Since 2020, more than 30 projects have received support from the Prototype and Verify (‘Prototypuj a ověřuj’) program, organised by the South Moravian Innovation Centre (JIC). Some of these are now internationally successful companies that are winning awards abroad. This week, JIC opened another call for applicants, for which the South Moravian Region has allocated CZK 4 million for this year. Successful projects will receive up to CZK 800,000. Applications can be submitted until 11 October at www.jic.cz/prototypuj-a-overuj.
“We can provide successful projects with up to CZK 800,000 per prototype. In addition, they will receive support and advice from experienced entrepreneurs from the region and our consultants, who will help them better grasp the business side of the project,” says Zuzana Hadašová from JIC, head of the Prototype and Verify program.
Companies with headquarters or premises in the South Moravian region and with a maximum turnover of CZK 10 million can apply for the program. “Natural persons can also apply. However, if their application is successful, they must start a company,” added Hadašová.
The successful applicant receives up to 70% of the total costs of the project; the remaining 30% is paid by the recipient themself.
“The application process is quite simple. The applicant must present their product in a one-minute video. In the next round, they will have the task of presenting their project to the jury,” explained Hadašová, adding that the project selection day is planned for 18 November. The following day, JIC will announce the companies that will receive support in this round.
Companies which received assistance from the program in previous years include Myco, which develops degradable natural packaging material from mushroom mycelium, and in 2022 became the first Czech company to compete in the world finals of the E.ON Energy Globe. Another recipient was the startup MAIA Labs, which developed a project using artificial intelligence to help a gastroenterologist during a colonoscopy, and later won first place in the Vodafone Idea of the Year competition.
The Prototype and Verify program, in its fourth year of operation, is supported by the City of Brno and the South Moravian Region, and has to date supported more than 30 projects with a total amount of around CZK 20 million.
“At the Czech level, I don’t see any other program that could effectively support products with high added value in the early development phase,” said Petr Chládek, director of JIC. “This is too much of a risk for private equity. That is why the existence of such a tool is so important. Thanks to this, globally successful companies are created, which create jobs, strengthen the prestige of the region, pay taxes to local budgets and, in the case of university companies, can bring significant income to the academic sphere as well.”
“Innovation has been the driving force of South Moravia for generations,” said Jiří Hlavenka, South Moravian regional councillor for Science, Research, and Innovation. “Once it was textile factories and engineering, today it’s information technology and electron microscopy.”
He added that the Prototype and Verify program gives projects the opportunity to progress to the functional phase prototype. “This is exactly the moment when it is decided whether the product will move to the market, whether the company will be successful,” he said. “Without a working prototype, this is much more challenging, if not impossible. And that is precisely the key role of the program for the development of deeptech startups in South Moravia.”
