CZECHS WANT TO DO BUSINESS – A RECORD NUMBER OF 443 APPLICATIONS WERE REGISTERED IN T-MOBILE TAKEOFFS

The largest number of applications are traditionally from Prague and the Central Bohemia and South Moravia regions

Registration for free regional workshops for beginning entrepreneurs opened on 27 March

T-Mobile Takeoffs together with the Samizdat team offer an interactive map of small businesses

A record number of 443 projects have been registered by beginning entrepreneurs in the seventh edition of T-Mobile Takeoffs. From 11 April to 12 May regional rounds will take place in the individual regions – at regional workshops, juries will evaluate the best projects and hundreds of beginning entrepreneurs will receive advice on financing, IT and marketing issues. The workshops are free of charge for anybody interested in doing business; all they need to do is register beginning today on the website at www.rozjezdy.cz. Two national winners will then be selected from among the regional winners – one winner will be selected by the jury, the other one by the public. The awards ceremony will be held on 15 June in Prague.

Forty more beginning entrepreneurs have registered in the seventh edition of T-Mobile Takeoffs than in the previous year. Just like in past years, the largest number of projects originated in Prague, where 112 projects will compete. In the Central Bohemia and South Moravia regions, 57 and 55 projects have been registered, respectively. What is surprising is the increasing activity of start-up businesses in the Plzeň region, where 28 projects will compete. More than half of the originators of the competing projects (233) are in the 25-34 age category. But the younger generation is also interested in taking part in the programme, as 77 applications have been submitted by beginning entrepreneurs aged 18-24. The largest number of projects by far are focused on gastronomy – production and sale of foodstuffs, cafés and restaurants. Men and women are represented among the participants roughly equally. Much more active, for example, are female entrepreneurs in the Central Bohemia and Ustí nad Labem regions, where the number of their applications is nearly twice as high as that of male entrepreneurs. Conversely, the Vysočina and Moravia-Silesia regions are those with the highest representation of male participants.

The competition aims to seek out not only innovative ideas but also potential for successful implementation of business concepts. “Naturally, we are very pleased by the record level of interest, and we value the most original and well-thought-out projects,” says Eva Karasová, CSR Manager at T-Mobile, commenting on the results. “Again this year, the largest number of projects are in the services and gastronomy sectors. A traditionally strong sector is manufacturing, from which admirable projects originate every year. We are also happy that different projects from the IT sector have been registered. This year, we will certainly find worthy successors of winners of the previous editions,” adds Eva Karasová.

T-Mobile Takeoffs helped launch the businesses of such successful entrepreneurs as Jaroslava Michalcová (Dortletka café and confectionery), Lukáš Drlík and Veronika Pejšová (Lavender bio farm and café) and Lucie Javůrková and David Richtr (Mulier porcelain sockets and switches). In the course of the programme’s six-year existence, a total of 2,500 projects have competed in T-Mobile Takeoffs, from among which 342 winners have been selected. To date, the winners have been provided with support worth nearly CZK 33 million in total. This year, the projects will compete to win prizes worth more than CZK 3 million. Regional winners can receive support worth more than CZK 100,000; the overall winner will receive the jury prize comprising a financial award and a package of services and consultancy to help him/her start his/her business. Together with the prize for winning the regional round,
the combined value of the prizes awarded to the overall winner reaches approximately CZK 600,000. The winner of online voting will also be provided significant assistance with starting his/her business.

This year’s edition of the project has brought another benefit for small businesses: together with the Samizdat team of data ournalists, T-Mobile Takeoffs has launched the online Big Map of Small Businesses. The unique map enables everyone who wants to have a look at their existing or potential competitors to search for the number of companies in 81 sectors down to the level of individual communities in the Czech Republic. Everyone who wants to start a business can now examine the strength of the competition they will have to face in a particular area and the types of businesses that are lacking in their given area. Available free of charge, the map was created on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of several public sources and provides information that was not previously available to the public. In addition to being a practical tool for entrepreneurs, it can also serve universities and journalists, for example, as a basis for analysing the business environment in the Czech Republic from different perspectives.

About T-Mobile Takeoffs

T-Mobile Takeoffs is a programme aimed at supporting start-up businesses. It offers free regional workshops on issues relating to starting a business; another part of the programme involves a competition in which the best business ideas are selected. During the period from January to March, those who have not yet started a business or who received a business licence in the past 12 months can register in the competition at www.rozjezdy.cz. In each region, three programme participants can win and receive financial support, advisor services from experts in different areas of business, packages of telecommunications and banking services and tangible prizes to help them launch their business. The overall winner, i.e. the winner of the jury prize, will receive prizes worth approximately CZK 600,000. In addition to that, online voting is held to determine the winner of the prize of the public. Free regional workshops will take place in April and May.

The seventh edition of T-Mobile Takeoffs will be held this year. The main partner of the programme is Česká spořitelna and the other partners are Agentura Najisto and Samsung. The expert partners are Lovebrand, MADE BY VACULIK and Proboston, and the regional partners are BEA Campus Olomouc, Dům Techniky Pardubice (House of Technology Pardubice), the Faculty of Social and Economic Studies of Jan Evangelista Purkyně University, Innovation Centre of the Ústí nad Labem Region, South Bohemian Science and Technology Park, Cooltour Cultural Centre, Moravian University College Olomouc, Regional Chamber of Commerce of the Plzeň Region and the VIDA! Science Centre.

T-Mobile Czech Republic, a member of the international telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom, has almost 6.2 million customers, the number-one operator in the Czech market. T-Mobile is an integrated operator: in addition to telecommunications services, it offers comprehensive ICT solutions not only for companies, but also for other organizations and individuals. It provides outstanding services in the high-speed network, which was proved repeatedly by benchmark testing performed by umlaut (former P3) with Best-in-Test seal.

T-Mobile Czech Republic places emphasis on taking a responsible approach to the environment and society. It adheres to fair business practices, helps beneficial applications and services to see the light of day, supports non-profit organizations, small businesses and individuals, and lends a helping hand whenever crisis situations arise. The company’s employees serve as volunteers in many places across the entire Czech Republic.

More information about the company is available at www.t-mobile.cz, www.t-press.cz (the portal for journalists) and www.t-mobile.cz/pomahame (information on the company’s CSR activities).

Contact details of the press unit: press@t-press.cz.