CzechInvest issues, on August 6 th 2013, Supplemental Call to the 5 th Call for Participation in the CzechAccelerator 2011-2014 Project The CzechAccelerator 2011-2014 project is being implemented within the Consulting Programme Priority Axis 6, Services for Business Development, which is part of the Operational Programme Enterprise and Innovation (OPEI) for the period 2007-2013. The objective of the project is to support innovative Czech firms in developed foreign markets through the provision of consulting services focused primarily on the development of management experience and enhancement of marketing skills. Part of the provision of consulting services consists in support within the process of obtaining financing in the form of venture capital and from business angels, easy access to potential strategic partners and top advisors, and participation in networking events and seminars with investors. Interested parties can register for a stay in the following destinations: East or West Coast of the United States, Singapore, Israel or Switzerland. Registrants should indicate their preference in the registration form. Individual destinations are focused primarily on: USA West Coast USA East Coast Singapore Israel Switzerland ICT, life sciences and nanotechnology biotechnology, life sciences, medical technology and clean technologies ICT, biotechnology and life sciences ICT, biotechnology, life sciences and clean technologies biotechnology, life sciences, clean technologies and precision engineering Participation timeframe Interested parties can apply for a residency during the period from 21 October 2013 to 19 December 2013, i.e. takeover of office spaces in the destination on 21 October 2013 and handover of the office spaces on 19 December 2013. Page 1 of 9
The time periods set forth in the Call and registration in the project are binding for the interested parties and cannot be changed without the prior consent of CzechInvest. The CzechAccelerator 2011-2014 project allows repeated participation. Participants which have already participated in the project can re-register upon fulfilling all conditions. However, former participants cannot register for a stay in a destination where they have already participated in the project. Conditions of participation Definition of the applicant: The applicant must be a business entity natural person or legal entity conducting business with its registered office or operations in the Czech Republic and fulfilling the definition of a small or medium-sized enterprise as set forth in Annex I of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 800/2008. The applicant shall have one of the following legal forms: 101 natural person (hereinafter referred to as NP ) conducting business pursuant to the Trade Licensing Act (hereinafter referred to as the TLA ), not registered in the Commercial Register; 102 NP conducting business pursuant to the TLA, registered in the Commercial Register; 105 NP conducting business pursuant to acts other than the TLA and the Agriculture Act, not registered in the Commercial Register; 106 NP conducting business pursuant to acts other than the TLA and the Agriculture Act, registered in the Commercial Register; 111 public company; 112 limited liability company; 113 limited partnership; 121 jointstock company; 205 cooperative; 231 production cooperative; 232 consumer cooperative; 234 other cooperative; 241 cooperative enterprise (with one founder); 421 foreign entity; 501 affiliated plant or other organisational unit registered in the Commercial Register; 932 European company; 933 European cooperative enterprise. An applicant must fulfil the following criteria and conditions of the date of submitting the registration - The applicant must be authorised to conduct business in the Czech Republic corresponding to the supported economic activity for the realisation of which the project is to be implemented. - According to the applicant s affidavit, such applicant must be registered as an income-tax payer with the Tax Office pursuant to Section 125(1) of Act No. 280/2009 Coll., the Tax Code, as amended. - According to the applicant s affidavit, such applicant shall not have any outstanding liabilities toward selected institutions (Tax Office, the Czech Social Security Administration, health-insurance companies, Land Fund, Ministry of Page 2 of 9
Finance as the legal successor of the State Property Fund, State Environmental Fund, State Housing Development Fund, Customs Administration of the Czech Republic, State Cultural Fund, State Fund of the Czech Republic for Support and Development of Czech Cinematography, State Agricultural Intervention Fund, regions, municipalities and associations of municipalities) or toward providers of aid for projects co-financed from the European Union budget. Deferment of payment of outstanding liabilities or an agreement on the payment of outstanding liabilities shall be considered as settled liabilities. - According to the applicant s affidavit, the applicant shall not have any outstanding liabilities towards its employees regarding wage claims. - The applicant may not conduct business activities in the sector of primary production of agricultural products, fishing and aquaculture (CZ-NACE A01 and A03) and other sectors exclude pursuant to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1998/2006. - The applicant must be the owner of a clearly defined, existing (or developed) technological product (tangible product or service), which is at least 51% in the applicant s ownership. - The applicant must have its own management and product-development teams which operate in the Czech Republic at least 51% of the time. Time is understood to be the period worked on the basis of a contractual relationship within the given company (e.g. employment relationship employment contract or agreement agreement on performance of work, agreement on work activity, or employment contract with an employment agency); i.e. at least 51% of the time worked in the given company must be realised in the Czech Republic. It must have a high degree of potential for successful commercialisation of the product. It must have strong interest in and motivation for penetrating international markets. It must have strong future growth potential. It must be focused on development of new and innovative technological solutions. An entity cannot be an applicant if as of the date of submission of the application: - Pursuant to the Act on Bankruptcy and Settlement, a court has declared bankruptcy against its assets, granted a settlement or rejected a proposal for declaration of bankruptcy due to insufficient assets. - A ruling on its insolvency has been issued pursuant to Section 136 of Act No. 182/2006 Coll., on Insolvency. - A court has issued a ruling on the order of enforcement of a decision on the given entity s assets or ordered the execution of its assets. - It is in liquidation. - Such entity is registered as a debtor in the database of debtors. Page 3 of 9
- It has an outstanding liability arising on the basis of an order to return financial resources issued following the prior ruling of the Commission declaring that aid is contrary to law and incompatible with the common market. - It is a recipient of aid for young, innovative enterprises pursuant to Article 35 of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 800/2008, provided less than three years prior to the date of submission of the aid application. - it has the legal form of a joint-stock company with documentary bearer shares pursuant to Act No. 171/2012 Coll., on Budgetary Rules and on the Amendment of Certain Related Acts (see the notification for aid applicants at http://www.mpooppi.cz). - It is an enterprise in difficulties (according to the Commission Regulation (EC) No. 800/2008). A small or medium-sized enterprise is considered to be an enterprise in difficulties if it fulfils the following conditions: a) in the case of a limited-liability company, where a loss of more than half of the basic capital has occurred and where a loss of more than one-fourth of such capital has occurred in the past twelve months, or b) in the case of a company in which at least some of the partners fully guarantee the company s liabilities, where there has occurred a loss of more than onehalf of the basic capital recorded in the company s accounting and where there has occurred a loss of more than one-fourth of such capital in the past twelve months, or c) where, regardless of the type of company, the enterprise fulfils the conditions of the Insolvency Act (Act No. 182/2006 Coll., on Insolvency and Its Settlement) for commencing collective insolvency proceedings A small or medium-size enterprise that has been in existence for less than three years is considered to be an enterprise in difficulties during the stated period only if it fulfils the conditions set forth in subparagraph c). Within the CzechAccelerator 2011-2014 project implemented within the Operational Programme Enterprise and Innovation, an applicant may not have its registered office in Prague, with the exception of an applicant whose activities are demonstrably connected with the development or production of a product or service realised in the Czech Republic but outside the Prague region. Page 4 of 9
Individual steps necessary for registration Complete both the Czech and English versions of the project registration form. Prepare financial statements for the past three accounting periods (If the company has been in existence for less than three years, data for all concluded accounting periods shall be provided. In the case of a newly established company, provide the current data.) Prepare a presentation in the English language in ppt. format. The presentation shall contain particularly the following: information about the company, information about the product with which the applicant is registering in the project, information about objectives in the foreign destination and information about the main anticipated activities to be conducted in the destination. The maximum scope of the presentation is ten slides. Send both language versions of the registration form in.doc format, the financial statements, the presentation in.ppt format and both signed versions of the registration form in.pdf format to accelerator@czechinvest.org no later than September 6 th 2013. Within three business days CzechInvest will send you an e-mail confirming delivery of the registration form. Close of registration acceptance: September 6 th, 2013 Assessment and selection of registrants All applications delivered by the deadline and fulfilling the formal requirements and conditions of the call for participation shall be assessed by an assessment committee, where the applicant will present its business plan and product. The committee will assess the potential for commercial utilisation, the product s attractiveness from the perspective of the end-customer, the product s potential for a technology partner, the manner of introducing the product to the market, the quality of the applicant s working team, the relevance of use in the accelerator, and Practical application of the product on the market (quality, practical utility). Level of technological advancement, attractiveness and level of innovation of the product (innovation standpoint, potential for future development). Feasibility of the product (possibility of manufacturing in series production). Exceptionality and uniqueness of the product (size and extent of competition, the product s potential to become established on the market, future demand for the product). Page 5 of 9
Anticipated date on which the assessment committee will convene: second half of September 2013. The applicant shall conduct its presentation before the committee in the English language (approx. 15 minutes) and demonstrate its so-called elevator pitch (120-second presentation for potential investors). Notice: Upon announcement of the results of the assessment, the applicant must be prepared to immediately sign a Contract on Cooperation and to depart to the destination. Among other things, this means for the applicant rapid purchase of airline tickets, assurance of accommodation in the destination and, as the case may be, the necessary permit for entry into the given country (e.g. registration in the case of Switzerland, ESTA or a visa in the case of the United States). Aid provided to project participants Support at the place of operation - destination (term of operation: October 21 st December 19 th 2013) Services (aid) provided to project participants which are ensured and 100% paid for by CzechInvest (costs will be incorporated into the participant s de minimis aid): Use of office spaces of a contracting foreign partner during the abovementioned time period (the time period is binding for participants and will be specified in the Contract on Cooperation between the project participant and CzechInvest). Access to a network of technology firms, leading venture-capital funds and potential customers in the destination through networking activities and services ensured by the contracting foreign partner. Note: The above-mentioned services shall not be entered into the participant s accounting and are fully paid for by CzechInvest from the project s budget. Services which the participant shall ensure and pre-finance in accordance with instructions from CzechInvest (costs will be incorporated into the participant s de minimis aid): Participation in professional conferences and seminars. Eligible costs are primarily registration and participation fees, costs connected with appearances and presentations, etc. (aid in the amount of 100% of eligible costs, though not exceeding the maximum amount of CZK 200,000 per firm) (active participation in trade fairs, i.e. activities connected with the active presentation of the product, stand rental, etc., shall not be supported). Page 6 of 9
Training, mentoring, coaching and the services of experts and advisors, primarily legal, marketing, business development, HR, etc. (support in the amount of 50% of eligible costs, though maximally CZK 400,000 per company). Support for the protection of intellectual property rights, especially consulting services leading to the acquisition of a patent or registered trademark for the participant s product in the destination where the participant is taking part in the project (aid in the amount of 100% of eligible costs, though maximally in the amount of CZK 200,000 per firm). Travel costs in the amount stipulated by the project for dispatched employees, executives, owners, managers participating in management as members of a statutory body of the enterprise (max. two persons for the period from July to December 2013). a) Travel costs, i.e. economy-class air travel from the Czech Republic to the destination (aid in the amount of 50% of costs, though not exceeding the maximum amount of CZK 15,000 per one round-trip airline ticket to the United State or Singapore, or the maximum amount of CZK 8,000 per one round-trip airline tick to Israel or Switzerland). b) Contribution for accommodation (aid in the amount of 50% of costs, though not exceeding the maximum amount of CZK 500 per day per company. Funding for the above-mentioned services is disbursed retroactively upon completion of the project and submission of the Payment Application under the condition of compliance with the conditions set forth in the Contract on Cooperation (hereinafter referred to as the Contract ) and in the case that costs are directly connected with an approved individual project of the participant. The above-mentioned amounts are the maximum possible. The contract is concluded with the aid provider, which is CzechInvest. A teplate Contract on Cooperation is available at http://www.czechaccelerator.cz/kestazeni/pro-ucastniky-projektu Only employees, executives, owners or managers participating in management as members of a statutory body can participate in the project on behalf of the company (e.g. use consulting services, receive funding for air transport, accommodation, etc.). Aid for SMEs will be provided to participants pursuant to the de minimis rule. Aid is provided in the de minimis regime in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1998/2006 of 15 December 2006 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to de minimis aid. Such aid is provided in the amount of 50% to 100% of eligible costs. The total amount of de minimis aid provided to one enterprise may not exceed the amount of EUR 200,000 in any three-year period (this refers to Page 7 of 9
the total of de minimis aid obtained in the current tax period and for the two preceding tax periods). For conversion of the amount of aid from OPEI pursuant to the de minimis rule, the currency-conversion rate issued by the European Central Bank on the date of provision of such aid, i.e. the date of conclusion of the contract, shall be used. Other state aid, i.e. state aid pursuant to Article 107(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union or aid in the de minimis regime pursuant to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1998/2006, cannot be provided for identical partially or fully overlapping eligible costs of the participant supported from the CzechAccelerator 2011-2014 project. An unsuccessful applicant can re-register in a new call under the condition that such applicant fulfils the conditions of participation. Other conditions Aid will be provided to the participants on the basis of the Contract, which contains the conditions for provision of aid. The participant is obligated to keep separate records and documentation pertaining to eligible project costs and use of aid intended for financing eligible costs and to retain such records for a period of ten years from the date of termination of the project and minimally for a period of three years from the closure of the Operational Programme Enterprise and Innovation in accordance with Article 90 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1083/2006. All aid recipients will be informed of the closure of the Operational Programme Enterprise and Innovation. Aid in the form of services is provided to participants during the duration of the project; financial support (payment of part of the eligible costs) is provided retroactively following termination of the project, providing that the conditions set forth in the Contract have been fulfilled. Throughout the entire period of project implementation and for a period of three years from the date of termination of the project, the participant is obligated to allow direct access by employees of the aid provider and administrator of OPEI for the purpose of conducting inspections pursuant to Act No. 552/1991 Coll., on State Inspection. The participant is further obligated to allow these employees direct access for the purpose of verifying compliance with the conditions of the project and proper use of resources from the provided aid, as well as inspections of the financial situation and accounting and tax records of the aid recipient both at the place of project implementation and at the aid recipient s registered office. For the purpose of inspection, the participant is obligated to retain all outputs paid for from the project. Page 8 of 9
The applicant agrees that a) CzechInvest and the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall process, by all necessary and suitable means, all data set forth in the project-participation application form (including all personal data) and other documents provided by the project participant in connection with the project for the purpose of assessment and administration of the application and evaluation thereof, project inspection and monitoring, assurance of the public s awareness and publicity of the project and for the purpose of performance and other rights and obligations of CzechInvest and the Ministry of Industry and Trade connected with the provision of aid and assessment of the project and the payment application. b) Czechinvest shall share data and provide materials provided by the applicant with third parties that are participating in the implementation of the CzechAccelerator 2011-2014 project for the purpose of assessment and administration of the application and evaluation thereof, processing, decision-making on the possible provision of aid, assessment, inspection and monitoring of the project, assurance of the public s awareness and publicity of the project and for the purpose of performance and other rights and obligations of CzechInvest and the Ministry of Industry and Trade connected with the provision of aid and assessment of the project and the payment application, possibly to other parties whose awareness is necessary for the proper implementation and monitoring of the project. Contact: Marketa Havlova, project manager, CzechAccelerator programme tel.: +420 296 342 576, marketa.havlova@czechinvest.org Lubos Matejka, project manager, CzechAccelerator programme tel.: +420 296 342 909, lubos.matejka@czechinvest.org Page 9 of 9