ŠAVŠ/TAČR Digital Czechia in a Digital Europe

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Furthermore, the government provides a number of other grants used to finance startups, provides consulting services for those interested in starting a startup in Germany, and coaches “Gründercoaching Deutschland” through KfW bank for the best innovative startups. 13 14

Ireland

Ireland is another equally popular country among startup founders. It is a very innovative country, which focuses mainly on supporting startups in the field of information and communication technologies. Ireland is a country that is very inclined to establish startups on its territory. The advantage of this country is also the fact that it is a member of the Eurozone, has a stable economic environment and a quality education system. The country again has an excellent infrastructure enabling any type of business activity, and there is an enormous number of incubators and accelerators. A significant positive can be seen in the active cooperation of universities with startups and the support of co-working. Compared to other countries, the banking sector also participates in the financing of startups. There are many major startups in Ireland that are supported by the Irish Venture Association. A certain disadvantage can be seen especially in the high labor costs compared to most other EU member states. Government support for small and medium-sized enterprises, including startups, is at a very high level. It includes the provision of funds from the European Union and the Irish budget. The aim is to attract the best startups to Ireland. In addition to the very extensive support in the area of grants, Ireland is also characterized by the provision of tax relief (e.g. startups do not pay any income tax for a period of 3 years from their inception up to a profit of EUR 120,000). The corporate income tax rate is only 12.5%, meaning Ireland has one of the lowest income tax rates in the EU. Ireland also focuses on supporting incubators and accelerators that help startups get started. At the same time, they can point out that the given business project will probably not be successful on the market. The Irish government is also launching a series of competitions to attract young talent to business. 15

13 FinTech Deutschland, Federal Ministry of Finance, 12/2018, see https://www.bundesfinanzministerium. de/Web/EN/Issues/Featured/FinTech/Support-for-start-ups/support-for-start-ups.html. 14 Financing a startup in Germany – finding state funding and support, Gründerszene, 07/2010, see https://www.gruenderszene.de/allgemein/financing-a-startup-in-germany-finding-state-funding-and- support?interstitial 15 Funding supports, Enterprise Ireland, 11/2018, see https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/funding- supports/