Czech ICT start-ups shine in front of investors in London

Nineteen innovative start-ups from the Visegrad Four (V4) countries presented themselves to nearly 90 attendees of the event in London on 14 October 2015. On the Czech side, the main objectives of the event were to bring Czech technology firms together with British investors and to raise awareness of the Czech market’s investment potential.

“CzechInvest prepared the event with two goals in mind: to connect Czech technology firms with London-based investors who could finance their further growth and to demonstrate the high level of talent on our market. The Czech firms appearing at the event clearly showed their innovation potential, dynamism and vision for commercial growth. They were an outstanding example of the sophistication of the Czech environment,” says Michal Mravinač, CzechInvest’s representative in London. 

The promising Czech start-ups appearing at the event were selected in cooperation with the Czech ICT Alliance: Angelcam, developer of the first app store for security cameras; BlindShell, maker of a mobile telephone for persons with impaired vision; Briskat, developer of a database for interactive data analysis; Hlidacky.cz, which helps parents to secure child-care services thanks to a list of certified child-minders; and SKACE, developer of an application enabling a new method of employee evaluation.

“Thanks to the event, we were able to establish contacts with both investors and Czech institutions operating in London that can assist us in establishing our firm in Great Britain. It was also beneficial to get acquainted and compare ourselves with other start-ups from the V4,” says Petr Šigut, co-founder Hlídačky.cz.

“As an integrated solutions group, DELION Global is always on the lookout for innovative new technology investments and integration opportunities. CE StartUp Event 2015 has proven to be the ideal platform to build upon our existing venture portfolio and to collaborate with aligned investors. DELION Global is familiar with the innovative potential of the region, having invested in three Czech Republic-sourced tech start-ups which are set to make market entry in 2016.  I continue to be buoyed by the substantial opportunities which exist throughout the region,” says Howard Thompson, technology entrepreneur and investor, group managing director, DELION Global.

The event, which took place in this form for the first time, was a successor to the successful #CzechtechLondon presentations from previous years. It was held at the initiative of the Czech embassy in Great Britain and CzechInvest’s London office. The event was hosted by PwC and supported by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic with funding for economic diplomacy projects and by the Czech-British Chamber of Commerce.

This was the second recent event of this kind in which start-ups from the V4 participated. During the week of 20 September 2015, a similar conference called We4Startups was held in Silicon Valley at the initiative of CzechInvest. Cooperation of the V4 countries in supporting start-up companies is planned also for the future. This should be aided by a memorandum of understanding on regional cooperation in the area of innovation and start-ups, which the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary signed in Prague on 12 October 2015.