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44 percent of businesses in Poland suffered financial losses due to cyberattacks in 2017. Cyber threats are a growing concern. One of the challenges is to ensure the security of IoT devices. As we're speaking, 70 percent of these devices have gaps enabling hackers to take control of them. Efforts have been undertaken to prevent this. The EU is working on regulations to make it mandatory to certify devices for their cyber-vulnerability.

Support offered by business angels to young companies in Poland is still much smaller than in developed Western European countries, but it is continuously increasing. Several hundred people are dealing with such investments, while in Germany or the United Kingdom, there are several thousand such individuals. They not only help to acquire capital but also support companies with knowledge of corporate governance, information policy and investor relations. Such support will also be offered to the winners of the CEE-Released competition, which will select 15 best young companies at an early stage of development in Central and Eastern Europe.

Both the European Union and national governments have recognised the necessity of increasing energy efficiency, which has an impact on the development of economies. This requires close cooperation between the business sector and companies which excel at implementing new technologies in order to achieve ambitious environmental goals. The business sector plays one of the major roles in sustainable development measures, emphasised the Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All.

In 2017 producers sold almost 6 m large household appliances to retail chains. Electrolux wants to take advantage of this very beneficial market situation. The company is planning to increase employment and production capacities and to introduce new innovative products into the market. Within the next two years the company also aims to invest approx. PLN 50 m in factories in Poland. There are also plans of investing in product research laboratories operating in factories. The industry is afflicted by labour shortages, primarily in the middle segment, including technicians and people with vocational education.

Polish entrepreneurs are placing increasing importance on the organisation of business meetings. Prices are becoming less and less important, with the quality of service and location being the major factor. Company owners increasingly often choose for this purpose cosy restaurant rooms in city centres. Additional attractions such as live cooking and healthy, light menus are enjoying a surge in popularity.

Automation might have a good effect on the level of wages and salaries in the Polish economy. It may also solve the problem of labour shortages which impede the development of businesses. An industrial robot costs from several hundred thousand to million zlotys, but it is an investment with a short payback time – it pays back as quickly as within a year or two, thus increasing efficiency and giving the business a competitive edge. This, in turn, results in lower costs and extra revenues. In Poland, industrial robots are used primarily in the automotive, chemical and steel industries.

In 2018, businesses can expect a record number of legal changes. Starting this year, the obligation to submit the JPK file, after large and medium-sized enterprises, has now covered small businesses. Furthermore, from now on the National Court Register will only accept electronic reports. More regulations are to enter into force in the following months, including those aimed at tightening the VAT system, and changes to the leasing reporting rules. In response to this new legislation, businesses will need to adapt their organisational and IT infrastructure.

With a nearly 16-percent growth, last year was very successful for the leasing sector. The greatest boost could be observed in the segment of light passenger and delivery vehicles as well as in machinery and equipment. The latter segment has also continued to grow at a fast pace since the start of 2018. During the first half of this year we may expect these figures to go up by as much as 20 percent, as assessed by the BZ WBK Leasing experts. This can be attributed to the increased volume of investments made by businesses.

The sources of financing start-ups have changed considerably over the last few years. The accessibility of EU funding via national institutions is growing. Venture capital funds are also gaining in importance. A relatively new form of financial support is equity crowdfunding. This year, limits for obtaining funds under this model have been increased to as much as EUR 1 m. Poland and eastern-European markets are becoming more attractive for investors.

The development of private equity funds in Poland is gaining momentum. In 2017, the value of investments on our market reached nearly EUR 7 bn. But compared to developed markets we’re still going through the stage of early growth, says Michał Staszkiewicz, Vice-President of the Management Board, Private Equity Managers and MCI Capital TFI. The funds, which invest in private companies, are a good alternative to low-interest deposits and to the volatile stock market. They are more resistant to economic fluctuations, and they rely on long-term strategies and diversified portfolios. But this form of investing is not for everyone.

The Polish event industry is becoming more and more professional, gaining increasing recognition internationally. It is also a growing factor in the national economy. A total of 150 major international conferences have already been scheduled to take place in Poland by 2021. Yet, the event marketing industry is still struggling to live up to international standards and having issues with the competitive bidding procedures involved in procuring these services.

Washing gels already make up half the laundry products market in Western Europe. In Poland, their share amounts to approximately 15 percent, but is increasing rapidly. The 100-million-zloty Henkel project consisting of a new gel production line in the Racibórz plant is the company’s answer to the growing demand. The laundry products manufactured in Poland will be exported to the markets in Central and Eastern Europe.

Digitalisation has become a necessity and a priority for business, regardless of the size of the organisation and the industry. It is a condition for keeping up with the market, making it possible to create new business models and to provide an improved real-time response to customer needs. Digitalisation also impacts consumers themselves, whose awareness and expectations are rising. It exerts the strongest impact on the sectors which are closest to customers: services, retail trade and marketing. Every third business in Poland has already defined its digital strategy.

Besides development capital, start-ups, through cooperation with investors, usually receive support in the form of expert knowledge and know-how which are normally not accessible to them. Reaching up to several hundred percent, the return on investment (ROI) is in this case much higher than with traditional investments. Nearly every fifth start-up in Poland records a growth in excess of 50% a month.

Polish companies continue to rely on traditional paper binders and Excel sheets to store their data, a study by TomTom Telematics finds. Traditional analogue tools are used by 40% of businesses. Only one in eight companies use telemetric systems to reduce their costs, ensure more efficient vehicle use and improve drivers’ safety. Polish companies spend much less on these measures than their counterparts in France and Germany. This problem is particularly pressing in the transport sector, where returns on investments show the quickest.