Innovation, creativity and positive impact on society. These were the values that were the basis of the final round of Creative Business Cup 2023, which took place on March 23, 2023 in Ústí nad Labem in the National House. A total of 10 startups from all over the Czech Republic made it to the finals, and the winner will represent the Czech startup scene in Copenhagen, where the global finals of this competition will take place.
A startup made it to the final round, in the selection of which ICUK also participated Bohemian Taboo, an educational platform aimed at supporting creative, educational and professional professionals working with intimacy topics. DRONE PORT, a project focused on developing infrastructure for drones in cities. E-Cafe Bike focused on the production of premium and stylish e-bikes. ARCHIMEDES, which specializes in creating unique year-round outdoor classrooms from recycled Tetrapak packaging. Kikiriki Games, a development studio specialized in creating inclusive mobile games. Roch's card, which keeps the most important health information in one place. HEAVENS, a project that innovates traditional pitched roofs. Rowingo, a fitness machine that simulates rowing. (If you follow us, you know that this startup went through our business incubator and won Startup Go Grill, a mouthful of startups!) VR ICU, a solution for medical technology manufacturers that combines VR with other technologies and finally VR musicians, a revolution in the way piano is learned.
"Personally, I am very proud of the Ústí startup scene. The fact that the national final round was held right here shows that we pamper startups in our region and especially support them," comments Martin Mata, director of ICUK, and one of the judges of the competition directly at the place of the final round.
And who won the Creative Business Cup national round for 2023? The jury selected the Nebesys project for 1st place, which for its innovative transparent roofs won the opportunity to represent the Czech Republic in the global finals in Copenhagen, CZK 15,000 for services in the StartupJobs program, media space and other partner prizes. The second place went to the E-Cafe Bike project, and the third place went to Kikiriki Games.
The Audience Award went to the Archimedes EduVision project. It was handed over by the director of the Innovation Center of the Ústí Region, Martin Mata, and the winner received CZK 30,000 for it in the services of mentors from the Ynovate expert network.
“This competition is not only about finding one winner in the form of a creative and innovative startup, but also about showing the potential of all finalists and giving them a chance to stand out from the competition and get feedback on their product. The creative industry hides a whole range of industries, and this is also evidenced by the final ten." says Alena Hájková, Creative Business Cup ambassador for 2023 and director of the Department of Regional Offices of the CzechInvest agency.
The Creative Business Cup aims to support creative startups from all over the world, connect them with each other and help them find an investor and conquer foreign markets. The organizer of the Czech national round of the competition is the Agency for Business and Investment Support CzechInvest. The co-organizer of the final evening of the competition is the Innovation Center of the Ústí Region, the partner is Komerční banka, the city of Ústí nad Labem and the Ústí Region. The final evening was supported by the project Smart Accelerator for the Ústecký Region III., registration number CZ.02.01.02/00/22_009/0004316.
