TAKEOFFS ANNOUNCES 296 REGISTERED PROJECTS

• The largest number of projects are from Prague and the Central Bohemia and South Moravia regions
• A series of regional workshops will kick off on 14 April in Plzeň
• Up to 58 winners will be awarded attractive prizes; the national winner will also receive CZK 150,000 

Registration in the fifth edition of Takeoffs of the Year, a competition for start-up businesses, is now closed and 296 projects are set to compete to win the favour of the jury. Women make up 62.5% of the participants, whereas the majority of all participants (51%) are in the 25-35 age category. The most active entrepreneurs are in Prague and the Central Bohemia region. 

“We are very pleased by the ever increasing quality of the projects. We also appreciate the thorough preparations and well-drafted applications. The typical participant in this year’s edition is a woman aged around 30 who is fulfilling her dream, surprisingly mostly relating to gastronomic services,” says Martina Kemrová, Senior Head of Corporate Communication at T-Mobile. 

After Prague and Central Bohemia, the regions with the highest number of registered projects include South Moravia (30 projects), Moravia-Silesia (22), Liberec (17), Ústí nad Labem (17) and Zlín (17). This year, the participants are most interested in gastronomy – we can thus look forward to a number of cafés, restaurants, cooking courses and producers of delicacies. The second most strongly represented segment is services relating to interior design, for example furniture manufactures and interior design services. Other fields include fashion, beauty parlours, tourism and services relating to pets. Unusual projects include, for example, fig coffee production, a tickling and scratching parlour and a box food for dogs. 

The reasons for starting a business are varied, usually consisting in a combination of several factors: 90% of entrepreneurs fulfil their dream by starting their own business, while 65% of them wish to achieve a better work-life balance; 31% of registered participants are responding to demand in their respective regions and 21% to the loss of their job. 

The Takeoffs production team will now head to the regions, where a number of practical workshops will take place. Participation in the workshops is free of charge. During the workshops, the jury will listen to selected contestants and will select regional winners. The workshops start on 14 April in Plzeň. Those wishing to participate can register here. The workshops will feature not only a number of experts but also winners of the previous editions, who will share their practical advice and experience from the market.   

The national winner will be selected by the public by means of on-line voting to take place from 28 May to 15 June. The winners will be announced on 25 June in Prague. 

The complete schedule of the workshops is available at www.rozjezdyroku.cz/seminare-prehled.

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.