The Trade and Investment Promotion Section, known in Polish as ‘Wydział Promocji Handlu i Inwestycji’ or ‘WPHI’ is a section within the field of Polish diplomatic missions abroad. The Sections are integral part of the missions, albeit with a certain autonomy – in the case of the Trade and Investment Promotion Section, it exists specifically to facilitate trade and investment between Poland and the hosting country. This means that while the Polish Embassy in London works on bilateral relations with the United Kingdom, be it on a political, cultural or economic basis, our section is tasked with providing help directly to Polish and British entrepreneurs. 

You could sum up the activity of the Trade and Investment Promotion Section by saying that it promotes Polish exports to the United Kingdom as well as encourages foreign investments in Poland, however the section is involved in wider initiatives. For instance, it provides free information on business and investment opportunities in Poland, as well as focus on providing assistance to firms in Poland that are looking to enter the British market, and advise them on which of their products and services would be suitable for the British market.

When companies encounter problems finding relevant information about a particular market, have trouble identifying the right institutions to contact, or are not sure how to create a distribution network, we are here to help. We work with regional and sector trade associations in order to select the best business partners for companies, as well as run a dedicated, free of charge database that comprises of companies interested in finding a business partner, which enables us to ‘match-make’ Using this database is simple, and open to all companies – it only takes ten minutes to register to join the database. We can also have access to a number of business-to-business databases of British and Polish companies that can be made available.

From time to time it falls on us to provide advice and information on debt collection to companies that find themselves in the unfortunate predicament of having to chase payment – or worse, of having been swindled by a supposed business partner. While we cannot get directly involved in any  commercial dispute between companies, we do take measures to avoid this type of situation in the first place by offering a free company check service that provides an in-depth analysis of potential partners. In addition to this, our activities include preparing market research papers on selected industry sectors, which are also available to companies.

 Promoting investments in Poland is an important aspect of the Trade and Investment Promotion Section, and although there are numerous ways in which we can set out to achieve this, our strategy is basically twofold: Firstly, we act as an initial point of contact for potential investors and provide objective data on Poland to help them decide if Poland is the right place for their business. Secondly, once they are convinced that Poland is indeed where they would like to set up their company, we provide a business location advisory service. Although we are not part of Polish Information and Investment Agency, we do have a close working relation with it, and as such have access to the latest news, information and statistics.  The team at the Trade and Investment Promotion Section includes experienced advisors that will walk you through investment procedures. We are also able to help you understand how to access investment incentives and EU funds in Poland.

There are numerous ways in which we disseminate information about Poland. For instance, we organise events such as seminars and conferences on specific subjects, including different types of company structure in Poland. We also publish newspaper supplements about Poland, and participate as speakers at seminars organised by other institutions throughout the United Kingdom.

Whichever sector we set out to promote, we always try to find strong British and Polish partners to work together. This way we can concentrate on our core activity, which is to serve as a bridge to successful cooperation between companies from both markets. In the end this is what we do. We create opportunities and meeting forums for businesses from both markets.

About the Author

Bartosz Tymkowski is the Second Secretary of the Trade & Investment Promotion Section at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in London. For further information, telephone +44 (0) 20 731 727 00 or visit www.london.trade.gov.pl

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