H.E. Mr. Roman Buzek, the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic awarded the overall winner of the competition, the startup Threatmark from the Czech Republic.
By Tereza Neuwirthova.
On 28th May 2019, the Embassy of the Slovak Republic together with the company AXS Capital Markets Amsterdam and the Czech Dutch Chamber of Commerce held a business matchmaking event under the name “V4 Startups in the Netherlands”, which was organised as a part of the programme of its presidency in the Visegrad Group, represented by Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.
During this event, which took place at one of Europe’s leading centres for entrepreneurship- the Erasmus Centre of Entrepreneurship in Rotterdam, 25 entrepreneurs form the V4 countries as well as The Netherlands introduced their startups to the audience consisting of investors, representatives of trade chambers, as well as corporate, government, and diplomatic officials.
The event initiated with a speech by H.E. Mr. Roman Buzek, the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic, in which he stressed the need for exploring the great innovative and creative potential of the startups from the V4 countries to the fullest, as there is still a great amount of hidden potential among the entrepreneurs from these countries that can be transformed into profitable business opportunities.
Thereupon followed a lecture by the keynote speaker, Mr. Vlado Kysucky, who addressed topics such as venture capital industry in Central Europe, private equity in relation to the world, as well as the great potential of Central European countries that is driven by efficient market infrastructure and operational practices.
Thereafter, the entrepreneurs presented their startups from the sector of information and communication technologies (ICT) in a pitch competition, in which the winning prize for the best startup was a direct access to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit taking place at the World Forum in The Hague this June.
A panel discussion chaired by the moderator of V4 Startups in the Netherlands 2019, Keith Wallace from De Investeerders Club followed afterwards.The representatives from Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, as well as The Netherlands outlined the entrepreneurial and startup environment in their respective countries. Furthermore, they highlighted the ways the startup field is expanding through cross-border investment in the Visegrad Group countries, while stressing the cooperation and simultaneously a friendly competition between them.
The main aims of this event –to promote and explore the innovative entrepreneurship from the Visegrad Group countries in The Netherlands, to facilitate the raising of investments for ambitious startups, as well as to provide insight into the numerous opportunities in venture capital– were within the framework of economic diplomacy that is a part of the project scheme of Slovakia’s presidency of the V4.
During the last part of the event, H.E. Mr. Roman Buzek announced and awarded the overall winner of the competition, the startup Threatmark from the Czech Republic, which deals with cyber security issues.
Moreover, the judges also chose the most promising startup form each country, whereas each of these was awarded a prize consisting of an investment workshop as well as free office spaces for a month, provided by the sponsors of the event Andersen Tax & Legal and NIBC.
Following the awards, a networking session accompanied by refreshments ensued, during which the entrepreneurs, investors, and officials were given the space to informally discuss business opportunities and cooperation, as well as partnerships between the Visegrad Group countries and The Netherlands. This business matchmaking event was a great success not only for the winning startup, but also for all the attendees as it provided insights into the fast-growing but overlooked economies of the V4, and furthered the economic as well as diplomatic ties between the countries.
Photography by Andrea Bartosova.
