Impact fintech’17 has just come to an end. In case you got drawn into the events on the Main Stage, or got busy networking, you may have missed our Workshop Stage events. No worries – we’re here to catch you up.

The stage housed numerous workshops organized by partners of Impact fintech’17, each one enhanced with graphic materials, films, and digital presentations displayed during the speeches. What made the presentations unique, however, was the interactive element – the audience was welcomed to ask questions and enter into discussions with the speakers.

One of the workshops was organised by the host city itself – Impact fintech’17 partner Katowice. The event focused on answering the question “what can Katowice offer to the companies of the future?” and presented the modern image of Katowice, its focus on business, as well as the transformation it has been going through in the recent years.

The event opened with a video showcasing the city’s eclectic nature and highlighting its focus on attracting foreign investors. The clip stressed the Katowice City Hall’s involvement in supporting the businesses which choose to place its trust in the city. Some of the most important points raised in the presentation included Katowice’s highly advanced, business friendly infrastructure, the availability of a young and qualified workforce sourced from the nearby universities, and the high quality of life in the area. If you’d like to check out to learn more about this part of the workshop, you’re welcome to check out the presentation provided by the City Hall.

In the next part of the workshop, the stage was given to Marek Lesz – Katowice’s startup community representative and the founder of  a local coworking space #Krzywa12. Lesz noted a few examples of their collaboration with the Katowice City Hall in the past few years, such as the presentation of local startups in front of the vice prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki, and meetings between the representatives of the Governor of Nevada regarding the SOS DRONE startup.

Afterwards, the discussion was joined by BitBay.net’s Justyna Laskowska and algory.io’s Tomasz Przybycień. The two talked about the founding stories of their companies, their day to day work, and the reasons for locating their businesses in Katowice. The question about the collaboration opportunities with Katowice City Hall and its potential for expanding businesses inspired a discussion with the audience, with notable voices from the representatives of the Switzerland Embassy and the Future Processing company.

The final segment of the workshop summed up why Katowice is an attractive area for investors. The speakers stressed that the companies which are already doing well in the market appreciate the support from the City Hall in the areas of networking, access to event and workshop space, and information regarding the services available in the area.

For more information, check out this short clip the City of Katowice has prepared.