For the past year and a half, the hottest topic at conferences and seminars held by banks has been the small- and medium-sized business (SME) segment. While SME owners complain they still don't have easy access to finance, new initiatives and better laws should bring big improvements
Antonin Taks is the chairman of the board of Napako Praha, a company that produces primarily security doors. The company has an annual average turnover of Kc 55 million. About 20 per cent of production is exported, three quarters of that to the EU, the rest to Switzerland.
In what Taks describes as an annual ritual, Napako seeks operational loans and investment loans to keep the business ticking and expanding. Although Napako fits neatly into the SME segment that all banks on the local market claim is their main priority, the process is rarely smooth.
