Ninety percent of startup founders are men
Michal Urban, Director of the Business Environment Division at the CzechInvest agency, explains why we need more innovative startups in the Czech Republic.
“If we want to preserve the world we know for our future generations, we all need to do our part – companies and individuals. Sustainability is a very important topic for Generali Group and we see it as part of our business strategy. That is why we have been supporting sustainable entrepreneurship of small and medium-sized enterprises for several years through the SME EnterPRIZE competition. Thanks to the report, we have already found many excellent examples of companies on the Czech market that clearly demonstrate that sustainability can be translated into everyday operations.” explains Petra Nováčková, Sustainability Manager at Generali Česká pojišt’ovna.
There is clearly a positive relationship between the sustainable behaviour of companies and their financial performance. Sustainable business models can contribute significantly to long-term success and faster recovery after economically difficult periods.
Previous editions of the SME EnterPRIZE competition have clearly shown that there are a huge number of companies operating in the Czech Republic that are achieving great success through sustainable entrepreneurship and are very inspiring in their fields. “Every year, a diverse group of companies from various industries apply for the competition. Companies in agriculture and organic food, recycling, renewable energy or clean technology regularly make it to the finals. We will certainly be happy to see more representatives from the sustainable construction or transport sector on the jury this year, hopefully we will be able to do that this year.” says Helena Továrková, the chair of the jury of the competition, from the Veronica Foundation, which professionally supervises the form of the competition and its course.
The CzechInvest agency, which has been supporting start-ups for more than 10 years, has taken over the sponsorship of the start-up category for the second year. “Within the European Union, the Czech economy is one of the most industrial, and therefore very energy-intensive. In addition, we have a relatively low number of sustainable start-ups invested by venture capital. We are so glad that we as CzechInvest could join the competition and be the guarantor of the start-up area, because this will support both the green transformation of the economy and innovative entrepreneurship. We also see synergies with our Technology Incubation project, where the EcoTech Hub can be the next step in the development of the participants,” said Filip Krůta, Director of the EcoTech Hub at CzechInvest.
NEWS FOR 2024
Compared to last year’s competition, this year’s competition offers several important innovations.
“Last year, the competition was opened to micro-enterprises and sole traders, but it also expanded to include a new competition category for start-ups. We will continue this year. We have also prepared a novelty – a prize for university students in the category of start-ups. Our goal is to gradually involve various entities related to the topic of SME sustainability and start-ups in the competition. In addition, we have increased the prize money for the winners, which may be a partial motivation to join us in the competition,” describes Petra Nováčková.
VICTORY IN RED
All applications received from 5. February to 5. On April 2024, companies will submit their applications via a form, which has been newly simplified this year, and will be evaluated by an expert jury on the competition website www.sme-enterprize.cz. It will include experts from business, the non-profit sector and universities.
The winner will be selected by an expert jury based on several rounds of judging and interviews. The top ten companies and the five successful start-ups will be announced at the beginning of June, the winning trio of SME companies and the winning start-up will then be awarded at the grand finale, which will take place in June in Prague.
“One of the three best SME companies from the Czech Republic will be sent to the international final of the competition in Brussels this autumn. Participation in the European round gives the finalists the opportunity to present themselves internationally and gain interesting contacts. reminds Petra Nováčková from Generali Česká pojišt’ovna.
Source: Generali Česká pojišt’ovna
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