.jpg)
The Supreme Audit Office (NKÚ) published on 5 October 2026 the results of its audit of money intended for start-up support in 2021–2025. The Ministry of Industry and Trade gave the government agency CzechInvest 914 million korunas, for example for founding companies, entering foreign markets and testing technologies. For most projects, however, the ministry did not monitor whether the set goals had been met; instead of actual impacts it tracked the number of supported projects or relied on incomplete data. [1][2]
Findings
The money came from the state budget and from European sources, namely the Národní plán obnovy and the operational programme Podnikání a inovace pro konkurenceschopnost. For the support from the Národní plán obnovy worth 276 million korunas, the ministry tracked only the number of supported entities, which, according to the NKÚ, says nothing about the effects. [1][2]
For the project Podpora start-upů, which received 195 million korunas from the operational programme, a monitoring system was in place, but it was based on data from fewer than half of the supported firms. According to the NKÚ, the benefits reported by the agency are distorted. CzechInvest also did not consistently enforce the mandatory data, although it had sanctions at its disposal, and the ministry approved incomplete summary reports. [1][2]
The only audited project whose benefits the ministry monitors is Technologická inkubace, which received 443 million korunas from the state budget by the end of 2025. CzechInvest ran its key activities mostly with staff from a temporary-work agency, which made the project 21 million korunas more expensive. The NKÚ described this spending as uneconomical and said it showed signs of circumventing the rules on pay in public administration. [1][2]
In 2021 the minister of industry was Karel Havlíček (ANO); after the elections he was succeeded by Jozef Síkela and later Lukáš Vlček (both of STAN). The Czech News Agency sought the ministry's response. [1]
Related articles: Ministerstvo průmyslu a obchodu, Nejvyšší kontrolní úřad
Chronology
- — In an audit of start-up support for 2021 to 2025, the Supreme Audit Office found that the Ministry of Industry and Trade provided CZK 914 million to the agency CzechInvest and did not monitor whether the set goals were met in most projects. Seznam Zprávy Echo24