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More than 80 percent of investment in the development of Polish start-ups is state-funded. The reason for this is the still underdeveloped private-funds market. The Polish market for high-risk start-ups is slowly catching up with the world in professionalism. About 10-20 percent of venture-capital funds in Poland can already be considered as top-performing funds. However, the percentage of those that aren’t working well is still too high.

When compared to the European market, the Polish market for fairs and exhibitions is rather small but well-developed, and it has been steadily growing for several years. More and more events organised in Poland are congresses and fairs with a global reach, attracting foreign exhibitors and guests. This drives business tourism and commercial real property market. Additionally, the fairs and conferences contribute to the development of companies and the entire economic sectors, which become popular thanks to such events. The base of trade fair and conference centres, however, requires extension and modernisation with a view to ensuring the further growth of this market.

Personal hygiene products’ market has been steadily growing by some 3-4% per annum. Faster growth is experienced by its relatively new segment, namely home care products. In both cases the dominant trends to govern this market over the next years are innovation and environmental-friendliness. You might think that innovation in the production of cotton pads or swabs is limited. Quite the opposite, you can be very innovative in the production of even such rudimentary personal care products, says Rafał Szczepkowski, CEO at Harper Hygienics.

Last year the customers of Polish banks made nearly 1.8 bn transfers to a total of PLN 4.7 bn – states the NetB@nk Report by the Polish Bank Association. Among banking services, it is the popularity of instant transfers which is enjoying the fastest growth, with 80 percent more such transfers made in 2017 than in the year before. At the same time the number of ATM cash withdrawals and of ATMs themselves are decreasing. This is accompanied by Poles’ becoming more positive about internet banking.

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.

One of the effects of the banking sector consolidation in Poland is that banks are becoming more and more specialised. In the field of mortgage loans institutions are appearing which manage such loan portfolios. And while these institutions are not aggressively fighting for new customers, the example of BPH, a pioneer in this segment, shows that such operations can create new business opportunities. The Bank, whose spinned-off part was taken over in 2016 by Alior, had to build a new business model virtually from scratch. It has based a large part of its new operations on outsourcing.

The proposed changes in claims-limitation legislation will provide greater protection for debtors. Experts are warning that some fraudulent consumers might take advantage of this, as they would have more tools to avoid repaying overdue debt. These changes might have serious market implications. Most probably, they will affect claims management companies, businesses with overdue claims from clients and consumers themselves, as some financial products will be harder to get and more expensive, experts from the Conference of Financial Companies in Poland argue.

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.

In March inflation was only 1.3 percent in annual terms and it was the slowest increase since December 2016 – the first month to have recorded an increase after 2.5 years of deflation. Such low figures are so surprising that they might even be incorrect, claimed Piotr Kuczyński, CAO at Xelion. But there is no risk of going back to deflation. The continuing slight increases in prices are delaying increases in interest rates.

The Polish fintech market, which includes companies providing financial services with the application of technological solutions, is one of the largest among Central and Eastern European countries. Its value is estimated at almost EUR 860 million. Every fifth Polish citizen is already using fintech solutions, and by 2020 the share is to rise to almost 50%. The dynamic development of fintech solutions enforces changes in the banking sector, taking the form of, e.g., instant online payment or instant borrowing instruments. Innovative solutions also have an impact on the development of online trade.

More than 2.5 m Poles experience difficulties in the timely repayment of their liabilities. Unpaid debts is a major problem for the economy as a whole and for the enterprise sector, with businesses spending 5-6 percent of the total costs on dealing with the issue. In statistical terms, the percentage of recovered debt is low. For instance, bailiffs get back around 20 percent of debts. The experts of the Conference of Financial Companies (KPF) emphasise that the suggested changes in the regulations referring to the expiry of claims, with a more protective approach towards debtors, might make these statistics even worse.

“Poles have been exceptionally quick to embrace new financial and payment technologies. Among other factors, this has made Poland’s retail banking, payment system and credit products some of the most unique globally,” observed Paweł Borys, President of the Polish Development Fund. This has opened up a vast space for fintechs – innovative financial start-ups which are starting to challenge banks. Blockchain, the technology behind cryptocurrency, will be one of the leading technologies to change the financial services sector in the years to come.

According to the latest National Bank of Poland inflation report, this year prices in Poland will grow at an average rate of 2.1 percent. This is less than expected in November, when inflation was predicted at 2.3 percent. At 3.3 percent, food prices are expected to increase the most. However, the projected GDP growth has been revised upwards.

As many as 80 percent of enterprises are experiencing problems receiving on-time payments from their contracting parties. At the same time, however, only a little more than a half of companies check their prospective partners before engaging in cooperation. Although the waiting time is getting shorter and is currently 3 months on average, in over 46 percent of companies one in five receivables is overdue. Modern technologies provide easier ways to collect debts. An online application for debt collection can increase the effectiveness of this process by up to a half.