu City Government
“For a small country, the answer is not one giant ecosystem or ten smaller copies of it. We need several connected centres of excellence, each with a genuine comparative advantage. Specialise locally, connect globally”,” said Tero Kyckling, representing Business Tampere, an economic development agency of the Tampere region.
”The health of a country’s innovation ecosystem cannot be measured by the strength of its single center. This one-center-focused growth strategy is fragile, short-sighted and limits the overall potential of a country. The West has always thrived on its urban plurality. Kaunas, Tartu, and Tampere are not only historical examples of this, but also hold the key to unlocking their countries’ innovation potential in the future.”, said Andrius Versinskas, representing economic development agency “Kaunas IN”.
Last changed 23.09.2026
