Wrocław ( Breslavia ) is the capital of Lower Silesia one of sixteen administrative regions in Poland. This is the fourth biggest city in Poland (over 650 000 residents) and third largest academic centre. In the years 2006 and 2010 the economic development indicator was the best in Poland (data from PwC). The city is second only to Warsaw with regards to income per capita (data from the end of 2011: http://www.stat.gov

.pl/gus/5840_8478_PLK_HTML.htm). Investment expenditure is the highest in Poland (34.6% of the total spending). What do the following companies have in common: unquestionable leaders of the leasing market in Poland (Europejski Fundusz Leasingowy which belongs to the Crédit Agricole Group), Getin Noble Bank, Eurobank (since 2005 part of Société Générale), Bank Zachodni WBK and Santander Consumer Bank? Their head offices are all located in Wroclaw. Wroclaw can also be proud of its first position in the area of debt collection. At the beginning of the 1990s coupled with the consumer finance sector, a sector dealing with credit risk management was established. Kruk, e-Kancelaria, Fast Finance to name some of the companies that take advantage of Wroclaw’s attractiveness. In order to drive the growth of industrial, service and economic sectors the following factors must be considered:

 

• being an academic centre for 145 000 students attending almost thirty schools of higher education, which every year release onto the job market 35 thousand graduates – the city guarantees potential employers specialised staff;
• Lower Silesia borders with German Saxonia in the West and Czech Republic in the South.

 

Wroclaw is located 3.5h drive away from Berlin and the new airport serves almost 4 million passengers a year, there are over 30 connections;

 

• it is possible to reach Wroclaw from the West along A8 motorway (Motorway Bypass was open in 2011) and along the A4 which connects south of Poland with Germany.
• The city has industrial traditions second to none: toward the end of 1980s 60% of working people was connected with electromechanical sector and metalwork industry.
• As part of preparations for hosting Euro 2012 Football Championships Wroclaw invested 2.5 billion Euro in infrastructure, transport and many other important sectors of economy not forgetting about cultural, entertainment and social
• Wroclaw has an advantage as a result of a diversified economy: next to automotive, pharmaceutical, white goods and high tech equipment manufacturers market leaders there are also international companies in the area of IT technologies, financial services and back office services. Companies such as IBM, Ernst & Young, UPS, Nokia Siemens Networks, Qatar Airways and Credit Suisse recruit financial analysts, IT specialists and young staff with proven knowledge of foreign languages. Wroclaw is the only city in Poland with three KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing) centres, where the stress in places on the increase of significance of organisational-management function of strategically important activities for achieving competitive advantage: McKinsey, Irevna and HP are the

 

Italian tourist and business person discovered Wroclaw thanks to the European Football Championships which took place in stadiums of Poland and Ukraine in 2012. Photographs for press articles and short films broadcasted during matches showed off Wroclaw with its historic old city and wonderful works of architecture. In this way Italian homes received

 

pictures of a city that is not looking back to the past but is bravely looking ahead. In May 2013, in a long report from Wroclaw, Italian Magazine “La Repubblica” called Wroclaw “Polish Little Italy” due to the large number of young Italians who found jobs and financial stability here.

 

If you are looking for new business partners and are seriously considering the possibility of entering the Polish market, if you want to introduce new products to Poland or other EU markets and at the same time start a new business venture, Wroclaw is a good place to start.

 

Let us introduce you better.

Gianbruno Torrano