Poland. Business Harbour, the government program for specialists and companies from the ICT sector opens up for Azerbaijan!

The Poland. Business Harbour program

This "safe business haven" includes three paths of participation: for individual IT specialists, startups and mature companies - from micro-entrepreneurs to the largest players on the market. The program was created as a response to the situation in Belarus and the need to provide a safe haven and chance for the development of the hitherto thriving Belarusian IT industry, which is, however, particularly vulnerable to persecution. The program is the only solution of its type in the history of Poland and in Europe.

As part of the program, a special type of visa has been created, which is the only type of visa that allows you to work without the need to obtain a permit, it allows you to start a business and take your immediate family with you. 24,258 such visas have already been issued.

In addition to visa facilitation, all program participants can count on help with contacts with accelerators, Local Government and/or Special Economic Zones, which have actively participated in the preparation of offers for those relocating and their families, creating temporary office and residential accommodation. One of the elements of the package is also support in the form of connecting entrepreneurs with investors and grants for R&D activities. Each company and startup is offered support in the business concierge formula - as part of cooperation with the Polish Investment and Trade Agency, or the Poland Prize program, respectively.

Over a year ago, Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz announced the launch of the government program Poland. Business Harbour. It makes us happy that we can celebrate this success today. Thanks to the fruitful cooperation between PAIH, GovTech Polska in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, PARP, as well as the Startup Hub Poland foundation, we are announcing an extension of the Program, this time to Azerbaijan. Supporting entrepreneurs is a goal that the Ministry of Development is constantly striving for. It is all the more necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic, both at home and abroad. It is equally important to strengthen relations between states. - said Olga Semeniuk, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Development and Technology.

The program is organized by: the GovTech Center in the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Development, Labour and Technology, the Polish Investment and Trade Agency and the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development in consultation with industry organizations from the ICT sector.

The next edition of Poland. Business Harbour

From today, as part of the Poland. Business Harbour Azerbaijan joins Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine!

Poland. Business Harbour for Belarus

For Belarus, the program operates under the current rules until January 31, 2022. From February 1, 2022, the rules of the program will be the same for all PBH participants.

We are committed to investing in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. This is in line with the assumptions of Polish foreign policy - Poland is to be the hub of the region and have a positive impact on its neighbours, so as to support their economic development in the long term, especially in the field of new technologies - says Marcin Przydacz, Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Poland. Business Harbour for companies

Thanks to PAIH, every small, medium and large company can move its activities to Poland. They can count on a business concierge service, i.e. comprehensive assistance in transferring their business consisting of advice on legal or investment issues. The relocation process has already been completed for 44 companies that have provided over two thousand jobs.

The value of investment projects conducted or implemented by PAIH has already exceeded EUR 169.53 million.

The program Poland.Business Harbour is a huge success. It is very popular among entrepreneurs - more foreign companies are coming to PAIH continuously. From the beginning of the program, over 18,000 people working in the IT sector, together with their families have moved from Belarus to Poland. Last year, 37 companies from Belarus were on the list of foreign investments in Poland supported by PAIH - this is the effect of the program. Thanks to it, companies contacting PAIH received comprehensive assistance in relocating their business and employees to the territory of the Republic of Poland. We are glad that another country is joining the program - said Grzegorz Słomkowski, Member of PAIH’s Management Board.

Poland. Business Harbour for startups

Thanks to the involvement of the Poland Prize program run by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, new startups can apply for funding under PBH up to a maximum amount of PLN 300,000. So far, over a thousand applications have been submitted under the program, several dozen of them have been helped with relocation to Poland, financial support and access to the Polish acceleration ecosystem.

The project that started with helping our Belarusian neighbours has recently shown how much such programs are needed. Poland offers great opportunities for entrepreneurs and innovators. We are glad that we can support the development of not only the program, but most of all our economy. - said Mikołaj Różycki, PARP’s Deputy Chairman.

Poland. Business Harbour for individuals

In the new version, a special PBH visa can be obtained by anyone recommended by one of the program's partner companies, the list of which is available on gov.pl/pbh. Today there are already over 300 of them, but the list remains open and available on the program's website.

Another extension of the Poland. Business Harbour program, proves the incredible interest in Poland. This "safe business haven" is primarily supporting and building an increasingly stronger economy, the possibility of integration and development of the Polish IT sector. We cordially invite all those who want to create this program with us! - says Justyna Orłowska, the Prime Minister’s Plenipotentiary for GovTech..

The central information point for those interested in using the Program or joining it is a special website, available at gov.pl/pbh in nine language versions (languages of each of the seven countries,plus Polish and English).

For the purposes of the Program, a special helpline has also been launched, available at +48 22 334 99 77, which operates from Monday to Friday 24 hours a day and operates in Polish, Russian and English. Those interested in the program can also ask questions by e-mail at the following address: pbh@paih.gov.pl.