Eliza Kruczkowska, Managing Director of Think Tank The Company, together with Hubert Biskupski, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of “Super Express” and head of “Super Biznes”, moderated the plenary session “Business of the future? How to turn opportunities into success in the new energy sector?”. The opening address was delivered by Prof. Marek Belka, former Prime Minister and former President of the National Bank of Poland.
The panel included Mirosław Bieliński, CEO of Bankilo Obrót and co-founder of Pstryk; Paweł Przewięźlikowski, co-founder of Ryvu Therapeutics, Selvita and Ardigen; Marcin Sołtysiak, CEO and main shareholder of ELQ; Michał Wypychewicz, CEO of Koronea Family Office, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ZPUE and member of the Think Tank The Company Business Council; and Paweł Ochyński, founder of the Greencell brand.
From diagnosis to investment
Our participation in the congress continues the topics we pursue under the “Polska ma MOC!” initiative. At The Company conference in September, Polish entrepreneurs pledged around PLN 500 million for the development of small modular reactors in Poland. It is an example of mobilising private capital around infrastructure on which the growth potential of the entire economy depends.
In Kraków we also looked at the transition from the perspective of companies that create technologies, manufacture equipment and develop new services. The discussion focused on decisions that allow firms to take advantage of market change: understanding customer needs, investing in their own production, raising financing and building scale.
Energy and productivity: a shared challenge
The importance of these decisions is shown by this year’s Deloitte report “Poland 2035. Direction: Productivity”. According to its analysis, sustaining average annual economic growth of around 3.5% until 2035 requires raising the productivity of the whole economy by almost 30%. With a shrinking labour force, we need more private investment, more effective adoption of technology and conditions that favour business growth.
These challenges are also described in our “Entrepreneurial Poland Roadmap”. Access to stable energy at a predictable price affects companies’ ability to invest and compete abroad. Equally important are shorter investment processes, more stable regulations and more efficient cooperation between science and business.
That is why during the session we also asked about the place for young and smaller companies: how to enter energy supply chains, find a niche alongside large corporations and move from an idea to the first contract. The entrepreneurs’ stories made it possible to connect the debate on the future of the economy with the concrete choices of people who invest in and grow their own companies.
For Think Tank The Company, the energy transition is one of the key areas for building Poland’s future competitiveness. We want it also to mean the development of Polish technologies, brands and competences, and a greater share of domestic companies in value creation.
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