The Ministry of Industry and Czechinvest will support 250 technological startups with one billion crowns over five years. Funds will come from The Country for the Future program. A start-up company focusing on areas such as artificial intelligence, the creative industry, space technology or nuclear physics will be able to raise up to five million crowns, the ministry announced yesterday.
“Supporting the innovation potential is one of the key tools for developing the competitiveness of the Czech Republic. Therefore, we invest in science, research and innovation in the long run, it will be CZK 38 billion this year alone. In line with the Czech Republic’s Innovation Strategy a place for the world’s most important scientific capacities,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček.
Applicants, ie innovative startups who succeed, will receive financial support of up to five million crowns for the purchase of services. In addition to finance, a team of experts will work intensively with the company for up to two years, which will help it with its own business, but also with legal services, marketing and finance. Specific technologies will be a key area of counseling and mentoring.
The technological incubation will take place under the banner of the state in thematic business incubators, the so-called BICech (Business Incubation Center). “For CzechInvest, the Technology Incubation system project represents a new milestone, in which we will combine our many years of activities to support startups, development of investment projects, innovations and research activities into one compact unit,” said Patrik Reichl, CEO of CzechInvest.
The involvement of partners from the private and academic spheres will enable incubated companies to use advanced technological infrastructure or consult solutions with experienced experts. Whether it is specific technologies or the commercial use of startup ideas. At the same time, there will be room for the private sector – based on the demand of companies, it will be possible to support specific products that are missing from the market.
