The Czech Republic is entering a new era of support for financial innovation. The CzechInvest Agency and a consortium of partners are announcing the first call for startups under the Fintech Sandbox project funded by the National Recovery Plan. For the first time in history, this project will offer comprehensive regulatory and technological support to fintech and DLT companies and startups. The call was launched on 1 April for twenty-one selected startups, each of which can receive support worth up to €50k.
“Fintech Sandbox is a project that significantly advances the support of innovation in the Czech Republic. Our goal is to create a safe and constructive environment for startups to discuss and test their boldest ideas,” says Jan Michal, CEO of CzechInvest.
Fintech Sandbox in the Czech Republic extends the current form of support for the development of the innovative fintech and DLT ecosystem in the Czech Republic through a dedicated environment for regulatory and technical testing of new financial technology services and business models. The Sandbox activities will facilitate the development of existing Czech fintech companies and the creation of new fintech services and products, for the benefit of competition in customer-oriented markets, while reducing the risks of non-compliance of fintech products and services with Czech law and directly applicable EU regulations.
The aim of the project is to select 21 entities and subsequently provide comprehensive support to the selected companies in three key areas up to EUR 50,000. Specifically: regulatory support, non-regulatory support and technical testing. Regulatory support includes legal advice, a tailored approach to regulatory challenges and expert guidance in navigating the complex regulatory environment. Non-regulatory support includes business advice, mentoring from leading experts, networking with relevant partners and marketing consultation. Technical Testing offers a dedicated testing environment to validate products and services.
“These are not direct subsidies, but we support fintech companies in the form of services, consulting and testing of their product. The goal is that the startup will know exactly where it stands in terms of regulation, what its options are and how, or where, it should be heading in order to operate on the market, in addition to having its product or service tested,” adds Jan Michal.
A major consortium of leading Czech universities is working on the project: Mendel University in Brno, Masaryk University and Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem. This interdisciplinary approach guarantees a high level of expertise and a comprehensive view of fintech innovation support.
The NPO/2 Digital Regulatory Sandbox project is the result of a long-term effort to create an innovative environment for the development of financial technology. It is funded by the European Union through the National Recovery Plan and the Ministry of Industry and Trade. It represents a major step forward in supporting the domestic fintech and DLT ecosystem.
The call was announced on 1 April 2025. It is a rolling call with a “first come, first served” principle. Interested parties are encouraged to pre-register on the website https://fintechsandbox.cz/. The selection process will be a two-round process with an individual approach to the evaluation of each project. Each applicant will be provided with a pre-incubation manager to assist them with the application process. The deadline for this pilot project is April 30, 2026.
