English
Čeština
EnglishEconomic sphere
| Economic sphere | ||
|---|---|---|
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Client satisfaction |
Economic results, stability, and sustainability |
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Ethics and responsible business conduct |
Compliance with legislation and risk management |
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Innovation and support of entrepreneurs |
Innovation of products and services |
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Client satisfaction 
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Economic results, stability, and sustainability
A very important objective of EGAP is to be sustainable in the long term with a balanced financial position and to operate as independently of state subsidies as possible. Good capital and risk management and regular testing of the sufficiency of insurance rates contribute to this.
Given the average duration of the projects supported and the inherently counter-cyclical nature of EGAP's activities, economic sustainability needs to be assessed over a long-term horizon. Short-term losses from EGAP's activities are permissible and, as experience not only from the Czech Republic but from all over the world shows, practically inevitable. These losses should be offset in times of economic growth and risk reduction on foreign markets, as also envisaged by the OECD Consensus (OECD Arrangement on the Rules Governing Officially Supported Export Credits), which EGAP follows in its activities.
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Client satisfaction
Client satisfaction is considered to be the basis for the sustainable growth of the company. Therefore, EGAP continuously works to build and support long-term relationships with clients through regular client meetings and by identifying their satisfaction with EGAP's services and other needs.
EGAP tries to look at things from the client's perspective and strives to meet their needs. In order to streamline the provision of insurance, EGAP has introduced the online system "CLICK FOR EXPORT" (https://eol.egap.cz/home/login), which makes the journey to EGAP insurance easier and faster.
The function provides existing and new clients with access to the so-called client zone, where they can find a detailed overview of their enquiries. The primary objective is to make it easier to enter requests for preliminary assessment of a business case or for the insurance itself.
The CLICK FOR EXPORT function will continue to be developed and expanded with additional functionalities in the client portal area. Gradually, additional products will be implemented into the online system, with the first extension to be related to letters of credit. The expansion of EOL (EGAP online) should continue beyond insurance enquiries and client input of loan drawdown and repayment via EOL. This function should enable the sending of obligatory information required for business case monitoring, as well as the submission of notifications of insurance claim threat.
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Transparency
EGAP is subject to a strict requirement of complete financial transparency. The fact that EGAP is subject to the obligation to publish contracts in the Register of Contracts and is governed by the Public Procurement Act in the context of procurement helps to increase transparency.
At the same time, EGAP publishes the main results of its activities, among others in audited annual reports as well as in the Solvency and Financial Condition Report prepared under the Solvency II rules (https://www.egap.cz/cs/vyrocni-zpravy, https://www.egap.cz/cs/egap-podle-solvency-ii).
Ethics and responsible business conduct 
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Compliance with legislation
Compliance with legislation and internal procedures is the responsibility of every EGAP employee. EGAP has an internal compliance officer who ensures that procedures and processes within EGAP are consistent with each other and with the laws and regulations that apply to EGAP's activities. However, overseeing compliance is not the responsibility of the compliance officer alone; it is a cross-cutting shared responsibility of every member of the EGAP team.
Ethical business conduct, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, and anti-terrorist financing measures
EGAP makes every effort to reduce the risk of corruption, money laundering, or terrorism. It puts great emphasis on ethical business practices and fair play. An AML system (AML = Anti-Money Laundering) has been introduced for the COVID plus guarantee programme, while AML for insurance activities is mainly carried out by the insured bank.
Innovation and support of entrepreneurs 
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Innovation of products and services
In 2018, a Product Committee was established to improve product management and services. Among other things, the Committee aims to actively monitor and evaluate client needs and respond flexibly to market demands when introducing innovations in the product portfolio. Parallel to this Committee, EGAP has also established an innovation team, which includes employees from across EGAP's various departments and deals with innovation not only in relation to the product offer to clients but also with process innovation within the insurance company.
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Support for export of R&D results
An important area that EGAP seeks to further develop is support for projects with research and development (R&D) elements. Already now, exporters of R&D results can benefit in certain cases from more favourable insurance conditions in the form of reduced deductibles.
In 2020, EGAP continued its active cooperation with TAČR (Technology Agency of the Czech Republic) and other institutions supporting R&D. Within this cooperation, projects with export potential that could be supported by EGAP are regularly identified. A successful case of supported R&D export is represented, for example, by the company LESIKAR, a.s., which focuses on the development and production of unique speed, position, level, and pressure sensors. Last year, with the help of additional pre-export financing insured by EGAP's product "F", the company completed the certification, started manufacturing a new generation of sensors, and has already gained new customers outside the EU.
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Support of entrepreneurs in the Czech Republic
EGAP's main mission is to help Czech exporters to export products and services abroad and to invest in foreign markets, especially in risky countries where the commercial market is not able to provide similar services to the full extent. In this way, EGAP contributes to the diversification of Czech exports outside the European Union and at the same time helps to increase the competitiveness of Czech exporters.
In the long term, EGAP strives to make its services available to as many Czech companies as possible. In this context, it offers a comprehensive product portfolio that provides solutions for all sizes of business entities at all stages of the export case.
In addition, EGAP organizes workshops and seminars for entrepreneurs to share its experience from foreign markets.
EGAP does not forget to support Czech entrepreneurs also in its activities outside of insurance. For example, in the case of purchasing gifts for employees or clients, EGAP purchases mainly from small Czech producers, farmers, and breeders or buys products from sheltered workshops and other institutions employing disabled people. Approximately CZK 1 million is spent annually. CZK 1 million in purchases of goods and services from companies employing people with disabilities. The aim is to gradually increase this amount.