POLAND PRIZE, POLAND
MIGRANTS
The Poland Prize is a competitive programme inviting foreign start-ups to start activities in Poland. It offers grants and development support to help entrepreneurs who already operate a business abroad settle and further develop their operations in Poland. The programme is financed by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP) with subsidies from the Government of Poland and the European Union Structural Funds.
The Poland Prize was created to foster the integration of foreign start-ups with growth potential into the start-up ecosystem and connecting them with Polish business partners. The programme is expected to facilitate the attraction and adoption of foreign technologies and innovative business models.
The Poland Prize is run in partnership with partner organisations and actions (e.g. MIT Enterprise Forum Central and Eastern Europe, Accelpoint, Huge Thing, Space3ac, #OMGKRK and Krakow Technology Park) who implement the programme in different Polish cities. Applications are submitted directly through these operators. Applications are ranked based on the proposed business solution and short-listed candidates are invited for interviews, after which programme participants are selected.
The Poland prize is structured in two independent stages, each involving a financial and non-financial support package. Access to the first stage does not guarantee participation in the second stage of the programme. Stage 1 of the Poland Prize package offers a grant up to PLN 50 000 (approximately EUR 11 000) and can last up to 3 months. This stage includes a soft-landing phase, during which the entrepreneur receives a dedicated visa pathway and assistance in official, banking and settlement-related matters. It also includes a development phase, during which the entrepreneur receives support to design and implement an Individual Development Plan outlining the first stages of activity. During this phase, the entrepreneur receives support to start business operation in Poland, upskill and develop the start-up team, develop the product, build local business connections and networks, acquire clients and meet and develop a relationship with a business partner (either an investor or a business interested in using the technology developed by the start-up or collaborate with it). To be selected for the second stage of the programme, a start-up must complete stage 1 and sign either a letter of intent or a pre-investment agreement with their business partner (depending on whether their business partner is a technology recipient or an investor).
The stage 2 package offers a grant up to PLN 250 000 (approximately EUR 55 000) and lasts between six and ten months. This stage includes an acceleration phase during which the recipient designs and implements an Individual Acceleration Plan aimed at adopting, testing and pilot implementation of the solution with the dedicated technology business recipient (or fundraising from the matched investor). Stage 2 also includes a post-acceleration phase, which can last up to six months and includes activities and services aimed at maximising the results of the acceleration programme (e.g. continuation of business development services started in the acceleration phase). During both stages, participants receive support from a dedicated mentor and have access to several workshops.
The programme’s pilot version was implemented in 2018-20 with five operators. The programme brought 100 young companies to Poland over this period. Based on the pilot’s popularity, the Poland Prize was renewed and expanded. In 2021, the budget of the programme increased from PLN 60 million (approximately EUR 13 million) to PLN 86.2 million (approximately EUR 18.8 million), and the number of operators was increased to nine.
- PARP (2020), “Poland Prize”, https://en.parp.gov.pl/component/site/site/en-poland-prize#about.
- MIT EF CEE (2021), “Regulations of the Poland Prize by MIT EF CEE”, MIT Enterprise Forum Central and Eastern Europe, https://mitefcee.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Terms-Conditions-Poland-Prize-by-MIT-EF-CEE-1.pdf.