Polish Success Stories EDITION 2016/2017
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50 Polish Success Stories EDITION 2016/2017 1 Sylwia Ziemacka SUPPORTING POLISH Editor-in-Chief ENTREPRENEURS WORLDWIDE Poland has many t’s my pleasure to present the first issue of TIME FOR POLSKA magazine. The publication targets opinion lead- successful international ers, diplomats and business representatives worldwide. Its stories in dozens of goal is to present success stories of companies with Polish IDNA that bring value to the world. fields, yet they remain „ Poland has many successful international stories in dozens of unrecognized abroad. RZECZPOSPOLITA” HAS ALWAYS BEEN fields, yet they remain unrecognized abroad. To win this fierce bat- CLOSE TO POLISH ENTREPRENEURS. tle for global recognition, not only do the Polish companies need to play on the same team, but they need to try to score in the same WE PROVIDE INFORMATION ON GLOBAL goal. Polish entrepreneurs, institutions and business organizations AND DOMESTIC BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES. need to engage in the process of building Poland’s image abroad to- gether. The power of each individual story is a drop in the ocean WE PUBLISH SPECIAL REPORTS when analyzed in the global context, compared to all those stories The case studies we present in this issue of TIME FOR POLSKA AND RANKINGS ON POLISH BRANDS, presented together. leave no doubt that the above description fits Polish entrepreneurs EXPORTERS AND INVESTORS WHICH Poland’s external image is far from Poles’ aspirations and often is perfectly. There are many Polish companies presented in this mag- based on the historical stereotypes from the past century. The busi- azine, founded in the 1990s after the fall of communism. They have COMPETE ON GLOBAL MARKETS. ness community can and must play a significant role in the process achieved global success and become leaders in their sectors. They of building a country’s positive reputation, as Polish entrepreneurs prove that anything is possible. Their leaders offer lessons on en- are Poland’s best ambassadors worldwide. They are well-educated, trepreneurship for the generation that is now entering the global WE LOOK FORWARD TO MORE AND MORE hardworking, flexible and passionate, with the vision and determi- market with fresh ideas, without any complexes and with a big ap- INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS STORIES nation to achieve success. These qualities, together with an injec- petite for success. Many foreigners admit that in Western Europe, OF POLISH COMPANIES ABROAD. tion of vigor and creativity, especially from the younger generation, the current generation inherited its success, and is not as motivat- produce a winning recipe for the success of Poland’s global image. ed as their predecessors. Poles are! It really is time for Polska. � Radosław Domagalski- Łabędzki Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Economic Development It is innovation that will drive not only technological but primarily social changes. he Polish economy needs a strong development incen- We want to be an investor rather than just spending the money. We tive. The state cannot be only a guardian and only a con- want to be a real influencer on innovative projects rather than just an troller. It should also be a guide and a partner. This is the accountant. Our main focus is small and medium-sized enterprises, essence of our Responsible Development Plan, which is which have the greatest potential for the development of internation- Tnow being incorporated by our government. al activities as they shape their vision of development themselves and Support for foreign expansion of Polish companies is one of the have a high adaptability to changing market conditions. five key pillars of the plan. This includes redefinition and reorganiza- Also, we believe that innovations arise not only in large en- tion of the current model of economic diplomacy, coherent approach terprises. Often the most revolutionary solutions are invented to financial policy and strengthening our nation brand Polska. in small companies but big ones can benefit from those inventions. The new export policy will provide support of public admin- That’s why we are developing acceleration programs and we are re- istration in the development of companies on the perspective constructing the existing model of economic diplomacy to be able markets, especially in Asia and Africa. They are harder and more to use the maximum of existing infrastructure and the potential demanding than the EU markets, but create new business oppor- of talented and successful people hungry to strengthen the Polish tunities for Polish entrepreneurs. The active role of the state is to economy and our image abroad. reduce the investment risk for Polish exporters and investors. Poles have proved that entrepreneurship is a part of our DNA We want to influence the increase of the export scale and invest- many times. Now, thanks to the proper cooperation between the ment activity of companies abroad. It is important to stimulate government, business and science, I’m sure that this national fea- Polish investment abroad and maintain a high growth rate of ture will be recognized and appreciated by the whole world and it exports, while improving its level of innovation. This means the will make all of us proud. � involvement of Polish companies to develop advanced forms of cooperation, e.g. in the research and development sector and increase exports of high-tech goods. We have no doubts that the competitiveness of the Polish econo- my depends mainly on investment in innovation. It is innovation that will drive not only technological but primarily social changes. There- fore an innovative economy becomes Poland’s strategic goal. We want Polish products to become valuable and sought-after on global markets. This is the reason for setting up the Council for Innovation. 6 Eliza Kruczkowska Innovation Development Director, Polish Development Fund Our goal is to build an ecosystem to support the creation and development of new innovative companies These are soft actions, not expressed in the volumes of assets, he establishment of the Polish Development Fund is investments and loans but they are equally important, though dif- a strategic part of the implementation of the Respon- ficult to measure. The whole economy has a huge shortage of skills sible Development Plan. Our goal is to provide opera- in the area of governance, risk taking. Because of this, we want to tional tools for policy development, increase Poland’s support business development and create tools for entrepreneurs Tinvestment and economic potential within a single platform and to acquire their knowledge. We intend to support the creation he turnover of exports from Poland increased in Au- develop tools for entrepreneurs, governments and customers. of several accelerators. gust 2016 by 8 percent y/y and reached 13,750 million Personally I am pleased that we have been entrusted with the Another important element is the fact that the companies will euro (according to the Polish National Bank). For years mission to develop Polish innovation. PFR Ventures will invest al- receive assistance not only in the phase of incubation and accelera- Polish exporters have been competing more and more most 3 billion zlotys (700 million euros) in the StartInPoland pro- tion, but also at the stage of further development and international Tboldly in foreign markets, offering not only a favorable price, but gram developed by the Ministry of Development together with the expansion. The creation of PFR Ventures opened new opportuni- also new solutions that generate added value for customers and cli- Council for Innovation to support Polish startups. PFR created the ties for innovative business ventures. This is the best proof that we ents. Our home business is not afraid to travel long distances and largest platform in the Central and Eastern European region for believe in the potential and talent of young entrepreneurs and that Polish products can already be found in the most remote corners of equity investments in innovative companies at an early stage of de- we want to be their partner in acquiring global markets. the world. Such destinations as Africa and China are on the map of velopment. For the first time, activities in the field of equity instru- We are confident that our significant commitment will translate the strategic business goals of many Polish entrepreneurs. ments have been consolidated and will be realized by the Polish into visible effects on a global scale and Poland will become one We appreciate the efforts of our Polish companies. We believe Development Fund. of the leading innovative countries in the world. � that the government must be a strong partner for entrepreneurs. Our goal is to build an ecosystem to support the creation and de- Under the program, Go To Brand, Polish exporters can count on velopment of new innovative companies and technologies as well PARP support in the international promotion of brand products. as strengthen the willingness to cooperate in creating innovations. The agency’s offer is targeted toward micro, small and medi- We want to stimulate the culture of innovation in Polish enterpris- um-sized enterprises that operate in industries with high compet- es by building competencies among entrepreneurs in the dimen- itive potential. The program has supported various types of indus- sion of innovation management, building portfolios of innovation, tries--medical equipment, healthcare services, cosmetics, IT/ICT, introducing modern management standards and models and ex- yachts and boats, furniture and national