The Polish Post and the Postal Bank have decided to modernize their services in the coming year. Despite of the companies’ somewhat old fashioned reputation, they have decided to assign the task to a varied group of 11 startups, carefully selected through the GammaRebels program.
We would like to benefit from cooperation with startups and incorporating their ideas, and using native potential is essential for our development. We’ve chosen to collaborate with 11 e-commerce, logistic, and financial companies. Some of the ideas are being tested, while the best ones will end up in our company’s offer. These startups’ innovative ideas are gaining in importance especially now that we’ve signed a deal with China Post Group regarding the delivery of e-commerce packages to 30 European countries. – said the vice-chairman of the Polish Post, Wiesław Włodek.
In the sphere of fintech startups, the Postal Bank has taken an interest in InviPay, which is an innovative online service aimed at companies, capable of eliminating the issue of payment blockages. Eventually, the service will function as an addendum to EnveloBank, which has entered the market a few months ago. InviPay’s services have already been incorporated into the Postal Bank’s offer.
Robert Kuraszkiewicz, the vice-chairman of the Postal Bank explains that this form of microfactoring would not be profitable without incorporating a modern technological solution. He stressed that the development of a service department dedicated to micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses is one of the Postal Bank’s strategic goals.
As for The Polish Post and Postal Bank’s offices, the program will improve their employment accessibility via a communication tool developed by the Work Without Barriers (Praca Bez Barier) startup. The product introduces a variety of solutions meant to increase work accessibility for employees who are deaf or hard of hearing. So far, it has resulted in the hiring of over a dozen of such workers. The project aims to fight against the problem of unemployment among the deaf community, as over 70% of whom struggles with finding work.
The Polish Post has also decided a few startups which will improve various aspects of delivery. The first one, JedenŚlad, will design a an electric tricycle equipped with replaceable battery packs, adapted for package and letter deliveries. Slightly larger vehicles will be developed by Play Holding, which uses composite parts for the production of their ultralight cars. As for the Polish Post’s warehouses, their modernization will involve the use of robots developed by the United Robots startup.
Lastly, the Polish Post has decided to improve their online presence with the use of a few online-oriented startups. The list includes Liveact.me, which is an interactive live streaming platform which can be used both for internal and external communications, as well a vendor platform from Ulan, and a mobile app developer Anzonia.
Overall, 2018 looks like an exciting year for the Polish Post and the Postal Bank. Best of luck to all of the startups which have qualified for the program!
