Yesterday our travels brought us to the Czech Republic. We stayed last night in the small town of Cesky Kromlov. Today we head to Prague, where we will stay for several days.
Entrepreneurship is a major economic driven in the Czech Republic. According to the Global Monitor Report study from 2006:
My biggest concern is the relatively low rate of young entrepreneurs. There have been steps taken to decrease the red tape associated with starting a venture. But, it seems much more will be required to build an entrepreneurial engine that can sustain this country into the coming decades, especially when we take into account the low birth rates in eastern Europe.
Entrepreneurship is a major economic driven in the Czech Republic. According to the Global Monitor Report study from 2006:
The large concentration of entrepreneurship in older, more economically prosperous people in the largest city of Prague is somewhat worrisome for the long-term economic outlook for the Czech Republic.
- Eight percent of the adult population aged between 18 and 64 is involved in new entrepreneurial activity in the Czech Republic, which puts it among European countries with the highest entrepreneurial activity.
- Compared with other countries, the Czech Republic shows a high share of nascent entrepreneurs and of entrepreneurs who are actually running new businesses.
- In the Czech Republic the prevalence rate of early-stage entrepreneurs is 2.2 times higher for men than women. In established business ownership there are 2.4 times more male entrepreneurs than female ones.
- The most entrepreneurially-active individuals are people aged between 45 and 54. In established business ownership the situation in the Czech Republic matches the situation around the world, but in early-stage entrepreneurial activity this age group is quite significant. On the contrary, individuals over 55 years of age show very little involvement in early-stage entrepreneurial activity (less than two percent).
- Most entrepreneurial activity is based in Prague.
- Entrepreneurial activity is relatively low among students over 18 years of age (only 4.2 percent).
- New entrepreneurial activity is closely related to household income. In low-income households it is only about two percent. On the contrary, in households with high incomes it exceeds fifteen percent.
My biggest concern is the relatively low rate of young entrepreneurs. There have been steps taken to decrease the red tape associated with starting a venture. But, it seems much more will be required to build an entrepreneurial engine that can sustain this country into the coming decades, especially when we take into account the low birth rates in eastern Europe.
Hi Jeff,
Very interesting article.
I find Czechs very independent when it comes to work so they often have their own business.
The government has made steps to cut red tap but in actual fact it is still very bureaucratic to operate a business here. The cost of employees is very high and the expense to lay one off in a downturn is prohibitive. It also is why there are so many businesses in Czech Republic because owners would rather hire contractors than employees. Hopefully things will improve.
Enjoy Cesky Krumlov,
Nathan Brown
CZECH POINT 101
We were able to sit down a couple weeks ago with the US Trade Commercial Counselor at the Embassy and talk Q&A him about Czech's future in the EU and in the world. Apparently Czech will be building a nuclear power plant (via foreign contractor) which is supposed to be state of the art technologically advanced for the region.
Also, entrepreneurship in Czech was conveyed as being a relatively foreign concept to the older citizens due to their upbringing under communist rule. Having just returned from Iraq I also understand just how foreign a concept entrepreneurship can be to someone which has been told what to do for their entire life. What exactly does 8% entrepreneur "activity" mean? Starting a business or buying from entrepreneurs? Seems like a high % considering the social upbringing.
Lastly, The Counselor said there are plenty of markets that would welcome new entrants but unfortunately I didn’t have time to pick his brain on that! You can never have too many McDonalds right? :-)