Mazovia – the economic heart of Poland

Project title: "Mazovia - economic promotion of the heart of Poland".
Beneficiary: Self-Government of Mazowieckie Voivodeship
Poviat: Warsaw (City of Warsaw)
Municipality: -
Priority: PRIORITY I - Creating conditions for development of innovation potential and entrepreneurship in Mazovia
Measure: 1.7. Economic promotion
Project value: PLN 26,052,052.49
Amount of EU funding: 25,390,582.95 PLN

Objectives:

The aim of the Project "Mazovia - economic heart of Poland" was to inform about the economic potential of the voivodeship, as well as to contribute to the development of a knowledge-based economy and to stimulate the activity of enterprises in investing in the voivodeship. The essence of the activities planned in the Project was to ensure that the Mazowieckie Voivodeship takes its place at the forefront of economic leaders on the domestic and foreign markets by promoting the region as a friendly place for entrepreneurs focusing on innovation and modern business solutions.

Within the framework of the Project, the goal of economic promotion of the region was implemented through:

• organisation of events and promotional and marketing campaigns;
• participation in trade fairs and exhibition events as an exhibitor;
• participation in trade economic missions aimed at finding and selecting partners on target markets;
• preparation of promotional materials;
• a promotional campaign including television, radio, press and Internet advertising.

In order to enable the most attractive visual identification of the Project, a logotype was developed, the symbolism of which refers to the Mazovia region.

Activities:

During the international fair, the Mazowieckie Voivodeship had its own exhibition stand where Mazovian entrepreneurs had the opportunity to present their offer, and where it presented investment materials of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship and materials encouraging people to visit Mazovia. In addition, activities were carried out to introduce the culture, cuisine and customs of Mazovia, which indirectly increases the region's attractiveness for potential investors and visitors. The organisation of participation in internationally renowned fairs was aimed at supporting Mazovian entrepreneurs from small and medium-sized companies, who would not be able to participate in such events on their own due to insufficient financial resources.

The participation of company representatives in trade missions was intended to familiarise them with the trade customs of other countries, their preferences and requirements, visit selected fairs or exhibitions, take part in organised B2B meetings, and acquire customers. Missions are a great opportunity to start an international trade partnership, they also provide direct insight into the market of technologies used by competitors, often leading to their gradual implementation in the country. The missions were aimed at Mazovian entrepreneurs seeking to establish business contacts with foreign entrepreneurs by finding potential foreign partners and customers for them (B2B talks).

Economic Forums were also organised as part of the Project and were aimed at Mazovian entrepreneurs who were seeking opportunities to establish new contacts with foreign enterprises, as well as getting to know the local market.

Information about the planned events was provided via the website of the Investor and Exporter Assistance Centre.

Achieved results:

During the entire period of implementation of the Mazovian Voivodeship Self-Government Project "Mazovia - economic promotion of the heart of Poland", participation was organised in:

• 21 trade and exhibition events;
• 4 economic forums;
• 3 economic missions;
• 2 festivals / exhibitions of international rank;
• 1 congress;
• 1 seminar.

During the implementation of the above-mentioned activities, 99 Mazovian entrepreneurs cooperated with (and/or provided promotion assistance to):

• 64 entrepreneurs from the agri-food sector;
• 10 entrepreneurs from the tourism sector;
• 9 entrepreneurs from the chemical industry;
• 11 entrepreneurs from the furniture industry;
• 5 entrepreneurs from the IT/ICT sector.

The project was co-financed by the European Union from the funds of the European Regional Development Fund within the framework of the Regional Operational Programme for Mazowieckie Voivodeship 2007-2013 and from the state budget.