Poland is a safe haven for Ukrainian companies during the war

Poland is a safe haven for Ukrainian companies during the war

Poland, due to its geographic location and cultural proximity, has become a “natural logistic and organisational hub” for Ukrainian companies, say PIE analysts, the Polish public economic think tank.

In addition to logistics issues, the support provided to Ukrainian entrepreneurs also plays a role. Poland launched for them, inter alia, an aid project coordinated by the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH). And from the beginning of March, small and medium-sized enterprises from Ukraine can conduct their activities from the territory of our country.

Free co-working space for Ukrainian companies

To help maintain business continuity, PAIH provides free co-working space for Ukrainian companies. In addition, it offers support in the search for a suitable property to conduct business, advice on possible public aid, support in contacts with central and local administration and information on the conditions for doing business in Poland.

“But for Ukrainian companies, Poland is not only a bridgehead in waiting out the war. It is a place where Ukrainian entrepreneurship can develop, because it gives opportunities for creative and innovative ventures and gaining experience in running a business on the European market – PIE economists point out.

This can be seen in the data on the economic activity of Ukrainians in Poland from before the outbreak of the war.

Enterprising Ukrainians

According to PIE, companies in which one of the shareholders is a Ukrainian company or a natural person with Ukrainian citizenship constitute almost a quarter (23%) of companies with foreign capital operating in Poland.

Most Ukrainian companies in Warsaw

At the end of January 2022, i.e. before the war, 21.8 thousand jobs were operating in our country. Ukrainian entities. This is 2.5 times more than German companies and 5 times more than Dutch companies. The largest part (38%) of Ukrainian companies was registered in the Mazowieckie Voivodeship – most of them in Warsaw.

The vast majority of Ukrainian companies in Poland are less than 5 years old. Most of them operate in the sectors of construction (23%) and trade (22%).

There is also quite a large share of enterprises dealing with transport (14%) and activities in the field of administration and support services (13%), most of which are temporary employment agencies and companies providing cleaning services.

ZUS data also confirm that Ukrainians constitute the largest part of foreigners running a business in Poland. In April 2021. as much as 6.3 thousand of Ukrainian citizens reported self-employment to ZUS or were employers. It was 28 percent. foreign businessmen operating in Poland”, says PIE.

The think tank also points out that there is a clear upward trend in the share of Ukrainian citizens among foreigners running companies in Poland.

Three years ago, they constituted slightly less than a quarter of foreigners running their own business in Poland. Today, more than every fourth foreigner running a business in our country is Ukrainian.

“You can see that Ukrainian citizens who emigrate and undertake physical work, after mastering the Polish language and gaining experience in a Polish company, are promoted to managerial positions or open their own companies.

There is also an increase in the share of Ukrainians taking up employment in the creative industry (IT, marketing and PR, video production, etc.)”, PIE analysts indicate.

In addition, the Poland Business Harbour project has been in force for Ukraine since July 2021. It is a solution that facilitates the relocation of companies and employees from countries beyond the eastern border, mainly Belarus and Ukraine, to Poland. 

In turn, PAIH currently supports four Ukrainian companies, whose projects are worth 43 million EUR and will create 973 jobs, says PIE.

Source: 300gospodarka

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