Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, more than 1 million refugees have found shelter in Poland. This is reflected in the creation of new businesses in Poland. According to the report of the Polish Economic Institute (PIE) “Ukrainian companies in Poland after the outbreak of war in 2022”, 3.6 thousand companies with Ukrainian capital and 10.2 thousand sole proprietorships established by Ukrainian citizens were created between January and September 2022.

75% of the surveyed companies opened operations in Poland to raise funds for themselves and their families. At the same time, 66 % of them declare that they will continue to operate in Poland regardless of the situation in Ukraine.

There are currently 24.1 thousand companies with Ukrainian capital operating in Poland, or as many as 25 % of all companies with foreign capital. According to available data, 2022 may be a record year in terms of the number of registered companies with Ukrainian capital. In the first three quarters of 2022, 3,600 entities have already been established.

Sole proprietorships are the dominant form of business activity by Ukrainian citizens in Poland. From January to September 2022, a total of 10,207 of them were established.

The number of sole proprietorships established by Ukrainian citizens in 2022 grew exponentially from month to month. The biggest jump occurred in the first weeks after the start of the Russian invasion – in April 2022, there were already 4.5 times as many such companies on the Polish market as in January. In September 2022. – 2.6 times more than in April. The dominant industries are construction (24 %), information and communication (16 %) and services (14 %). “It is also worth noting that 41 % of Ukrainian one-person businesses are owned by women”, says Anna Szymanska, an analyst in the economic foresight team at PIE.

Adrian Andrzejewski