1. OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

In 2013, the CzechInno Association and its partners successfully organized the inaugural Export Festival CZ 2013 to promote exports and international business cooperation. It was meant to establish a tradition where companies could meet with representatives of government institutions and authorities to promote entrepreneurship and exports, as well as with the other companies together, at a multinational event, all with the main goal of supporting the international business cooperation, of providing them with current information and the contacts necessary for successful exports, and at the same time introducing them to the business and cultural practices of attractive export destinations.

The Festival grows continually as of its first annual edition – in 2015, the 3^rd annual Festival has been visited by almost 800 participants from 35 countries, who have listened to the presentations of more than 60 lecturers and visited expositions of almost 80 expositors and realized more than 150 bilateral business meetings. Altogether, 32 countries from all over the world have taken an active part in Export Festival CZ 2015, 22 of them were represented by their respective embassies.

For Export Festival CZ 2016, the CzechInno Association follows its mission by fostering support in particular for the export of innovative products and services and promote international business cooperation with high added value. The basic objectives of the project therefore are:

1. promote the international business cooperation whose actors are foreign and Czech companies,
2. present the achievements of companies active in the field of international trade, with emphasis on the growth of their innovative products and services,
3. promote the services of institutions in support of exports and international business cooperation,
4. enable direct contact between all players engaged in export activities and the exchange of information and best practices in the export field and in international business cooperation,
5. offer participants insight into the art, culture and gastronomy of destinations that can one day become their potential business partners with an attractive supporting program.
6. TARGET GROUPS

The basic target group consists of new and potential exporters and companies with the potential for expansion abroad as well as from abroad into Czech Republic with a high degree of innovation in their business, who will then gain enough important information and contacts from the project to successfully carry out their activities.

Secondary target groups consist of:

1. Institutions aimed at promoting exports and the internationalization of businesses:
2. Successful exporters and companies that have successfully internationalized their business:

3. Foreign companies with the potential for cooperation with Czech partners:
4. Organizations bringing together small and medium-sized firms and business support networks:

• TERRITORIAL AND SECTORAL FOCUS OF THE FESTIVAL

Export Festival CZ 2016 is focused mainly on the cooperation with non-traditional territories, listed in the Export Strategy of the Czech Republic or having a high potential of international trade cooperation with the Czech Republic.

Following this, geographical places of interest of the Project are:

• Eastern markets and Post-Soviet states:
  • Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, Mongolia
• Far East:
  • China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thai-wan, India, Thailand, Japan
• Latin America:
  • Mexico, Peru, Chile, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Panama, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Guatemala
• Northern, Equatorial and Southern Africa:
  • Morocco, South Africa, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo
• Europe and Middle East:
  • Turkey, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen, Pakistan, Iraq, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates

Concerning its sectoral orientation, Export Festival CZ 2016 focuses to promote traditional and also dynamically growing branches of the Czech industry and to link both the Czech as well as foreign enterprises with their relevant partners. Preferred sectoral fields are therefore:

• Machinery
• Energy and Environmental technologies
• Information and communication technologies
• Food industry, brewery, winery and

1. ADDED VALUE OF THE PROJECT

Export Festival CZ will give its participants undoubted added value in their acquisition of:

1. general current information on exports and international trade (lecture sessions – Opening session and Pro-export services)
2. information on consultancy tailored to the company of the participant and contacts important for successful exports (bilateral consultations between participants and specialists from the CzechTrade Agency, EEN network, Directorate General of Customs, etc., as well as from institutions and companies in the area of International Trade – tailored export information)
3. territorial information (presentation of participating embassies and joint chambers of commerce with the possibility of obtaining direct contacts to foreign business partners)
4. sectoral information (presentations at the expositions of Czech and foreign enterprises Enterprise Section)
5. immediate business opportunities (by the mean of networking at the Festival and for qualified applicants also during matchmaking session with concrete partners along with their preferences – B2B meetings)
6. possibility of presenting companies at the event with a maximum portfolio of partners if it matches their typology: government authorities, business representations, active and potential exporters and trading partners, in the heart of Europe no less – in Prague
7. experiencing the arts and gastronomy of all the continents (supporting program – the Arts and flavours of the Four continents)

All of this in one place in Prague as a part of Export Festival CZ 2016.

We are grateful to our partners: