Invest in Pomerania has summed up the first 10 years of its existance. During this decade, the initiative coordinated by Pomerania Development Agency has secured more than 170 investment projects and 22.5 thousand new jobs for the Pomeranian Voivodeship. During the event, the Invest in Pomerania strategy for 2023-2027, prepared in cooperation with the World Bank, was also presented.
Invest in Pomerania was set up to increase the effectiveness of attracting foreign investment to the Pomeranian voivodeship. The initiative was brought to life by the voivodeship’s local authorities, the largest cities and municipalities and key business environment institutions, who entrusted Pomerania Development Agency with the coordination of its work. The strategy was based on a study of investment potential conducted by PwC and the Institute for Market Economy Research.
The success of Invest in Pomerania is a success of the region
Over the past decade, Invest in Pomerania team has significantly increased the scale of its economic promotion activities, which converts into new investment enquiries. Last year alone, more than 180 were handled, 30 of which ended in decisions to locate projects in Pomerania.
– For the Pomerania Development Agency, Invest in Pomerania is one of the key projects aimed at rebuilding the system for attracting FDI’s to the Pomeranian voivodeship. Thanks to the actions taken, thousands of new jobs have been created in the regional economy. Nevertheless, we know that in order to maintain our effectiveness, we need to adapt our strategy to the very dynamic processes that are currently modelling the economic reality. Climate change, inflation, the war in Ukraine and trade conflicts are key factors shaping corporate investment policy. While observing the market, we are introducing a new strategy tailored to the needs of foreign direct investments – says Piotr Ciechowicz, Vicepresident of the Pomerania Development Agency S.A.
A strategy for difficult times
In cooperation with the World Bank, a comprehensive report was created, which on the one hand showed the impact of Invest in Pomerania on the region’s economy in the last decade and, on the other hand, set out areas for action in the coming years. At the same time, a number of new recommendations for the operation of the initiative were presented.
– The World Bank report is an important signpost for us for the future. It confirmed what a key decision from the region’s perspective the allocation of funds for economic promotion was, while at the same time indicating to us the sectors that should be developed. This is particularly important today, as we expect the global economy to deteriorate further. That is why we need a good strategy and the right tools – says Mieczysław Struk, Marshall of Pomorskie Voivodeship.
Achievements confirmed by statistics
The study showed that, since the initiative’s inception in 2011, the sectors on which Invest in Pomerania’s activities were focused have grown faster than other sectors of the economy. Between 2011 and 2018, the cumulative annual growth rate of gross value added in the priority sectors was 7.4 per cent, compared to 4.1 per cent in the other sectors. Since the establishment of Invest in Pomerania, the priority sectors have also recorded higher growth rates in the number of enterprises and the number of employees. The sectors dealing with modern business services and IT have grown particularly dynamically. The statistical research is complemented by an econometric analysis, which clearly indicated that Invest in Pomerania has had a significant impact on foreign direct investment flows, which has led to the acquisition of a significant number of new projects and jobs for the regional economy. The authors of the study highlighted that, compared to other regional investment promotion agencies in Europe, Invest in Pomerania has a higher than average efficiency in attracting investment projects.
