BIP
The start-up ecosystem of Wrocław and Lower Silesia in one publication. Report premiere at Made in Wroclaw
Honest and ‘no sugar coating’. This is how you can briefly describe the latest published report, showing the pros and cons of setting up startups in Lower Silesia and in its very heart - Wrocław. Encouraging, motivating and full of data. The ‘Wrocław and Lower Silesia Startup Ecosystem Report’ is a compendium of knowledge for everyone, from students and startup founders to investors.
It took months of conversations with hundreds of people to create this publication. It is an in-depth compendium of knowledge for academic and business circles at all levels. The report was published in paper and online. It was presented at Made in Wroclaw on 15 October.
How was the Wrocław and Lower Silesia Startup Ecosystem Report created?
‘The first day is behind us,’ reports Paulina Muszyńska, manager of Startup Wrocław ARAW. ‘It's not easy to organise Made in Wroclaw, but we have two hundred people at the second edition of VC Demo Day. Today also saw the premiere of our report.’
It was not easy to create such a report either. Work on it began back in 2024. It involved hundreds of conversations and hours spent with partners, including investors, the Tech Business Angels Club and the founders of the start-ups themselves, conducted since January 2025. It also includes a survey sent to representatives of the Lower Silesian business world and conclusions that have been included in a nearly 200-page compendium. It is this compendium that today provides a ‘soft landing’ for people coming to Wrocław to start a business.
A paper copy of the report is available at the ARAW headquarters at Plac Solny 14. What exactly can we find in it?
A journey through the business ecosystem
Selected data from the report was presented at the beginning by Dr Yash Chawla from the Faculty of Management at the Wrocław University of Technology, the main researcher of the Wroclaw & Lower Silesia Startup Ecosystem Report.
‘This is not just a report, it is much more,’ he told the audience gathered at the Bridge Hotel in Wrocław. ‘This is not one, but seven perspectives on the start-up ecosystem from seven stakeholders,’ he emphasised.
We created the report using three mechanisms: knowledge obtained from our partners, data contained in already published reports, including the most recent ones, which we meticulously compiled and analysed, and finally, we collected information from all seven stakeholder groups using questionnaires. Each group had its own set of questions.
Dr Yash Chawla from the Faculty of Management at Wrocław University of Science and Technology, lead researcher for the Wroclaw & Lower Silesia Startup Ecosystem Report
The report therefore presents a complete picture of what the process of establishing, running, financing and developing a company in our city and in Lower Silesia looks like. But that's not all, because it also includes authentic ‘cases’ – inspiring stories and cautionary tales, not just dry data.
During the panel, the issue of intellectual property (IP) was raised, which, due to the fact that it is created within universities, often poses a problem when it comes to talks with investors.
– During the panel, we discussed, among other things, the problems faced by start-ups at the stage of creating, building and commercialising intellectual property. It is important that the formalities are completed in a timely manner,‘ emphasises Tomasz Szarek, legal advisor and managing partner at SDZLEGAL SCHINDHELM. ’I see this report as a start-up bible, which will be expanded in future editions," he adds.
The report is an interesting starting point for verifying our ideas about what other stakeholders think about specific issues in the start-up ecosystem. As a fund, we have our own experience in working with investors and start-ups, but this report will probably reveal some new ideas to us.
Paweł Florkiewicz - WP2 Investments
Among our partners are people who are involved in business support, but also those who have themselves gone through the startup stage in their careers.
Natalia Świrska-Załuska, Startup Programme Lead CEE at OVHcloud, founded a startup herself almost a decade ago. ‘The startup market has grown tremendously since then, and Made in Wrocław has played a significant role in this,’ she emphasises.
The leader of the startup programme at OVHcloud said during the panel that startups are a bit like teenagers. What did she mean? "Our market is a bit adolescent in terms of development – we act impulsively, we are still learning and we don't really think about what will happen to us in the future. But that's completely normal! A dozen or so years ago, we had startups in their ‘childhood’. We still have to mature in certain areas, but that's a completely normal path of development.
At BNP Paribas, we work with the Huge Thing accelerator. Thanks to it, start-ups can test their solutions on a living organism, i.e. on the banking infrastructure – after thorough verification, of course. In the spring edition, we accepted two companies for cooperation, whose names we cannot disclose. The two start-ups that everyone already knows about are Autenti and Envirly. These companies perfectly match the needs of our customers, among others, assures Dr Magdalena Miecielica, Director of Business Development with Innovative Companies, Bank Paribas Polska SA.
Wrocław is the second city after Warsaw with the highest number of registered start-ups. As WSSE, we want to support the ecosystem by connecting large businesses with start-ups.
Anna Sawkiewicz - coordinator of the InvestUp project of the Wałbrzych Special Economic Zone
As a representative of a business environment institution, Anna Sawkiewicz did not hesitate to share with us what kind of start-ups she is currently looking for. "We are currently looking for projects that could support manufacturing companies in the field of chemistry and wastewater treatment.
Can a start-up be truly innovative today?
We heard many answers to this question today, and as many people were asked, there were just as many points of view on where the future of young companies lies, which sector they should target and which path of development they should take. Undoubtedly, however, the recurring answer was: yes, start-ups can still surprise us.
"It is said that there is no idea in the world that someone has not already worked on. Yes, it is difficult to find something truly innovative today, but if such ideas dawn on someone, they will probably never leave their home “scrapbook”. This report is intended to be an encouragement for such people, a map showing how to navigate the world of ideas and how to boldly implement their potential," argues Paweł Florkiewicz.