The first meeting of the Coordinating Council for Investors and Startups (CCIS) was held on 15 October 2024 at CAMP in Prague. The CCIS initiative, whose purpose is to improve conditions for startups and investors in Czechia, was established through cooperation between the Ministry of Industry and Trade and CzechInvest with the aim of supporting the fulfilment of the standards of the Europe Startup Nations Alliance (ESNA).
“Startups bring forth new technologies as well as innovative solutions and approaches to problems. I see support for them as being essential for strengthening the competitiveness of the Czech economy, and we are thus focusing on startups also in the new Economic Strategy: Czechia to the Top 10, which I submitted to the government for approval last week. Our objective now is to create an environment that will give startups a boost and not hold them back. I would like to thank the colleagues at CzechInvest for the invitation and for arranging a dialogue between the state sector and startups, and all participants for the very open discussion on what needs to be changed. I am ready to do everything possible for that,” says Minister of Industry and Trade Lukáš Vlček, adding that he did not hesitate after taking up his post and was pleased to join this dynamic initiative.
The Coordinating Council is part of the broader activities of the prepared Committee for Digital Transformation, which is an institutional reform under the National Recovery Plan. The committee will focus on ESNA issues and fulfilment of the Startup Nations Standard in Czechia. Its establishment is planned for the first quarter of 2025. In connection with the committee, a working group for startups and spinoffs will be set up for the purpose of dealing with the ESNA Standards.
“CzechInvest has long focused on support for startups and innovative companies. Our priorities are consulting, connecting startups with investors and technology transfer. The newly established Coordinating Council is intended to facilitate dialogue between startups, investors and government institutions,” said Jan Michal, CEO of CzechInvest, adding: “I am pleased with the progress that we have achieved already in the development of the startup ecosystem, but in an international comparison, we have to further advance in order to create better conditions both for founding innovative companies and for their persistence in the Czech economy.”
In 2021, Czechia joined the Startup Nations Standard Declaration, which was an important step toward Czechia joining the European startup network. At present, Czechia fulfils 35% of ESNA standards, which places it in the bottom half among European countries. Though the country is doing well in areas such as access to financing, public procurement for innovation and attracting talent, it needs to make improvements in other areas like employee stock ownership plans (ESOP) and rapid company formation.
“The newly established platform will enable key participants to jointly identify obstacles and seek out solutions for the development of startups and investments in Czechia. We want Czechia to be competitive on the global startup market and for that, we need innovations, a high-quality investment environment and appropriate regulations,” said Ivo Denemark, head of the Startups and Venture Investments Division at CzechInvest, emphasising the importance of the initiative for the startup ecosystem.
“I am very pleased that Czechia has decided to take a proactive approach and is establishing the CCIS. It is a great platform where state officials can deal directly with the needs and problems faced by technology startups and VC investors. Bringing the national methods into line with the Startup Nations Standards can bring forth new opportunities for Czech startups. Our common interest lies in having a competitive, digital, knowledge-based economy that doesn’t just follow standards, but creates new ones,” said Vít Horký of Czech Founders.
The key issues that the Coordinating Council will focus on include improvement of access to financing, implementation of ESOP and facilitation of the entry of foreign founders and workers into the Czech startup environment. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is planning to launch new funds under the National Recovery Plan, which will support startups in the areas of financing and growth. The National Development Bank will also play an important role in connecting institutional investors with the startup environment.
Contact for the media:
David Hořínek
PR Manager and Spokesperson
+420 724 591 667
david.horinek@czechinvest.org