In this unique melting pot, many ideas are already being developed that will make Gdańsk and Poland famous in the international arena. There is a prospect that global players will start to think of Gdańsk as a place that will replace the capital of Great Britain on the map of investments in areas such as fintech and broadly understood IT. What barriers do Polish entrepreneurs most often encounter and can the Gdańsk metropolis benefit from Brexit explains Krzysztof Mazur, PhD, Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Development, PhD in political science, social activist and publicist, in an interview with Dagmara Rybicka from Olivia Business Centre.

In your opinion, what are the most common barriers faced by Polish entrepreneurs in the European Union?

These are, first and foremost, service barriers. They are burdensome inspections, requiring additional certificates, very detailed documentation and lack of access to information. The Ministry of Development has prepared a publication which is the result of cooperation with entrepreneurs in the field of their reported difficulties. In the Black Book, we described cases of such barriers in the single market.

How do our entrepreneurs cope with obstacles compared to other EU countries?

Polish entrepreneurs have the ability to try not to worry about adversities.

Is this a trait of history in your opinion?

I think there’s an entrepreneurial gene in us. If someone decides to run a business, even when they encounter unfavorable regulations, they rather wonder how to effectively navigate among them. Polish entrepreneurs show far-reaching determination and creativity. Indeed, at a time when such regulations or restrictions are commonplace, it requires, for example, the employment of additional people who handle control, the activities of trade unions and workers’ self-governments, which they are able to deal with, although this generates additional costs.

Do you think that the Gdansk metropolis can benefit from Brexit?

Certainly, there is a great determination on the part of the United Kingdom to continue the lively trade cooperation. We don’t know what it will look like, because we are in a transition period. Brexit will not really come into force until 1 January 2021 and now a free trade agreement is being negotiated between London and Brussels, the shape of which will determine a lot. Poles who have settled in the UK are now thinking about how much and whether they should return to their homeland. From the perspective of Gdańsk, it is an interesting issue – on what scale and how to conduct an active policy of encouraging entrepreneurs – who know the language, have several years of work behind them and know the realities – to return.

Do you think they will be able to cope with this slightly different reality?

It seems to me that the EU world has come so close that they could take advantage of many of the positive things they have had the opportunity to observe. Poland does not deviate so much from Western standards, so it would not be a collision with a wall. Today, many global initiatives are looking for locations outside of London. I know of a very prestigious Venture Capital Fund from the United States that would like to start an active activity in Europe and is no longer thinking about London, but about Stockholm or Tallinn. This shows that for Polish and for Gdansk, there is a prospect that global players will start to think of us as a place that will replace the capital of Great Britain on the map of investments in areas such as fintech and broadly understood IT.

Why did the UK’s decision cause such concern?

Let me give you an example. Let’s look at the number of trucks that enter the UK. If each of them were to stand at the border for only 5 seconds, we would still generate a kilometer-long traffic jam. Taking into account that customs clearance can take much longer than these few seconds, we can imagine the enormity of the resulting congestion on the actual level of trade. These may apply to goods and all other areas related to services, data transfer, banking systems. This shows that Great Britain can become a real island and everyone who does business there and lives there is simply afraid of it.

Can places such as Olivia Business Centre become or are they a flywheel of the Polish economy?

Looking from the perspective of Warsaw, Olivia Business Centre is certainly an outstanding place, both in terms of the scale of office space for rent and the accumulation of knowledge. In these buildings there are many representative offices of Western corporations, as well as Polish companies, startups and VC funds. This creates a melting pot unique on a Polish scale and I am sure that many ideas are already being created in it that will make Gdańsk and Poland famous on the international arena. I believe that places like Olivia are the flywheels of our economy, which in Morawiecki’s plan speaks of global champions and the desire to have domestic companies that conquer global markets. These companies can be created in such an environment that will allow them to grow.

^{Krzysztof Mazur – Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Development. PhD in political science, social activist and publicist. Employee of the Institute of Political Science and International Relations of the Jagiellonian University. Member of the Council of the National Centre for Research and Development and Chairman of the Steering Committee of the strategic programme “Gospostrateg” at the National Centre for Research and Development. As a member of the Foundation’s Council, he is involved in the work of the Coalition for Polish Innovations. Since 2015 Member of the National Development Council appointed by the President of the Republic of Poland, where he sits in the “Education, Young Generation, Sport” and “Science and Innovation” sections. More…}

^{Krzysztof Mazur was a guest of Olivia Business Centre and the Jagiellonian Club during a debate on the situation of Polish companies in the European Union. The meeting was also attended by Patryk Kaczmarek, PhD, assistant professor at the Department of Banking and Finance at the Faculty of Management at the University of Gdańsk, President of the Management Board of Project Finance Sp. z o.o., a company dealing with the preparation of investment projects. Winner of the Rector’s Award of the University of Gdańsk for the best PhD students in 2018.}

She spoke:
Dagmara Rybicka, Communication Department of Olivia Business Centre