The project behind this report was funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument, and implemented by the OECD, in co-operation with the European Commission. This report was prepared by the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities, led by Lamia Kamal-Chaoui (Director), under the aegis of the OECD Committee on SMEs and Entrepreneurship (CSMEE). Marco Marchese (Policy Analyst) co-ordinated the project and provided oversight of the individual chapters. Lucia Cusmano (Head of the SME and Entrepreneurship Division) offered overall guidance and supervision of the project. The main authors of the report are Marco Marchese, Alexandra Rusu (Economist), Jan-Philipp Schmidt (Policy Analyst), and Maria Sobron Bernal (Policy Analyst), all from the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities, and Kris Boschmans (external expert).
The report would not have been possible without the active engagement of the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT), which was the main counterpart of the OECD within the national government, and the Reform and Investment Task Force of the European Commission (SG REFORM). In particular, the OECD would like to thank Veronika Spirkova and Elina Lunova, both experts in SME development at the Czech MIT, for supporting the project throughout its steps, including the organisation of the fact-finding mission, the collection of background documents and comments from different government entities on the first draft report, and the organisation of the final technical workshop to disseminate the findings. The OECD also extends its gratitude to Martha Cambas, policy officer in SG REFORM, who closely followed the implementation of the project in the European Commission and ensured that the project’s compliance with SG REFORM’s guidelines.
The OECD also appreciates the participation in meetings and the comments received from different ministries, national agencies and other stakeholders, including the Association for the Capital Market of the Czech Republic, the Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Crafts of the Czech Republic, the Confederation of Employers’ and Business Associations of the Czech Republic, the Czech Chamber of Commerce, the Czech Export Bank, the Czech National Bank, the Czech Statistical Office, CzechInvest, CzechTrade, the Czech Industrial Property Office, Czech representatives of the European Digital Innovation Hubs, the Export Guarantee and Insurance Corporation, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Regional Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the National Development Bank, the National Pedagogical Institute of the Czech Republic, the Prague Innovation Institute, the Prague Stock Exchange, the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, the Technology Centre Prague, and the Union of Czech Production Co-operatives.
Heather Mortimer-Charoy and Juan Mendez (CFE) provided project and administrative assistance and prepared the report for publication.