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Good practice Imported

Startup Poland — Warsaw's Tech Ecosystem Advocacy, Annual Benchmarking and Founder Support

Poland · Warsaw · See the Poland profile · See the Warsaw profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 76% 57/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Poland's main startup association, founded Warsaw 2013. Publishes the definitive annual ecosystem report. Polish startups raised €2.3B VC in 2024 (+30% YoY); Warsaw is CEE's largest hub with $161M early-stage funding (Startup Genome 2024).

~2.3 EUR billion
Polish startup VC funding (2024)
~30 %
Year-on-year growth in VC funding (2024)
161 USD million
Warsaw early-stage (Seed/Series A) funding (mid-2022-2024)
28 %
Share of Polish startups in AI, IoT or medtech (2024)
Startup Poland — Warsaw's Tech Ecosystem Advocacy, Annual Benchmarking and Founder Support

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Startup Poland (Stowarzyszenie Startup Poland)
Period
2013–ongoing
Region (NUTS)
PL91
Keywords
technology, startup ecosystem, advocacy, entrepreneurship, venture capital

Context

Startup Poland (Stowarzyszenie Startup Poland) was founded in Warsaw in 2013 as Poland's national technology startup association, emerging during a strategic transition from a low-cost software outsourcing economy to one producing original products and intellectual property.

Activities

Startup Poland produces annual Polish startup ecosystem reports, lobbies government on regulation, taxation, and immigration policy, runs acceleration and training programmes, and promotes Warsaw and Poland as investment destinations. Part of its work has been financed through EU structural funds, alongside an independent membership model and fee-for-service revenues.

Results

Polish startups raised approximately EUR 2.3 billion in VC funding in 2024, up around 30% year-on-year. Warsaw attracted $161 million in early-stage (Seed and Series A) funding between mid-2022 and 2024, with notable rounds including ICEYE (90M EUR Series E) and ElevenLabs (80M EUR Series B). Twenty-eight percent of Polish startups operate in AI, IoT, or medtech.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k) — Funded via EU structural funds, membership fees, and fee-for-service revenue; no public budget figures cited.
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years) — Founded 2013; continuous operation to date, producing annual startup ecosystem reports.

Conditions for success

  • Producing rigorous, regularly published annual ecosystem reports to underpin credibility
  • Sustained government lobbying on regulation, tax and immigration policy
  • Diversified funding mix (EU structural funds, membership fees, fee-for-service revenue)

Commonly funded by

Own resources / municipal budget

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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