The Association for Foreign Investment (AFI) held its Annual Conference on 6 September at the congress centre of the Czech National Bank with the subheading “The Age of Opportunity and the Path to New Stability”. The AFI Prize for Significant Contribution in the Field of Investment was awarded to ON Semiconductor Czech Republic. Cyrkl Zdrojová platforma received the Innovative Idea of the Year Award sponsored by CzechInvest, and the AFI Prize for Long-Term Benefit to the Investment Environment was presented to Ondřej Vlček for putting the Czech company AVAST in the position of a global leader.
“This year’s award-winning companies are characterised primarily by the innovativeness that they have brought to their business. Innovation helps them to build and develop their companies in a purposeful and meaningful way. For them, their business is about more than just economic indicators. Ondřej Vlček, recognised for the long-term benefit that he has brought to the investment environment, has not only significantly positioned AVAST as a global leader, but is also a prominent figure in the area of philanthropy,” says Kamil Blažek, chairman of the Association for Foreign Investment.
ON Semiconductor Czech Republic (onsemi), which receive the AFI Prize for Significant Contribution in the Field of Investment, historically has been continuing the tradition of the former state-owned company Tesla Rožnov and is growing significantly in the Czech Republic. onsemi is investing primarily in the production of innovative semi-conductors based on silicon carbide. These new semi-conductors are substantially more efficient than current silicon-based solutions and their energy-saving benefits are useful particularly in high-performance and energy-intensive applications.
CYRKL Zdrojová platforma received the Innovative Idea of the Year Award sponsored by CzechInvest. CYRKL’s primary mission is to bring the principles of the circular economy to the world of waste management through the use of innovative technologies, data analysis and machine learning. By fulfilling this mission, CYRKL is helping thousands of companies to convert waste into resources on Europe’s largest digital waste-management platform.
The AFI Prize for Long-Term Benefit to the Investment Environment was awarded to Ondřej Vlček, who ranks among the Czech Republic’s billionaires and significant Czech managers, and is behind one of the biggest deals ever carried out in the Czech business world. In addition to his business successes, Mr. Vlček spends large amounts of money from his own fortune on charitable projects.
