From Tokyo to Tartu: Japanese Students Discover Estonia’s Startup Mindset

University of Tartu School of Economics and Business Administration recently welcomed a group of 15-year-old students from central Tokyo — not for sightseeing, but to experience something they say is hard to find at home: a real startup mindset.

They arrived in Estonia as part of the Next Innovation educational programme, convinced that this small Baltic country has something uniquely powerful to offer young future innovators. Over the course of a week in Tartu, they joined a hackathon-style Bootcamp led by marketing professor Andres Kuusik, explored the local startup ecosystem, and developed their own ideas.

According to Next Innovation co-founder Key Mayumi Ina, Estonia was chosen deliberately. After first visiting more than a decade ago, she was struck by the energy of local startup events and the openness of the innovation culture. She describes Estonia as one of the best places to learn social entrepreneurship because ideas are welcomed and students are encouraged to ask how something could work.

“I saw how people were enthusiastic, talking to each other and creating new things together. I was truly amazed by this environment and felt we must bring this experience and showcase it to Japan as well.”

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For many students, the biggest lesson wasn’t a specific tool or theory, but a mindset shift. They noticed how quickly Estonians move from ideas to action and how openly people discuss solutions instead of fearing mistakes.

“Estonian people think how to solve the problem and they are very fast when they take actions.”

Some participants arrived unsure about entrepreneurship — but left inspired.

“I didn’t really know about startups before… but now I’m hoping that I could do a startup someday.”

For the organisers, the mission goes beyond a single visit: they want students to return home carrying the mindset they developed in Estonia and continue building on it. The experience showed them that entrepreneurship is not only about business plans — it is about courage, curiosity, and collaboration. If that happens, this small educational exchange could have a much larger ripple effect, shaping the next generation of innovators not only in Estonia, but across the world.

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