On September 8th, a new coworking space for startups from Ukraine officially opened at the Cooperation Fund Foundation. The opening included a discussion about how Ukrainian startups are coping during the war and what assistance is most important to them right now. Ukrainian startups, faced with the war in their own country, are seeking new avenues for business development, particularly in Poland and the European Union. The Cooperation Fund Foundation and the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy, implementing the Polish-Ukrainian Startup Bridge project, have expanded their support since 2018 with a new form of assistance. Office space has been opened at the Cooperation Fund Foundation’s Warsaw headquarters, offering preferential terms to Ukrainian SMEs. These co-working offices will not only provide workspace but also provide an opportunity for Polish and Ukrainian partners to establish beneficial collaborations, as well as a platform for exchanging experiences and knowledge between entrepreneurs. “With the onset of full-scale Russian aggression against Ukraine, we began to consider how to preserve the achievements of recent years of Polish-Ukrainian cooperation in the field of innovation. We asked Ukrainian technology companies what actions we could take to help them survive the invasion. The response was to enable business development in Poland and establish partnerships with Polish technology buyers and investors. This is how the idea of opening a coworking space was born, which we hope will contribute to the establishment of business partnerships beneficial to Poland and Ukraine,” says Łukasz Wawak, project manager of the Polish-Ukrainian Startup Bridge. “Development aid support is directed to countries whose development is in the donor’s long-term interest. Russian aggression has made us, both Poles and Ukrainians, acutely aware that we share not only common aspirations and values (European, pro-Western), but also common strategic interests. Poles and Ukrainians are sons and daughters of the area known as the “Baltic-Black Sea Bridge,” meaning we are children of a geographical area that, like a bridge, connects two seas and – if well connected – provides access to global markets for the products of traditional economic sectors. The ambition of PUSB is to fulfill a similar role in the area of innovative, digital economy, namely – combining the potential of Ukrainian innovators (engineers, programmers) – with the Polish investment community and financial experts. This is intended to allow young Ukrainian companies to reach global markets. I am convinced that the office space we are opening today, along with the advisory support that We assure you that the support we provide as part of the project will contribute significantly to achieving this goal.” – Tomasz Jegier, President of the Management Board of the Cooperation Fund Foundation
The PUSB project has been operating since 2018. During this time, the project team has met with many talented teams from Ukraine, whose development of new technologies holds enormous potential for the global community of innovators.
“Over the four years of the program, 200 startups have received substantive support from the project. I think this is a good result. Therefore, I hope that we will soon be able to resume our work in Ukraine,” said Maciej Aulak, Director of the Department of Aid Programs at the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy.
The activities of the Polish-Ukrainian Startup Bridge are largely based on partnerships built simultaneously in Poland and Ukraine. The broad scope of cooperation, access to the most interesting technological projects, and extensive media coverage are possible thanks to the participation of partners—the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the Ukrainian Startup Fund, and a number of partners from public institutions and private companies.
“The Ukrainian and Polish ecosystems annually produce more technology graduates than the entire United States. This is a key prerequisite for the emergence of powerful manufacturing companies in our countries. Therefore, it is crucial that projects aimed at cooperation between Polish and Ukrainian entrepreneurs remain active even during wartime. Thanks to the PUSB project, every startup from Ukraine has access to a community of innovators, can build a network, and find friends in the Polish ecosystem. I am grateful that the PUSB team has prepared resources so that the cooperation between the Ukrainian and Polish ecosystems, which began before the war, can now bear fruit,” noted Oleksandr Romanyshyn, partner of the ISE Corporate Accelerator and Coordinator of the Digitalization Stream at the National Council for the Reconstruction of Ukraine.
The Polish-Ukrainian Startup Bridge is an excellent opportunity for Ukrainian startups to benefit from other development programs dedicated to startups from abroad. These activities support the implementation of innovations in the Polish economy and contribute to the emergence of more technological solutions in Polish industry.
The opening of Co-work PUSB was attended by Tomasz Jegier, President of the Cooperation Fund Foundation, Magdalena Sidorowicz, a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Mykhailo Khaletskyj, an expert from the Ukrainian Startup Fund. The beneficiaries of the initiative were also present – several startup teams from Ukraine who are already working at Co-work PUSB or will soon begin working there.
About Co-work PUSB:
Ukrainian startups that meet the following requirements can use Co-working:
They are Ukrainian citizens developing proprietary products and/or services with high technological startup potential before February 24, 2022.
They are operating or seeking opportunities to expand their business in Poland and the European Union.
Their startup has been registered as a business/partnership for no longer than 60 months.
They have completed the application form on www.startupbridge.eu.
They have been positively verified by the Polish-Ukrainian Startup Bridge team.
He signed the agreement and terms of use for the PUSB Co-working space.
More than a dozen startup teams have already booked the co-working space, and space is limited. Co-working hours are from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM. The fee is 2 PLN per month. Address: Cooperation Fund Foundation, Górnośląska Street 4A, 00-444 Warsaw.
The Polish-Ukrainian Startup Bridge (PUSB) project has been implemented since 2018 by the Cooperation Fund Foundation in cooperation with the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy as part of the Polish Aid program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland. The project aims to identify business potential among Ukrainian technology projects and connect them with the Polish innovation support ecosystem.
