- The Capital City of Warsaw, Aula Polska and WSE have signed a letter of intent in support of Warsaw-based start-ups
- The initiative aims to create new innovative sources of growth for the Polish economy
By initiative of WSE President Adam Maciejewski, the Capital City of Warsaw, Aula Polska – a grassroots initiative which groups more than 5,000 start-ups represented by Mr Artur Kurasiński, and Warsaw Stock Exchange have signed a letter of intent on 19 May 2014 to take joint steps in favour of entrepreneurship and innovation in Poland. These measures will mainly include support for start-ups. The initiative combines the potential and resources of Warsaw, a city which aspires to become an international capital hub, the competences of Warsaw Stock Exchange, the biggest exchange of Central and Eastern Europe, and the enthusiasm and innovativeness of a civic movement of young entrepreneurs grouped by the Aula Polska initiative.
The long-term goals of the project are to enhance the innovative edge of the Polish economy, to create an image of a city which fosters innovation and promotes entrepreneurship, and to attract the biggest possible numbers of entrepreneurs and investors to Warsaw. These goals will be pursued by means of consolidating the existing infrastructure and developing the missing elements of the system of support for entrepreneurs in order to facilitate raising of capital and development of business.
“Small companies including microenterprises account for more than 90 percent of all companies in Warsaw. It is very easy to open a new business but much more difficult to keep it on the market. Only few companies manage to grow. We want to create a coherent system of support for young entrepreneurs at every step of their development to make them more confident and aware of the risks and challenges they face, which will certainly enhance their competitiveness. Together with Warsaw Stock Exchange and Aula Polska, we are launching a most complementary system of support for young promising companies. The initiative is also open for other institutions and I encourage everyone to join in,” said Mayor of Warsaw Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz.
Crowdfunding, which involves financing of new projects with many small contributions from a community interested in the concept, has been growing very dynamically all around the world as a significant source of funding for business projects. As the first exchange in Europe and a global pioneer, WSE will develop a special crowdfunding platform on which start-ups can raise funds for development. Thanks to the platform, everyone will be in a position to support selected business concepts by acquiring company shares, extending a loan or making a donation. Additional support will be offered including office space, technological infrastructure and advice of experts – signatories of the letter of intent who will be helping in the evaluation of business concepts, marketing initiatives and the identification and establishment of international contacts.
“Crowdfunding platforms raised more than US$ 5 billion around the world in 2013. According to estimates, the figure will rise to more than US$ 300 billion in the next decade. It is time to use crowdfunding in Poland as a means of financing entrepreneurship, especially that the existing sources of growth of our economy will be exhausted. We need to put a stronger emphasis on innovation, entrepreneurship and bold business initiatives. This is why we want to create a comprehensive and credible programme of support for start-ups,” said President of Warsaw Stock Exchange Adam Maciejewski.
“I am certain that the co-operation of business represented by WSE, the City of Warsaw and Aula Polska will successfully support entrepreneurs in the city. Aula Polska has been building the community of technology businesses and supporting Polish start-ups for seven years. Now we enter a completely new level of operation. I am very happy that we can participate in this initiative. We should focus on what is most important in developing the best possible ecosystem for start-ups,” said Artur Kurasiński of Aula Polska.
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Warsaw Stock Exchange is the biggest securities exchange in Central and Eastern Europe. WSE organises trading on one of the most dynamically growing capital markets in Europe. WSE operates a regulated market of shares and derivative instruments and the alternative stock market NewConnect for growing companies. WSE is developing Catalyst, a market for issuers of corporate and municipal bonds, as well as commodity markets. Since 9 November 2010, WSE is a public company listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange. For more information visit www.gpw.pl