GAMA 2 Programme

GAMA 2 (sub-programme 2)

Funds Czech startups and small businesses developing feasibility studies and business plans for innovation execution.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

The Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TA CR) operated the GAMA 2 programme, sub-programme 2, as a dedicated track for high-risk, high-potential Czech SMEs and startups aiming to develop and commercialise new products, services, and business models for international markets. GAMA 2 was the predecessor to SIGMA Sub-objective 1 in the TA CR programme portfolio; it occupied the same pre-commercialisation niche and has since been placed on the inactive list with no further calls expected. The 4th call under sub-programme 2 launched on 19 January 2022, with results announced by 30 June 2022. Total call allocation was CZK 23.5 million; individual awards reached up to CZK 1 million at a maximum funding intensity of 55%, meaning applicants contributed at least 45% of project costs from their own resources.

Only Czech small and medium-sized enterprises and startups could apply; large enterprises, nonprofits, research organisations, and universities were excluded. The call had no thematic focus — projects from any sector qualified as long as they demonstrated high market risk and international commercialisation potential. Projects were fixed at six months duration and concluded in a feasibility study including a business plan, classified as an 'O' (other results) output type. Two mandatory English-language deliverables were required: the application form and project proposal, both filed in ISTA (the legacy information system predating SISTA), and a 60-second pitch video presenting the project. Both documents had to be in English.

Because the per-project cap was CZK 1 million and the pool was CZK 23.5 million, the call could fund approximately 23 projects at maximum award — a wider cohort than the later SIGMA SO1 calls. Applicants were evaluated on commercial ambition, international market opportunity, and team capacity to execute within a six-month window. Given GAMA 2's inactive status, Czech SMEs in the pre-commercialisation stage should direct current applications to SIGMA SO1, which offers up to CZK 730,000 per project on the same feasibility-study-in-English model and additionally unlocks EIC Accelerator second-round eligibility.