, IKF Panel: Toward An Innovative Krakow [VIDEO]
Wojciech Przybylski, Przemek Berendt and Paweł Kulon opening the Innovative Krakow Forum.

Toward An Innovative Krakow

The opening panel of the Innovative Krakow Forum aimed to deliver an honest assessment of the state of the Krakow innovation ecosystem and identify key policies to advance the technology and entrepreneur sector. The discussion started with a global perspective and next working its way down to the scale of Europe, the national Polish context and finally to the local level.

 

Here are the key take-aways from the panelists:

Przemek Berendt, Co-Founder of Talent Alpha:

  • It is important to use the correct framing and benchmarks for Krakow. It should be viewed as a post-communist city where the growth over the last 30 years has been remarkable.
  • The City of Krakow enjoys a relatively strong brand internationally. This is despite any coordinated public relations effort.
  • The local innovation ecosystem needs to engage better with the large adjacent corporate sector.
  • Talent Alpha is revolutionizing the global IT services market having raised a 5 million dollar seed round and recently won the prestigious UNLEASH startup competition.

Wojciech Przybylski, CEO of Krakow Technology Park:

  • The macro-economics of Europe and Poland within which Krakow operates remain favorable and stable. We can expect gradual iteration and evolution of policies, not massive shifts.
  • Krakow Technology Park is a leading example of an innovation institution with a full portfolio of tools and programs to work with.
  • Human capital is Krakow’s greatest asset and challenge. Despite a deep talent pool, the demand for talent outpaces the supply. Krakow needs to better attract talent beyond Ukraine and neighboring cities.
  • The single greatest event that can happen to the ecosystem is a local startup achieving global success.

Paweł Kulon, President of Foundation Supporting #OMGKRK:

  • A city branding campaign executed by the business community to elevate the attractiveness of the City of Krakow can make a positive impact upon the entire innovation ecosystem.
  • By scaling the membership model and organizing the technology and entrepreneur sector, the Foundation Supporting #OMGKRK can increase leverage and implement the members agenda.
  • There is a need for high-level community facilitation to optimize and execute matchmaking, increase deal flow and advance disruptive new technologies.