The Polish innovation support system needs to be improved. "The market will evaluate the project selection"

• The Polish economy lacks not only capital, but also mechanisms to support innovative companies at the growth stage - says Leszek Stypułkowski.
• A member of the board of the Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego points out several gaps in the innovation support system in Poland - the capital and science gap and the so-called offtake. We have good ideas and products, but there is a lack of people willing to implement them.
• We see a growing interest in innovation, but there is still a lack of courage. Here, the state should help spread the risk – for example, through guarantees or financing implementation. And this may also be a task for an institution such as BGK - adds Leszek Stypułkowski.

The Prime Minister announced that innovations are to become the driving force of Polish economic development, and 2025 is to be a year of breakthrough. What role does BGK see for itself here?

– First of all, we want to increase our role in mobilising capital for innovative projects. The Polish Development Bank operates at the interface of the public and private sectors. This gives us a unique perspective. In the context of your question – we see where there are gaps in the innovation support system and where there is potential to be used.

The primary role in building an innovative economy is also played by the use of research potential. Before I joined the BGK board, I was involved in the parameterization of science for over 10 years. I try to look at the innovation support system holistically. I have to admit that there is a lot of work to be done here.

The system supporting Polish innovations requires a fundamental change

Does this mean that the system is currently failing?

To put it bluntly: yes. In my opinion, the system of support for Polish innovations requires a different distribution of accents.

The Polish economy lacks not only capital, but also mechanisms to support innovative companies at the growth stage. We have many programs for startups, but too few solutions for companies scaling their operations.

What actions are you taking to change this?

– Supporting innovative companies is an important element of the bank's strategy for 2025-2030. We see potential in the development of capital instruments, and we also plan to create technology clusters. We think about our role broadly. We want to connect large players who have capital with mature businesses that can be scaled.

But even the best financial instrument will be useless if there is no supply of innovation. Does Polish science provide it?

– We have enormous intellectual potential, but unfortunately the system of evaluating scientists motivated them mainly to publish, not to implement solutions. This needs to change. Innovation should bring real value – GDP growth and benefits for the taxpayer.

Necessary change in the structure of subsidies and the method of project evaluation

What does this mean in practice?

– Public funds should finance not publications, but practical use of research results. In recent years, we have learned that money has a homeland, and technologies have a nationality. That is why we must ensure that Polish innovations reach domestic businesses.

This requires a change in the structure of subsidies and the method of evaluating projects – today, what counts is compliance with formal criteria, not market potential.

What would be the target model?

– For example, private investors should be included in the evaluation of R&D projects that apply for grants – they have the experience, capital and interest in turning the idea into a profitable business. This will help us avoid the waste of funds and the moral hazard that often accompanies the allocation of public subsidies.

Here, the choice of the project will be assessed by the market, not the discretionary decisions of institutions.

Many gaps in the system supporting Polish innovations

And what role can BGK play?

– We are working on new methods and financing paths that will focus on supporting private investors. If private investors decide to finance the project, we, as a public investor, will add the second złoty. In this way, we can share the risk and encourage support for innovative ventures.

Sounds good, but do Polish companies want to implement innovations?

– This is another gap, after capital and science, in the current innovation support system. The so-called offtake gap. We have good ideas and products, but there is a lack of people willing to implement them . Big players – our champions, both companies with a share of the State Treasury, but also private companies have a very limited appetite for risk, especially if their current business model works properly.

An example is the European automotive industry, which neglected investment in new technologies during the years of prosperity and… slept through the electromobility revolution. Now it turns out that it is too late, because the market is dominated by Chinese manufacturers and Tesla.

Meanwhile, if we really want 2025 to be a breakthrough year, as Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced , we all need to get involved. Not only innovators and support institutions, but also entrepreneurs. It is necessary to change the approach of Polish companies, especially large players, so that they are interested in implementing innovations.

We see growing interest in innovation, but still lack courage. Here, the state should help spread the risk – for example, through guarantees or financing implementation. And this may also be a task for an institution such as BGK.

It turns out that at every stage of the innovation implementation process we have a lot of work to do…

– And this is a great moment to stimulate innovation, because there are huge funds at stake. Over PLN 140 billion – that is how much money from the KPO the National Economy Bank has to contract, of which over PLN 90 billion for the energy transformation. The question therefore arises, how many Polish innovative companies will grow from this transformation? How many of them will be able to be scaled?

But isn't it too late? In the green technology market, the cards have already been dealt and not only Polish, but also European companies have lost this game. The photovoltaic segment is almost completely dominated by Chinese entities…

– That's true, but other segments are still open. An example are technologies for effective energy management, where we already have interesting Polish solutions. The goal of all entities implementing large infrastructure investments should be for the largest possible part of the funds from the KPO (National Reconstruction Plan - editor's note) to be spent in the country and support the development of Polish companies, especially innovative ones, developing Polish technical thought.

We have been talking about an innovative economy for years, but the effects are poor, as the Draghi report has shown…

– Because we invested in research and prototypes, neglecting the implementation and growth stage. Now we want to change that – building a coherent, functioning ecosystem and engaging all players: science, investors, business.

The idea for an innovation support ecosystem is there, all the players in this plan have been listed. So what is the biggest challenge then?

– Coordination.

And you take this task upon yourself?

- Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego cooperates with both the Polish Development Fund, PARP and PAIH. In fact, building the aforementioned ecosystem is a task for all of these institutions. We want to provide know-how and cooperate on partnership principles with all institutions of this ecosystem.

But will this plan not be threatened by political tenure in the boards of these institutions? After every election, there is a change of personnel and often a change in the approach to projects initiated by predecessors. The same may end the plan to build a new ecosystem of supporting innovation…

In the current geopolitical situation, probably no one has any doubts that we need to build our own potential through an innovative economy.

It's about competitiveness and maintaining growth on the one hand, and on the other – greater resilience. Of course, tenure can be an obstacle. Perhaps it's worth thinking about a monitoring system that clearly shows where innovation funds are going, what's working and what's not.

Do you plan to create such a supervisory institution?

– I personally support such an initiative and would convince our partners from development institutions to do the same. We do not have to establish a new institution right away. Only by monitoring the effectiveness of innovation support can we talk about a real system, and not a collection of uncoordinated initiatives.

Finally, I have to ask whether implementing this plan will allow us to catch up with the leaders of the innovation race? Will we see more Polish unicorns?

- In Poland, we already have companies that can boast unicorn status. Companies such as DocPlanner, Booksy or ElevenLabs have proven that it is possible. We have the potential to create more of these.