The strategy of attracting investors to the city of Poznań is aimed at attracting new and supporting existing investors in sectors that generate high added value and create demand for educated and well-paid employees in a knowledge-based economy.

Poznań’s priority sectors of the economy include:

  • high-tech manufacturing
  • Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)
  • Shared Services Center (SSC)
  • research and development (R&D)
  • congress and exhibition activity
  • recreational and entertainment infrastructure.

The City’s activities are aimed at making Poznań a centre of highly specialized services. The City also supports the activities of investors in the subzone of the special economic zone.

Investor support instruments

The City offers support to entities investing in Poznań, tailored to the needs of specific companies and projects. The most commonly used instruments and incentives include:

  • providing information and data necessary for the investor, individual handling of key projects – support provided by a project manager dedicated to a given investment project
  • comprehensive support at the stage of investment preparation: location analysis, choice of office space, procedures related to establishing a company and searching for employees
  • promotional support, in particular as regards employer branding
  • organisation of events dedicated to investors from specific industries
  • cooperation with investors after the launch of the project, so called “aftercare”

Urban projects

The projects carried out in 2017 in order to strengthen the attractiveness of the City for investors include:

  • “Niemiecki do Poznania” – a programme consisting in the promotion of German language, which was created in response to the needs expressed by investors, in particular from priority sectors. The city has set up an in-house, targeted programme to promote German among students who are in the process of choosing a second mandatory foreign language. As part of the project, a leaflet was created informing about the benefits of German language skills in one’s professional career, which was distributed in primary schools, as well as a promotional film.
  • “Stay in Poznań” – the campaign was addressed to foreign students staying in Poznań under the Erasmus+ programme. In response to investors’ demand for employees fluent in foreign languages, the City encouraged Erasmus students to stay in Poznań and start working here.
  • “Polski Czempion” – the City engaged in a programme organised by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PITA), which aims to support large companies from Poznań abroad. Specialist workshops were held, among others, and meetings were devoted to topics related to foreign expansion of companies, including the possibility of using the PITA’s foreign offices. During the workshops the companies also exchanged their experiences and good practices.
  • Scholarship programme – at the City’s initiative, a scholarship programme was implemented for students accepted for internships in Poznań-based companies, provided that they have created their jobs after the 6-month scholarship period had concluded. In 2017, 16 scholarship holders benefited from the programme.
  • “BPO/SSC Week” – the project consisted of 2 parts, in the first part representatives of companies conducted workshops in schools, during which students gained knowledge about the modern services sector and competences that must be possessed in order to work in it. In the second part, students visited companies to see what it was like to work in the centres. Bridgestone, Carl Zeiss, CenturyLink, DFDS, Egnyte, Franklin Templeton, IKEA, Lorenz, MAN, Rockwool took part in the 2017 edition, as well as the following schools: Economic School Complex, Communication School Complex, School Complex No. 2, Trade School Complex, and upper-secondary schools: II, IX, XII, XVII, VII, VIII.