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Blackberry Pixie Kindergarten named the winner the fifth edition of Takeoffs of the Year

Pavlína Štěpánková from Svojkov near Nový Bor was selected as the national winner. The winner received prizes in the total value of CZK 189,840. A special prize worth CZK 117,940 was awarded to the Lavender bio farm and café in Zábřeh.

The online voting to select the national winner of the fifth edition of Takeoffs of the Year was a thrilling spectacle indeed, as the lead in the ranking of projects changed from day to day. A total of 9,748 votes were cast. The project that ultimately attracted the by far largest number of votes was the alternative, eco-friendly Blackberry Pixie Kindergarten (Mateřská škola skřítka Ostružinky) in Svojkov near Nový Bor. The originator of the project, Pavlína Štěpánková, received the main prize comprising CZK 150,000 in cash and a package of services worth CZK 39,840. The special prize of the Takeoffs of the Year team worth CZK 100,000 and a package of services valued at CZK 17,940 was awarded to Lukáš Drlík of Zábřeh in Moravia for his Lavender bio farm and café project. The prizes were awarded by Česká spořitelna, the Najisto agency and T-Mobile. 

“The winning regional projects were in different fields – from farming and gastronomy, through services and consultancy to production of clothing and accessories. Although there can only be one winner – or two in our case – all of the participants in the competition deserve our appreciation. Their ideas and courage to start something new on their own are truly remarkable and all of us are keeping our fingers crossed for them,” says Senior Head of External Communication at T-Mobile. 

A total of 296 projects were registered in this year’s edition of Takeoffs of the Year. Ninety percent of the participants stated that by entering the competition they were fulfilling their dreams. The majority of the participants (62.5%) were women aged 25-35 (51%). Among the projects, the most popular involved cafés, restaurants, cooking courses and delicacies (21%). Regional juries awarded prizes to 49 winners, including nine special prizes. At regional workshops held in April and May, 402 participants broadened their business horizons. The Takeoffs production team travelled approximately 2,900 km and trainers conducted nearly 170 lectures and workshops. 

Within the national online voting, attractive prizes, such as Huawei tablets, were given to 26 voters. The partners of this year’s edition of Takeoffs of the Year were Česká spořitelna, Najisto.cz, Xerox, Huawei, Jobs.cz, Alesio Café, The Institute of Technology and Business, the College of Polytechnics Jihlava and the Chamber of Commerce. 

More information is available at www.rozjezdyroku.cz.