In 2023, every 10th individual entrepreneur in Poland was registered by a Ukrainian

In 2023, the number of individual entrepreneurs registered in Poland by Ukrainians was over 67% compared to 2022. In fact, every 10th individual entrepreneur registered in Poland was a Ukrainian, according to Rzeczpospolita data.

• Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in January and February 2022, Ukrainians were registering just over 200 individual entrepreneurs (jednoosobowa działalność gospodarcza) in Poland every month. As a result of the registrations growth throughout 2023, 30,325 new Ukrainian companies were created in Poland. This is over 67% than in 2022, when the number of new entrepreneurs was 18,139.
• The number of all new individual entrepreneurs registrations in Poland reached 299,300. In total, throughout 2022–2023, Ukrainians registered 48,464 individual entrepreneurs in Poland.
• Polish laws also contribute to the development of Ukrainian business. From 2023, Ukrainians can register businesses in Poland under the same conditions as Poles.
• Most Ukrainians work in Poland below their qualifications and skills due to the language barrier or the lack of recognition of their diplomas.

The Polish economy suffers from a labor shortage. We’are facing a huge shortage in the labor market, and Ukrainian workers and entrepreneurs are filling the gaps where it is lacking: in construction, transport, IT, and the service sector. We must try to keep them here, encourage them to work in our country, so that they do not want to go, for example, to Germany, because we simply need them,

Lukash Bernatovych, president of the Association of Employers Business Center Club, commented.

In addition, the report shows that the growth of the number of Ukrainian companies doesn’t make a special impression on Polish entrepreneurs. Only 27% of companies fear competition from Ukrainian companies on the Polish market, while 61% don’t perceive it as a threat.