If you’re wondering where to start your business, we have some advice. How about the Katowice Special Economic Zone (KSSE)? According to Financial Times, it’s been the best economic zone in Europe for the last three years.
KSSE was created by the Council of Ministers in June 1996. Its goal is to support and accelerate the restructuring processes and create employment within the Katowice region. To do that, they focus on promoting the region in Poland. This has certainly paid off because each year more and more investors decide to give KSSE a chance. Over 300 business entities established their production plants, BPO/IT and R&D units in the Zone, investing 32M in further developing it as well as creating almost 75k jobs. The Zone’s success is the effect of their strategy of long-term and multi-dimensional cooperation with investors.
“We are constantly developing and expanding the offer for investors as well as building a perfect space for small and medium businesses,” said Professor Barbara Piontek, DSc, VP of KSSE. “Katowice Special Economic Zone is certainly attractive for big players who were very active in the first 6 months of this year and accounted for 63 per cent of our investors. However, small and medium-sized enterprises invest in us more and more often, too. They comprised 37 per cent of investments in the first 6 months. We are pleased with the growing interest of Polish enterprises in the KSSE. Nearly 44 per cent of this year’s projects will be carried out by companies with domestic capital.”
There are many perks to take into consideration if you want to move your business there. Apart from rental spaces, the businesses are offered legal and tax advisory service, as well as occupational medicine services. They’re also eligible for an income tax relief.
As for the zone itself, the area is over 2614 ha, located in 40 municipalities and close to international routes. This allows the investors to choose the most suitable location for their enterprise.
Last year was extremely successful for KSSE. 60 businesses made the Zone their home, investing over 3,4B PLN. Thanks to that 2k new jobs were created in the region, and the 14k already working will continue to do so. 2018 looks even more promising — since the beginning of the year, 39 new businesses have invested over 1,6B PLN in the Zone. That means at least 1,2k new jobs.
KSSE has been active in the automotive sector since its creation. After all, the majority of investments come from automotive companies, such as Opel Manufacturing Poland, or FCA Powertrain Poland.
The Zone always has their investors’ best interest at heart. That’s why in February 2018 they teamed with the Polish Chamber of Automotive Industry (PIM) and the Association of Employers in the Automotive and Industrial Goods Sector (ZPMiAP) to create the Automotive Skills Development Council (including e-mobility).
It’s a platform for dialogue and exchange of experiences between educational institutions and automotive industry companies. The goal is to identify the current needs of the industry and recommend changes to the education system to better meet them in the changing future, especially considering the growth of the e-mobility movement.
Moreover, the council helps form partnerships between automotive industry companies and labour market institutions.
This month the official inauguration of the Council in Poland will take place, during the New Competences For New Times conference on September 18th, organised by the Ministry for Enterprise and Technology. The project is scheduled to end on June 30th, 2023.
