Polish Investment & Trade Agency is Business Association Partner of the Forum
NAC: Let us start with the basics—can you tell us what PAIH is and how it operates?
PAIH: We are a Polish government agency dedicated to, broadly speaking, improving trade and economic relations with other nations. In concrete terms, we both help Polish companies reach new markets through exports, but we also help Poland attract new investments, be it FDIs, startups that need scaling up, or developing an idea from start to finish. PAIH is committed to expanding the field of cooperation and to allow Serbian and Polish companies to keep exchanging goods, services, knowledge, and technologies, always looking for ways to create synergies. The aim is for our Foreign Trade Office here in Belgrade to serve a first point of contact for anyone looking to do business in the European Union/EEA, especially if they are looking to import Polish products or conquer the vast European market from Poland. Our services are entirely free of charge.
NAC: Looking at the present, what are the key focus areas for PAIH right now? And looking ahead, what are your main strategic goals for the next year?
PAIH: The structure of our two economies has so far put FMCG, cosmetics, medical equipment, and machinery at the forefront of our work. For some time now we have been expanding into ICT/IT (with a particular focus on fintech, since we firmly believe it is the quickest way to integrate entire economies), investment opportunities (inbound and outbound), and construction industry. A new field that we have identified as a key sector is energy, while in the new year we aim to also add cooperation with academic institutions, incubators/accelerators, and any individual/institution that wants to cooperate with Poland one way or another. We like to be creative in the way we make meaningful connections.
NAC: One of PAIH’s roles is connecting with the business community. How do you approach this, and what can companies expect when they collaborate with you?
PAIH: Our team puts great effort into speed and efficiency. If a Serbian company needs to reach a particular Polish company they have identified before, but were unable to reach, we gladly step in and make that first connection. After that, if the workload permits, we usually like to follow up and see if the communication led to a project. Another thing I would like to point out is creativity – while we work with the business community, we always like to maintain connections with the academic community, media, non-profits, university students or anyone else who might prove valuable in creating value for both of our economies.
NAC: Identifying the right markets for exports can be challenging. How does PAIH decide which markets to target for promoting Polish businesses?
PAIH: Unfortunately, there is no easy way of going about this. While market research is valuable, we have found that the process of trial-and-error works very well for us. There are fields where we expected to have quick success, but the market has not responded the way we imagined. This is true, for example, of some FMCG categories which are very popular in Poland, but only now appearing in Serbia. On the other side, we were positively surprised how quickly the Serbian business community responds to any contact that deals with heavy industry, machinery, and similar complex solutions. We have been zeroing in our focus and trying to reach distributors/contractors directly, to establish face-to-face relations, and take the conversation from there.
NAC: Innovation is critical to staying competitive. What role does PAIH play in supporting innovative sectors or startups in Poland?
PAIH: I am very glad you asked this; it is one of my biggest passions. I am a firm believer that innovations are what is going to truly drive our markets forward. While trade is of incredible value, innovation creates new synergies and opens new creative paths of cooperation in fields previously thought unimaginable. We recently held an event where we brough 8 Serbian and one Montenegrin companies together to meet IC Investments, a Warsaw-based investment company, which also serves as a one-stop-shop for interacting with the Polish innovation sector. While these beginnings might seem humble, they are reinventing traditional paths of how Serbian companies expand into Europe. We want the Serbian tech scene to think of Poland first when they consider expanding abroad.
NAC: Finally, for companies that might be interested in partnering with PAIH, what is your advice? How can they make the most of the support and resources you offer?
PAIH: Be persistent, concrete, and creative. We sometimes need to let the idea grow in our minds while we perform other day-to-day tasks. Often, we are part of conversations that try to match up new ideas with existing requests, and we really do have eureka! moments. One of the key takeaways for both Serbian and Polish companies is to try to zero in on your search or request. This allows us to focus quicker on your needs, without having to go back and forth with clarifications of a given context. Whenever you want to work with the Polish market, always try to identify the wow! factor you or your team are bringing to the table.
