Prague's Karlín celebrates key driver of Czech economic growth with ABSL festival

One of Czechia’s most remarkable economic success stories in recent decades has been its business services sector. An industry which was non-existent in this country during much of the twentieth-century is now among Czechia’s biggest employers, driving modernization and growth in cities across the country.

This November, the Association of Business Service Leaders (ABSL) will hold its annual Conference, focusing on the topic “Driving Digital Innovation.” To celebrate the “Czech Edge” in business services on an international scale, ABSL’s conference will use a new “festival” format, spread across venues in Prague’s Karlín district.

Expats.cz spoke with speakers and organizers to find out more about what this year’s conference, running Nov. 5-6, has in store.

Three separate streams will take place simultaneously at the conference: the Big Ideas Stream, the AI & Innovation Stream, and the HR Transformation Stream. Examining the biggest issues and opportunities facing the business services sector today, these streams will be held at three Karlín venues showcasing the best that modern business service spaces have to offer: service centers for Edwards Lifesciences and Scott.Weber, and Spojka Events.

The three streams will discuss the role of business services in “Driving Digital Innovation” in Czechia. ABSL surveys have shown increasing appetite from international businesses to locate their digital centers in Czechia, with the country’s security and stability, strategic location in the heart of Europe, and deep pool of IT talent all motivating factors.

Ondřej Hlavička, head of Edwards Lifesciences in Czechia and a speaker in the AI & Innovation Stream, explains the importance of this digital change: “Some business services jobs will become extinct, while new ones will be created, but one thing is certain: AI will enable us to create significantly more value. The new jobs will not only be more numerous, but significantly more senior than what we see here today."

Prague is the ideal place to realize this digital value, according to Jana Vlková, Head of Office Agency and Workplace Advisory at Colliers, who will participate in the Big Idea Stream. “The general quality of office properties is high compared to many other European cities, which contributes to corporates’ fulfillment of ESG targets. Our developers and property owners constantly improve their properties to cope with new workplace requests,” she says.

“In addition, Prague offers educated, creative people with a high level of adaptability for the fast changing business environment. This helps to transform traditional business services into added-value centers focused on innovation and tech solutions,” Vlková adds.

The Karlín location embodies the success of the business services sector. Karlín has been reinvented in the last two decades as a thriving modern office district. It’s now a heavily international part of the city, full of state-of-the-art office spaces, green areas and cycle paths, and trendy cafes and restaurants.

Business services have driven this transformation. Today, over 4,000 people, or around one-third of all people working in the district, are employed in Karlín’s tech and service hubs. Take the growth of business service centers into the nearby Invalidovna and Palmovka regions into account, and the number of employees in the sector rises to 6,000. 

In this context, it’s no surprise that vacancy rates for office space here are extremely low, with various new developments planned or under construction. Complementing the conference’s three main activity streams, attendees will have the chance to look around Karlín business centers, including that of Pure Storage, a data storage provider, whose Head of Prague's Research and Development, Paul Melmon, explains the appeal of working in “Prague’s Silicon Valley”.

“Pure Storage was initially attracted to Karlín due to its strategic location, wide range of available talent, and high-quality education. However, Karlin offers much more than this,” Melmon says.

The festival-style format will allow ABSL conference attendees to get a real taste for life in the sector. “‘Show your Strengths’ is our ABSL motto, and this year's conference will reveal our amazing services sector at its absolute best,” says Jonathan Appleton, ABSL Managing Director.

“Digital and AI innovation keeps us growing at over 10 percent per year. In 2025, we will reach 200,000 employees in Czechia. This 'Czech Edge' brings exciting new global players into the sector every year and ensures our centers are at the forefront of global business, leveraging the magnetic pull of our cities for new talents and ground-breaking technologies,” Appleton says.

One way ABSL pushes innovation in the sector is via Fusion Digital, a strategy for building AI leadership skills; the only digital academy for business services leaders and experts, it offers the first AI-driven, inclusive digital business services education. “As the digital agenda is a significant part of GBS, we help our centers with digital transformation and build new digital-era capabilities,” adds Appleton.

Expats play a crucial role in this global success story. Grafton Recruitment’s Eliška Smržová, a speaker in the HR Transformation Stream, says foreign workers are “absolutely crucial for the Czech business services sector.”

“As many as 43 percent of employees in the sector are foreigners, covering all types of positions, from junior roles to the highest management roles. What is very special and motivating is the possibility of education targeting the knowledge needed to succeed in the sector, which helps to develop the necessary skills and ensure promotion,” Smržová says.

For expat workers making the most of these opportunities, Karlín is the place where career dreams come true. ABSL’s conference on Nov. 5-6 will be a chance to discover this “Czech Edge” in the very heart of the Czech business services scene.