The article was taken from the Czech Crunch web portal .
The new initiative Czech Startup Week, introduced by the CzechInvest agency, aims to unite key startup events in Prague and thus create an attractive platform for international startups and investors. The first edition, which is currently underway, includes more than twenty events and hundreds of visitors from abroad. At the same time, CzechInvest has launched activities to meet European startup standards.
According to Jan Michal, Director of CzechInvest, Czech Startup Week is an opportunity to raise the visibility and start a new era of entrepreneurial growth in the Czech Republic. “Startups and the development of venture investment are important pillars of our future prosperity. Together with foreign investors and domestic companies, they create an ecosystem that drives innovation, generates new jobs and strengthens the competitiveness of the Czech economy at the global level,” Michal comments.
Startup Week currently brings together major events in Prague to maximize opportunities for networking and collaboration. With a clear focus on an international audience, all events are held in English. During the Czech Startup Week, there are, for example, the two-day Engaged Investments Conference, whose media partner is CzechCrunch and which was attended by dozens of investors from Asia and Europe, as well as Tech Happy Hours, Startup Europe, Demo Day of CzechInvest’s Technology Incubation project and AI Startup Pitch Contest.
“Until now we have lacked a unified platform where we could direct foreign investors and innovative companies interested in the Czech market. Czech Startup Week fills this gap and creates space for more effective networking and collaboration across the entire ecosystem,” explains Ivo Denemark, Director of the Startups and Investments Division at CzechInvest.
The agency introduced Czech Startup Week with a long-term perspective and has already set dates for the following years, which allows participants to plan their visit to the Czech Republic in advance. Czech Startup Week is open to all relevant events that meet the set criteria – the event must be held in English, it must take place on a set date in Prague and it must be focused on a relevant topic.
“The Czech startup scene should cooperate more to be attractive enough for international investors. Putting it on the map of relevant technology countries can significantly strengthen the whole ecosystem. Our conference has long supported cross-border investing, connecting investors with startups from Central and Eastern Europe in Prague every year. And we want to go even further, which is why Czech Startup Week makes sense for us.” comments Eliška Vámošová, director of the Engaged Investments conference and partner in the investment group Depo Ventures.
A week ago, CzechInvest, together with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Czech Founders, launched an initiative and the first meeting of the Coordination Council for Investors and Startups (KRIS) to improve conditions for startups and investors in the Czech Republic and to support the implementation of the Europe Startup Nations Alliance (ESNA) standards.
“Our goal now is to create an environment that will give start-ups a kick-start and not be an obstacle. I am ready to do my best to do that,” said Minister of Industry and Trade Lukáš Vlček. The Coordination Council is part of the activities of the upcoming Digital Transformation Committee, which is an institutional reform of the National Recovery Plan. The committee will focus on ESNA and the implementation of the Startup Nations Standard in the Czech Republic, and a working group on startups and spin-offs will also be established. It is planned to be established by the first quarter of 2025.
The Czech Republic joined the Startup Nations Standard in 2021, but currently meets only 35 percent of ESNA standards, placing it in the second half of European countries. It ranks well in access to funding, innovation procurement and talent attraction, but has room for improvement in employee stock ownership (ESOPs) and rapid company formation.
“I am pleased with the progress we have already made in the development of the startup ecosystem, but in international comparison we need to move even higher to create better conditions for both the establishment and retention of innovative companies in the Czech economy,” commented Michal from CzechInvest.
Key topics to be addressed by the coordinating council include improving access to funding, implementing employee stock options (ESOPs) and facilitating the entry of foreign founders and employees into the Czech startup environment. The Ministry of Industry and Trade plans to launch new funds from the National Recovery Plan to support startups in funding and growth. The National Development Bank will also play an important role in connecting institutional investors with the startup environment.
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