EY is looking for the 21st EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2021 in the Czech Republic, who will compete with entrepreneurs from all over the world. The organizers are seeking entrepreneurs who will impress the competition judging panel not only with their financial results, but mainly with their engaging entrepreneurial story. The competition is in the categories EY Entrepreneur Of The Year, EY Technology Entrepreneur Of The Year, EY Emerging Entrepreneur Of The Year and EY Social Entrepreneur Of The Year. This year, Czech Television will announce the fifth annual winner of its Czech Television Award – Entrepreneurial Contribution to Culture and Art, and MF DNES and iDNES.cz readers will once again vote for the best entrepreneurial story. Successful entrepreneurs in regions will also be awarded. Applications and nominations may be submitted through 21 October 2020.
The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year competition in the Czech Republic has been discovering exceptional personalities for 21 years, catapulting them among the world’s business elite. They are entrepreneurs who have a strong vision, the courage to face challenges and the motivation to take untrodden paths.
“We’ve been recognising Czech entrepreneurs for 21 years. During that time, we’ve seen countless strong business stories that are an inspiration to those thinking about going into business, but for seasoned business matadors, too. None of them have had it easy in recent months, but there have been many opportunities. Entrepreneurs have accelerated the digital transformation of their companies, discovered their untapped potential and demonstrated a true entrepreneurial spirit. And that's exactly what we’re looking for. This year, again, I would like to call on the public to introduce us to entrepreneurial personalities who deserve recognition. Nominate an entrepreneur whose success story will inspire us,” is the challenge issued by Magdalena Souček, EY Country Managing Partner in the Czech Republic and for the Central and Eastern Europe Region.
“The year 2020, more than any other before, shows that innovation and modern technology, combined with a strong degree of social responsibility, are our only way to achieve sustainable prosperity on planet Earth. The Czech Republic has many exceptional people and talents who have done a great deal in this regard, and we on the judging panel will be very much looking forward to meeting them!” says Oliver Dlouhý, founder of Kiwi.com, holder of the title EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2019 in the Czech Republic. Dlouhý will sit at the head of the expert judging panel of this year's competition.
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year, the only world-renowned competition of its kind , is regularly announced in more than fifty countries on six continents. Last year, around 200 nominations arrived in the Czech Republic alone, with a total of 50 entrepreneurs from 43 companies applying. There were 6 women among the candidates. In the aggregate, the companies of all the competitors reported turnover of 68 billion crowns, had total profit of 1.87 billion crowns and employed 8,800 people. The capital city of Prague and the South Moravia Region showed the greatest promise of winning the national title. Oliver Dlouhý from Kiwi.com won the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2019 in the Czech Republic title. His company is one of the world’s most important global supercarriers.
BMW awarded the competition’s national finalists a voucher for the free use of a new BMW 5 Series. “The BMW Group’s strong partnership with EY on a global scale is very important to us. The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year award is also a great opportunity to be even closer to our customers,” explains Stephan Deppe, Managing Director of BMW Group Česká republika.
This year, Dr. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, an Indian businesswoman, philanthropist and founder of the pharmaceutical company Biocon Limited, was awarded the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year title in the worldwide competition for the business elite. The company produces biotech enzymes that give millions of people with diabetes access to affordable insulin today. Millions more suffering from malignancies, rheumatoid arthritis and other serious diseases now have biosimilar drugs at their disposal.
Anyone can nominate an entrepreneur for the competition, preferably via a nomination form available online at www.eypodnikatelroku.cz. An application for entrepreneurs is also available on the same website. The deadline for applications and nominations is 21 October 2020.
The judging panel will be headed by last year's winner Oliver Dlouhý (Kiwi.com). He will be joined in choosing a winner by other EY Entrepreneur Of The Year title holders such as František Piškanin (HOPI), Zbyněk Frolík (LINET), Eduard Kučera (AVAST Software) and Pavel Juříček (BRANO GROUP). The judging panel complies with internationally applicable EY rules and does not limit itself to financial information. On the contrary, the assessment takes into account, among other things, the competitor’s personality, honesty and rectitude, strategic orientation and innovation and business impact.
The competition categories are EY Entrepreneur Of The Year, EY Technology Entrepreneur Of The Year, EY Emerging Entrepreneur Of The Year and EY Social Entrepreneur Of The Year. Traditionally, the judging panel also awards the best entrepreneurs in individual regions. Regional EY Entrepreneur Of The Year titles are awarded every year for the Olomouc, South Moravia, Moravia-Silesia, Zlín, Prague and Central Bohemia regions. Depending on the number and quality of nominees, the judging panel may also recognize entrepreneurs in other regions. Last year, Czech Television, the competition’s main media partner, awarded the Czech Television Award – Entrepreneurial Contribution to Culture and Art for the fourth time. Its aim is to reward personalities who, in addition to their entrepreneurial activities, actively promote culture or enhance the public space. Main competition co-organizer MF DNES and iDNES.cz. traditionally announces a reader's survey of the best entrepreneurial story.
Entrepreneurs whose companies create or use technologies in an innovative way can be nominated for the EY Technology Entrepreneur Of The Year category. The expert judging panel is chaired by Jaroslav Klíma, managing director and Board of Directors chair of TESCAN ORSAY HOLDING, holder of the titles Technology Entrepreneur Of The Year 2011 and Entrepreneur Of The Year 2011 for the South Moravia region.
An entrepreneur who has not reached the age of thirty at 31 December 2020 or who has been in business for 5 years or less (i.e. starting sometime after 1 January 2015) can be nominated for the EY Emerging Entrepreneur Of The Year award. If multiple entrepreneurs are applying for one company, all must meet the age or length of business condition to be included in this category. The employee headcount requirement does not apply to this category.
The Czech Television Award for Entrepreneurial Contribution to Culture and the Arts may include any competition participant who financially or materially supports projects that help to cultivate Czech public life through art (music festivals, exhibitions, etc.), as well as through projects focused on public space (landscape management, cultural heritage, architecture, etc.). Support for these projects is not a subject of the entrepreneur’s business activity and is not realized for profit. For more information about the evaluation criteria for the CT Award – Entrepreneurial Contribution to Culture and Art, go to: https://podnikatelroku.cz/cena-ceske-televize-podnikatelsky-prinos-kulture-a-umeni
This year for the 15th time, EY is also announcing the EY Social Entrepreneur Of The Year competition. Entrepreneurs, founders of commercial or non-profit organizations or owners (co-owners) of companies that have been in business (at 31 December 2019) for at least 2 years and who apply business principles in practice to address social problems, can apply. Socially beneficial entrepreneurship is about introducing practical, innovative approaches aimed at marginal issues or social groups and should provide a practical and viable alternative to purely charitable or state policy in the area. The Association for Social Responsibility is a supporter of the competition.
The name of the winner of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020 Czech Republic title, along with the other category winners, will be announced on 2 March 2021. The Czech winner will participate in the world finals to take place 10 – 13 June 2021 in Monte Carlo.
The official car of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2019 competition is BMW Group Czech Republic. Raiffeisenbank is a competition partner. The main co-organizer is the daily MF DNES and iDNES.cz. The main media partner is Czech Television; other media partners are Forbes magazine and the Info.cz. news portal. The competition is supported by CzechInvest and Association for Social Responsibility and held under the auspices of the Czech Chamber of Commerce.
