DoToho! – A pro bono programme designed to help businesses in Prague

Small and medium-sized companies can now receive free professional support to help them recover from the effects of the COVID crisis

DoToho! is a new Czech platform aimed at providing small and medium-sized businesses in Prague with support from experienced mentors and experts. The programme is free of charge and its ultimate goal is to help restart the Czech economy after COVID.

According to a press release by the City of Prague, Mayor Zdeněk Hřib voiced his support for the programme: “When I walk through the city centre, I am offered a sad view of closed places without customers. The loss of income also had a significant effect on the construction sector. I believe that selfless professional help for entrepreneurs within the DoToho initiative! will help them to cope with the situation and start their business again.”

How does it work?

Small and medium-sized businesses have been identified as those which have a turnover of 3-300 million CZK and at least 3 employees. These preferably Prague-based companies are now given the chance to sign up to the DoToho! programme to receive professional advice, support, and training.

Each company will be assigned a mentor who will provide them with the help they need two hours a week for two months. The mentors have extensive experience in various aspects related to running a business or managing a team. Thus, they will be able to assist companies in finding new business goals, strategies, and plans.

In addition to this, entrepreneurs will also have access to experts who are experienced in a specific area. On its website, DoToho! explains that these experts will be able to provide individual pro bono consultations for the participants of the programme.

Last but not least, the platform will offer numerous seminars and workshops as well as a digital know-how library containing records and materials from educational events.

DoToho! founders

The founders of the DoToho! platform are the Prague business centre Opero and the Prague Innovation Institute (Pražský inovační institut). The co-founder of Opero Pavel Přikryl commented on the initiative:

"Entrepreneurs are not satisfied with the help the government offers them during the pandemic. That is why they decided to take an active part and help those who want to use the crisis as an opportunity and want to work on their company now. The project is based on the consulting services of professionals and is based on basic procedures that are commonly used in the development of startups.

However, we also involve experts from several fields, we are expanding the range of information provided and adapting its form so that it is as usable as possible for common types of business and the current situation.”

The director of the Prague Innovation Institute Bob Kartous also commented on DoToho! as he said, “We are creating a broad platform that connects a large number of experts with specific companies and helps them innovate their business models. We want to help companies get stronger from the current situation.”

You can now sign up as an entrepreneur, mentor, or expert through the DoToho! website. The programme is expected to run until the end of July 2021.