Ukraine refugees help Poland's economy thrive

DW (English)

Poland's economy is experiencing an upswing due to growing domestic demand, low unemployment, and a transparent tax system that is attracting foreign capital and labor — also from neighboring Ukraine.

Transcript

00:00Poland is now the 20th largest economy in the world with a projected GDP of 900

00:08billion euros in 2025. Strong domestic demand, low unemployment and a clearly

00:15structured tax system make the country attractive for entrepreneurs especially

00:20those arriving from Ukraine. I think Poland provides, apart from great business

00:26opportunities, government opportunities. It's a huge market and it's fast-growing

00:29market and we see that the country has an amazing job moving from ex-communist

00:36society to capitalist society and in just one generation.

00:42Oleksandr Bondarev is the head of Plezo Therapy, an AI-driven mental health platform.

00:49The company moved from London to Warsaw in 2022, shortly after the start of the

00:54full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. In Poland to open the company it was quite

00:59a straightforward process, it was easy. I think everything to do with the

01:03government is quite easy, quite electronic, so I think it is very fair. I believe that

01:10Poland is one of the better examples in Europe. Plezo Therapy now has about 70

01:17employees, most of them based in Poland. The startup first received support from the

01:22Google Ukraine support fund, followed by other accelerator programs.

01:26And today it cooperates with more than 500 licensed therapists across Europe.

01:36Ukrainian founders were present in Poland even before the war, so we are not some, you know,

01:45exotic entity here. And everyone understands that, yes, we are Ukrainians, but everyone

01:50proved already that Ukrainians can build businesses here, can raise the money. I have to say that

01:57one of the harder part in Poland specifically is to raise capital.

02:01Ukrainians now contribute around 2.7% of Poland's GDP through businesses, jobs and investments.

02:10Ukrainians have been coming to Poland to work since the late 90s. Today, more than 90,000 companies

02:16here have Ukrainian involvement, including entrepreneurs like Mikola Snikovsky, who moved

02:21here with his family in March 2022. There is a place for Ukrainians here. The mentality is close to ours,

02:30and we understand the language.

02:35Snikovsky is the founder of the Boki Group, which makes doors and sliding systems supplied by five

02:41Ukrainian manufacturers. But over the past three years, he's also launched further ventures,

02:47from innovative loan services in Africa to a beauty salon in Warsaw.

02:51One positive aspect is that Poland has a strong economy and people have money.

03:01Another advantage is the clearly structured tax system.

03:05And across his own burgeoning business empire in Poland, nearly 30 employees work locally,

03:14with only one being Polish. The rest come from Ukraine and other countries.

03:18And there are more Ukrainian brands coming to Poland.

03:24Mimosa Brooklyn Pizza was founded in Kyiv in 2017.

03:29It's just opened its first location in Poland, bringing along the original menu and design.

03:34I think it was established mainly in response to the arrival of people from Ukraine in Poland,

03:44after the beginning of the war in Ukraine.

03:47They simply needed places where they can feel a little bit more at home.

03:56Ukrainian entrepreneurs continue to expand in sectors from tech to hospitality,

04:01and their role in Poland's economic growth is becoming increasingly significant.

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