6 minute read
Ex Oriente Lux
Normally light shines from the East but this time lets turn the spotlight on the East! No, we are not talking about the Far East or even the Middle East. Surprised? Today, we shine the, “FDI Spotlight” on our neighbours in the East.
In reponse to the current political and economic situation in Belarus, the regional board of the Pomerania Voivodeship initiated a support campaign called Come2Pomerania via Invest in Pomerania and Live more. Pomerania.
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Come2Pomerania is a compendium of knowledge for entrepreneurs, companies and specialists from Belarus and other countries. The website offers exhaustive information on legal issues, acts as a complementary service to the Poland. Business Harbour program (a great program by PAIH), details the facilities, supports and incentives available for entrepreneurs and companies wishing to relocate or grow their EU presence and helps specialists find a job in the region. The website also talks about the support available for students and Belarusians who are already in Pomerania.
– Cooperation with investors, entrepreneurs and innovators from across the eastern border has a long tradition here and has been implemented systemically over the past few years. Due to several historical-geographical and socio-political factors, the Tricity is one of the most open, friendly and inclusive places in the country. From the 1970s to the present day, it has remained the cradle of the solidarity, freedom, democracy and human rights. For immigrants from the former Soviet Union, this spirit of freedom is clearly felt and extremely important – says Aleksandra Moszyńska from Kyiv, an Associate at Invest in Pomerania, responsible for the project.
The topic of scale and adequacy of the allocated solutions is perfectly illustrated by the example of EPAM Systems, a company present on the Tricity market for many years. – Being the biggest IT employer in Belarus with over 12,000 employees there, EPAM Systems has been faced with an unprecedented challenge of having to provide a quick and efficient mean for interested employees to be able to relocate to Poland despite the turmoil in their home country. With the Pomeranian region already chosen by more than half of our relocating employees from Belarus, we do anticipate that at least several hundred more of our relocating colleagues from Belarus will join us here. We are most grateful to PAIH for the Poland. Business Harbour program, which enabled seamless expedited relocation for highly qualified individuals, and also to Invest in Pomerania for their continued support and cooperation when it comes to helping relocating colleagues with adaptation, information support for immigration and other queries, and also for helping us create a better, safer and more inclusive environment for relocating colleagues to feel like home away from home – Ievgen Berezenko, Director & Head of EPAM Northern Poland Deli very Organization.
Of course, apart from employees, the aforementioned support is also used by companies moving or developing in Poland. – As a co-founder of an IT company, I am focused on the future. Sooner or later, the pandemic will end, and IT services will be even in higher demand. We’ve opened an office in Tricity to be prepared for this. There are three cities and three important benefits. First, Gdańsk is a great location that opens the doors to the Nordic and Benelux regions. The second benefit is access to well-educated and professional IT specialists who can strengthen our expertise and bring new ideas. And the last but not least, Tricity provides governmental support, has great infrastructure for business and generous people who make opening a business in this location smooth and efficient – Katherine Lazarevich from belarusian DIGITEUM.
The Come2Pomerania programme in volves consistent expansion of the target group that will be able to benefit from personalised assistance. It is hard to imagine a better place to build new forms and mechanisms of participation than in the Gdańsk with its Equal Treatment Model that is the first Polish city(ies) with such a comprehensive equality programme. This is particularly significant for protecting and ensuring full exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis. Further contributions are made by institutions such as the Support Centre for Immigrants, the European Solidarity Centre and the Emigration Museum in Gdynia. The foundation of the entire
structure invariably remains the freedom-oriented values of the historic Solidarity movement.
The Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot metropolis is the only one in Poland with systemic solutions for foreigners covered by the minimum integration standard. This includes substantive support, legal advice, Polish language courses, as well as issues such as security, training for officials and creation of district migration teams. This approach has resulted in the creation of a favourable and cooperative environment for people living here (Gdańsk came first in Forbes' ranking of PeopleFriendly Cities, and the latest European Commission report places the residents of the capital of Pomerania among the most satisfied in Europe), as well as companies. The Tricity is also ranked in the top 5 Tech Cities of The Future rankings by FDi Intelligence in 2020.
– At Invest in Pomerania, we ensure the satisfaction of our investors not only at the stage of choosing the Tricity as the location of their investment but also after the completion of the investment project. Therefore, we constantly monitor the economic situation in the region, identify challenges and obstacles that local entrepreneurs may encounter when running their business in Pomeranian Voivodeship and, if the situation requires it, we try to solve such problems – says Anna Jagodzińska-Warzych, Investor Spokesperson, Invest in Pomerania.
She stresses that – Investors can count not only on our individual assistance in a given case but also on systemic solutions, which we work on in cooperation with representatives of regional authorities and with the participation of local institutions. We pay special attention to issues related to the process of legalisation of employment and stay in Poland of workers relocated from Eastern European countries. Knowing that the procedure and the waiting time for a decision can be a source of inconvenience for companies and especially for their employees, we are taking various measures to clarify the procedure and to make the whole process more efficient.
For example, in January this year, we initiated the signing of a letter to the Prime Minister of Poland by the Marshal of Pomeranian Voivodeship and the Mayors of Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia with an appeal to include Ukrainian citizens in Poland. Business Harbour programme. We hope that other cities in Poland, where
the presence of highly qualified professionals is highly desirable, will also join us, which in turn will translate into easier access to the Polish labour market for our neighbours – adds Anna Jagodzińska-Warzych.
In January 2021 the Mayors of Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot and the Marshal of Pomeranian Voivodeship signed a Declaration of Values. Defining the direction of the region's development based on “solidarity, integration and peaceful coexistence”, as King Felipe VI of Spain said, as he presented the prestigious Princess of Asturias Award in the “Concord” category to the Mayor of the City of Gdańsk, Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, for commitment to protecting freedom, human rights and peace, in 2019.
By combining tradition with modernity, drawing on the experience of the past to build a better, safer and more sustainable future, we invite the world to Come2Pomerania, because we care more!
www.come2pomerania.com
Author: Bartosz Wojtasiak, Project Manager, Invest in Pomerania
More information:
al. Grunwaldzka 472 D Olivia Business Centre – Olivia Six 80-309 Gdańsk Phone: 58 32 33 256 e-mail: office@investinpomerania.pl bartosz.wojtasiak@investinpomerania.pl www.investinpomerania.pl
