Warsaw joins Start Alliance business network!

The Start Alliance initiative brings together urban innovation leaders from around the world. It cludes such innovative centres as: London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Shanghai, New York or Tel Aviv. The institution that introduced Warsaw to this elite group was Berlin Partner - an organization responsible for the development of the Start Alliance network. Polish capital is represented by three institutions that support innovation development in Poland: Polish Development Fund (PFR), Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH) as well as Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP). The official inauguration of the cooperation took place in the presence of over four thousand startups from the Central and Eastern Europe region, participating in the Wolves Summit in Warsaw.

The Start Alliance's goal is to network the most innovative cities in the world and create a platform for innovative companies. Instead of competing with each other, firms obtain room to establish cooperation and build new, international relationships. Joining Warsaw to the network brings with it a number of benefits for entrepreneurs. Thanks to the cooperation, it will be easy to contact foreign start-ups from partner cities and potential investors. They will take part in industry events. There is also a free co-working space and consultancy in the field of taxes, law, staffing and migration issues in selected partner cities.

During the inauguration of partnership Paweł Borys, the President of Polish Development Fund (PFR) said : „Start Alliance is a opportunity for Warsaw to appear on a global map of highly innovative cities. I encourage our entrepreneurs to draw on foreign potential, to which they are now even more easily accessible’’.

Additionally, Krzysztof Senger, vicepresident of Polish Investment and Trade Agency, which has become the contact centre of the Start Alliance in Poland, talked about the benefits of joining the network: "Close cooperation with the technological environment from around the world is a great opportunity for the capital technology companies to develop and build international recognition. Participation in the initiative Start Alliance will benefit Warsaw itself by creating the image of the innovative capital of the country”.

Participation in the Start Alliance Network is co – financed from European Union funds as part of the Next Step Poland project, which is implemented by three institutions from PFR Group : Polish Development Fund (PFR), Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH) and Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP). Its main goal is to develop and improve the quality of the innovation ecosystem in Poland.

The initiative is co-financed from the European Social Fund under the IV. Priority axis Social innovation and transnational cooperation, Measure: 4.3 Transnational cooperation of the Operational Program Knowledge Education Development 2014-2020.

Contact for interested companies:
karolina.wawrzyniak@paih.gov.pl
+48 001 1234567