Almost PLN 1.5 Bn awaits entrepreneurs until the end of this year as part of the flagship competition of the National Centre for Research and Development – ‘Fast Track’. During the solemn signing of the agreement for funding the SDNbox project by EXATEL SA, an NCBR beneficiary, Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Gowin and Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz emphasized that the currently most popular support scheme for enterprises brings tangible results. The most interesting projects developed by start-ups and SMEs owing to Fast Track funding were presented.
In the year 2010, Polish employers were mostly people in the 45-54 age group. However, the latest data from GUS (Central Statistical Office) indicates that the image of a Polish entrepreneur has changed significantly. Today, more and more business people are aged 35-44, well-educated and focused on activity in new industrial landscapes. Thus, it can be said that young Poles are more eager to set up their own companies and bring to reality ambitious projects. This translates to enhanced competitiveness within the national economy.
“Poland has a good climate for young entrepreneurs to develop their own businesses” – said Jarosław Gowin, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and Higher Education. – “Owing to the support from such institutions as the National Centre for Research and Development, we are able to stimulate creativity, shape entrepreneurship, and to encourage research & development operations, but primarily, we provide concrete financial support. This enables the realization of innovation. Poland of today is on the fast track to innovation – and the duty of the government is to facilitate this journey.”
The Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Technology has prepared a number of legislative amendments with the objective to facilitate running a business – especially for small and medium-sized entrepreneurs.
“The Business Constitution, which changed the Polish economic reality, came into force on April 30. The amendments it introduced apply to such areas as relations between entrepreneurs and government offices dealing with official matters, such as setting up a business, and suspending business activity. And that’s not all the changes aimed at facilitating running a business in Poland. I should mention the ‘100 Changes for Enterprises’ package, company succession or the ‘Small ZUS’, which will come into force on January 1, 2019. Work on public procurement reform is also underway. The finalization of activities counteracting payment backlogs is ahead of us. Moreover, we are also working on the so-called innovation box” – noted Jadwiga Emilewicz, Minister of Entrepreneurship and Technology.
One of the most popular support schemes for entrepreneurs today is ‘Fast Track’ – an undertaking organized by the National Centre for Research and Development – an executive agency of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. The budget for three competitions planned for the second six months of this year is as much as PLN 1.45 Bn.
The call for applications in the contest for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises has already commenced and will last until December 14. In the case of large companies and consortia led by a large entrepreneur, the application can be submitted from September 3 to November 30. According to the assumptions of the competitions, both SMEs, as well as large companies will receive PLN 700 million. Until December 28, the Centre is also waiting for projects submitted for funding by SMEs with the “Seal of Excellence” certificate of the European Commission. The Centre has reserved the amount of PLN 50 million in this respect.
“‘Fast Track’ means hard support and concrete results, contributing to a civilizational and technological leap of our country. Since the beginning of the year, both large and small companies have submitted over 500 innovative projects, and applied for a total of nearly PLN 4 billion in funding. Hence, we see that the will to innovate among Polish enterprises is strong” – emphasized Izabela Żmudka, NCBR Deputy Director. – “Today we can observe the hard work of beneficiaries and the outcomes it brings in the form of developing or introducing technologically-advanced products that win new markets. These include solutions that can revolutionize the image of reality owing to efficiently conducted R&D work – eco-friendly electricity production, cancer immunotherapy or technologically-advanced space technologies are just a few examples of the thousands of ventures supported by the NCBiR.”
Transparency of application evaluation rules and minimization of formalities are the factors behind the popularity of the Fast Track programme. An entrepreneur waits about 90 days after expiry of the call for applications to receive an answer regarding the grant. The competition is aimed at all entrepreneurs, regardless of the form of their business activity and how long they have been operating on the market. The proposed project must be implemented in a less developed region and fall in line with at least one of 17 National Smart Specializations.
Another agreement for funding within the Fast Track for large companies and consortia was concluded on Monday. Co-financing in the amount of nearly PLN 10 million was awarded to a project entitled “SDNbox – a multi-functional telecommunications software-defined solution in accordance with the concept of SDN (Software Defined Networking)” implemented by a consortium of EXATEL SA and Enamor International Sp. z o.o.
“We’re done with the closed-box philosophy. Depending on the software installed on an SDNBox, it will be able to play radically different functions – it can be a router, switch, server or an element of cyberthreat security. Business needs such flexibility – and so does telecommunications, the army or e Polish industry in general. SDNBox can be easily manufactured and developed in our country. Importantly – the first devices of this type around the world are only under development. Therefore, we can compete for the global market, the value of which is estimated at USD 12 billion in 2020” – said EXATEL’s Vice-President, Rafał Magryś.
The event involved a presentation of original solutions by start-ups and SMEs that have already benefited from the support of the National Centre for Research and Development:
- SKRIWARE Sp. z o.o. – a Warsaw-based start-up providing an original educational solution based on 3D printing technology.
- SensDx SA – a company operating in the field of telemedicine that is developing and evolving diagnostic tests for humans and animals that precisely detect specific pathogen types in domestic conditions.
- VERSABOX Sp. z o.o. – a company developing an autonomous transport system that is based on mobile robots and learning planning and control algorithms, for use in manufacturing processes and non-linear internal warehouse logistics processes.
The Fast Track programme is financed by the Smart Growth Operational Programme, Sub-measure 1.1.1. “Sectoral R&D programmes”.
