What is considered to be the best place to make a business in Poland? The City Ranking of Business-Friendly Forbes magazine and the Central Economic Information Center shows which regions of Poland attract entrepreneurs the most.
In Poland, business is mainly concentrated in big cities - half of the companies in the country are registered in the 9 largest metropolia. Warsaw continues to be the leader in this field, followed by Poznan on the second place, which Wroclaw has been trying to overtake for years. The business develops best in the five largest agglomerations. Consequently, these are the Warsaw agglomeration, Poznan, Wroclaw, Krakow and Upper Silesia. In rich municipalities concentrated around the largest cities, the number of companies is growing fast. Moreover, those regions develop even faster than their agglomeration centres. After the five leaders mentioned above, the place is occupied by several smaller cities, eg Gdansk, Szczecin or Rzeszów and their districts.
The surroundings of the largest cities remain the most attractive business location. They attract entrepreneurs and provide a location for many headquarters of international corporations. However, according to Jaroslaw Nawrotka - president of the Central Economic Information Center, this trend may change due to pressure on wage growth in large cities and growing communication difficulties - some cities plan to limit traffic due to smog. Therefore, entrepreneurs may start to look for alternatives soon.
The Forbes ranking also distinguished the most innovative cities in Poland. It was based on specific solutions that are used in Polish cities and which significantly affect factors such as development, work efficiency etc. In this ranking, Czestochowa took the first place, with a program of tax exemptions for employers who employ at least 80% of employees on a contract of employment and offering at least 150% of the minimum wage. In the second place, behind Czestochowa, were Warsaw and Krakow.