Brno was once famous for its textile industry. But its subsequent decline in the late 20th century meant that the Czech Republic’s second largest city had to reinvent itself.
Twenty years ago, a new business center was established in Brno. JIC (South Moravian Innovation Center) was one of the first technological incubators in the eastern part of the European Union.
Today, its success has made it a magnet for entrepreneurs and companies with an international perspective.
In the history of JIC, a few hundred companies that use our services… have a turnover of approximately 700 million euros,” said Michal Vesely, JIC’s marketing manager.
IDEA StatiCa started from scratch at JIC 12 years ago. Concrete and steel connection experts are now one of the world leaders in their industry with over 6,500 customers.
“JIC helps you get started,” IDEA StatiCa CEO Juraj Sabatka told Euronews. “What is more valuable and will come later when working with the JIC is the recommendation [aspect]. This means talking to the public and [using the] The specialized services provided by JIC means they can review your business plan, they’ll review your go-to-market model, they’ll review your development activities and help you do it.”
Since 2003, JIC has contributed to the creation of more than 3,500 skilled jobs. Its total budget exceeds 12.5 million euros, of which 72% is financed by the European Cohesion Policy.
One of the group’s mottos is “business for a better world”. JIC supports start-ups such as Tierra Verde, which specialize in the production of environmentally friendly cleaning products. They started by selling organic soap. Now they sell 250 products.
Tierra Verde CEO Jan Čillik told Euronews that “currently JIC is helping Tierra Verde with two projects. One is focused on automation and the other is focused on sustainability. And JIC is helping us to open, say, [the] European Market Tierra Verde.”
To promote and raise awareness of entrepreneurship, JIC now offers training for aspiring business leaders. Workshops and activities are organized in cooperation with Czech universities, and we hope to encourage young people in the region to develop ideas that will bring about positive change in the coming years and decades.
“What values do we impart to students? I think it’s courage,” said Veronika Rejšková, head of JIC’s student development team. “It’s also freedom, like their own choice of what they’re going to do, and maybe creativity, that they can really create something very new. , which no one had heard of before”.
As a token of appreciation for its success to date, JIC was nominated for the 2022 REGIOSTARS Award, which recognizes the best EU-funded projects from the European Cohesion Policy.
