- the national round of the Creative Business Cup 2020 competition will be held at Industra in Brno from 6:00 p.m. on 22 September 2020
- the nine most creative startups in the Czech Republic will compete with each other
- the winner will represent the Czech Republic at the global final in Copenhagen
Fashion, software, design and the future of dining, education and the environment are the areas on which the most innovative and creative startups in the Czech Republic are focused. The nine best startups will take part in the national final of the international Creative Business Cup competition, which CzechInvest is organising for the third time. Which startup appeals most to the jury with its creativity and becomes the grand-prize winner will be decided at Industra in Brno this evening starting at 6:00 p.m.
The cultural and creative industries are on the rise in the Czech Republic. According to data from the statistical office of the European Union (Eurostat), their share in the Czech Republic’s gross value added has increased exponentially over the past six years. According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the creative industries account for 6.5% of the gross value added of all non-financial enterprises, i.e. the rate of contribution of producers and sectors to GDP.
Startups can serve as model businesses for inspiring young people, students and researchers to bring their ideas to fruition by establishing new innovative companies, which are a major driver of economic development, increase productivity in society and contribute to the accelerated development of new technologies. “At CzechInvest, we support the development of startups, small and medium-sized enterprises and their innovative ideas. In our opinion, the creative economy has strong potential, especially in the future. Therefore, in addition to organising the Creative Business Cup, we came up with, for example, the Creatinno project, whose purpose is to map the creative industries in the Czech Republic and to contribute to enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises in the creative industries. High-quality research, innovation and the education process are note possible without creativity. New technologies provide space for creative solutions to problems and social challenges,” says Patrik Reichl, CEO of CzechInvest.
The national round at Industra in Brno will be an evening packed with creativity, entertainment and startup pitches. The expert jury and partners will announce the three best Czech projects at the event. The grand-prize winner will advance to represent the Czech Republic in the global final in Copenhagen and will receive, for example, a wild-card slot in the final of the Visegrad Four Startup World Cup & Summit 2020 and a number of other prizes. The jury will choose from nine competing startups, namely Affini Creative, CityZen, Deeptime, FaceUp, Fluidum Té, Forsage, Hayaku, Ofform3D and Petshare, whose innovative products are found in the fields of design, fashion, music, 3D printing, software, the future of dining and the environment.
“The city of Brno is striving to create good conditions for innovative business. Together with the South Moravia region and local universities, we established the South Moravian Innovation Centre in 2003. For the past five years, we have been bringing regional businesses together with creatives by using creative vouchers, for which we will allocate CZK 4.5 million next year. We are also endeavouring to create a supporting environment for professionals in various branches of the creative industry, which is the purpose of, for example, the conversion of the former prison in Cejl into a Creative Centre. Before that happens, however, designers, game developers, recording studios and others can set up shop in the new KUMST creative hub, into which the initial interested parties will move during autumn. And because Brno-based companies operating solely in the cultural and creative industries employ more than 20,000 people, I’m not surprised that Brno has its own representatives in this year’s national round of the Creative Business Cup competition. I consider this event to be beneficial because it gives startups a chance to raise their visibility and people can come here for inspiration on how to combine creative activities with business,” says Markéta Vaňková, mayor of Brno.
Last year’s national round of the Creative Business Cup competition was won by the startup Snuggs, which develops and manufactures menstrual panties, which serve as a full-fledged replacement for panty liners and tampons. “We appreciate the fact that we won the Creative Business Cup last year. When the event was held, the competition brought us media attention and thus potential partners and customers,” says Linda Šejdová, founder of Snuggs. The startup miomove, developer of a smart shoe insole for athletes and other users, stood on the winners’ podium in 2018.
In addition to CzechInvest, the national round of the Creative Business Cup competition is also supported by other government agencies, regional authorities and various commercial entities. In recent years, support for the cultural and creative industries has developed to an ever greater degree and it can be anticipated that this trend will continue. “We appreciate the fact that this project has been supported by partners such as Microsoft, the South Moravian Innovation Centre, Brno City Hall, Kreativní Brno, ČSOB, Roklen 24, Czechstartups.org, Y Soft Ventures, Industra, H40, Impact HUB, Fundlift, Startup World Cup & Summit, SLEVOMAT, Busyman and Nation 1. They enable us to continue to raise the level of competition and to contribute to the greater competitiveness of Czech projects on the international scene,” says Markéta Mentelová, creative industry specialist at CzechInvest and one of the organisers of the national round of the Creative Business Cup competition, adding: This event is a great opportunity for us to show off the Czech Republic’s potential in the cultural and creative industries and to give recognition to the startup projects that are arising here.”
About the Creative Business Cup competition
The Creative Business Cup Foundation is a non-profit organisation that supports startups in the creative industries. Since 2012, it has annually been organising the international Creative Business Cup competition, which has the aim of supporting creative startups, putting them in contact with each other and helping them to find investors and conquer foreign markets. CzechInvest is the organiser of the Czech national round of the competition for the third consecutive year. Read more about the Creative Business Cup.
About CzechInvest
CzechInvest plays a key role in the area of comprehensive support for business and investments. The agency’s unique combination of regional, central and international operations ensures the integrity of its services and its ability to connect global trends with the regional conditions in the Czech Republic. One of CzechInvest’s primary objectives is the transformation of the Czech Republic into an innovation leader of Europe. CzechInvest is a state contributory organisation subordinate to the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic. The agency was established in 1992.