AGENTURA PRO PODPORU PODNIKANI A INVESTIC CZECHINVEST

Their core work

CzechInvest is the Czech Republic's national investment and business development agency, focused on helping SMEs and startups grow through innovation support programs, access to finance, and international networking. Within H2020, they contributed expertise in designing and operating innovation ecosystems — connecting entrepreneurs with funding, mentoring, and market access across Central and Eastern Europe. Their work spans from general SME support infrastructure to specialized programs channeling space technologies into non-space commercial applications.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

CzechInvest's early H2020 involvement (2017-2018) centered on broad innovation ecosystem building — access to finance, talent networks, capacity building, and knowledge transfer for SMEs across Central and Eastern Europe. By 2018-2019, their focus shifted toward more specialized domains: space technology commercialization through ESA incubation programs and creative industries innovation support. This trajectory suggests a move from general-purpose business support toward sector-specific innovation intermediation.

CzechInvest is moving from horizontal SME support toward vertical, sector-specific innovation programs — particularly in space commercialization and creative industries — making them a strong partner for technology transfer projects targeting these niches.

How they like to work

CzechInvest mostly participates as a partner or third party rather than leading consortia, having coordinated only 1 of 4 projects (CREATINNO, a small CSA). With 32 unique partners across 16 countries from just 4 projects, they operate in broad, multi-country consortia rather than tight bilateral teams. This profile is typical of a national agency contributing policy expertise, business networks, and regional access rather than deep technical work.

Despite only 4 projects, CzechInvest has built a wide network of 32 partners across 16 countries, reflecting their role as a national hub connecting Czech and CEE innovation actors with pan-European consortia. Their geographic reach is notably broad for a small portfolio, suggesting strong institutional connections across the EU.

What sets them apart

As the Czech Republic's official investment promotion and business development agency, CzechInvest brings government-backed credibility and direct access to the Czech and Central European SME landscape — something few consortium partners can offer. They are not a research organization but an implementation body: they know how to run incubation programs, connect startups with investors, and navigate public procurement. For any consortium needing a CEE gateway for technology deployment or market validation, CzechInvest is a natural choice.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Astropreneurs
  Largest funded project (EUR 155,000) connecting ESA space technologies with commercial entrepreneurs in non-space sectors — an unusual and high-value niche for a national investment agency.
• CREATINNO
  Only project CzechInvest coordinated, focused on creative industries innovation — signals their ambition to lead in sector-specific ecosystem design.
• MY-GATEWAY
  Pan-European startup scaling initiative specifically targeting Central and Eastern European startups, directly aligned with CzechInvest's core national mandate.