South Moravian Region
South Moravia employs 70,000 in tech (up 52% since 2011) and produces one-third of the world's electron microscopes from Brno.
Brno and South Moravia represent what happens when historical path dependence takes an unexpected fork. Unlike Prague's continuous commercial evolution, Brno's trajectory pivoted from textile manufacturing (the 'Manchester of Moravia' in the 19th century) to something unprecedented: a deliberate ecosystem construction around research and innovation. Today, 70,000 workers—52% more than in 2011—operate in IT, science, and technology. The region produces one-third of the world's electron microscopes. R&D investment reaches nearly 3% of regional GDP, matching Nordic countries. This transformation required infrastructure investment that mimics reef-building: CEITEC, the Czech Semiconductor Centre, and the South Moravian Innovation Centre function as artificial structures that attract and concentrate research activity. The EU named it European Entrepreneurial Region 2024. Brno demonstrates that regional economies can deliberately engineer their evolutionary trajectory—but only with sustained investment in the structural foundations that enable niche construction.