Gateway to the West

Roland Engels, president of Berlin Partner, an institution that attracts investments to Berlin, says opportunities for Polish entrepreneurs in Berlin are excellent. "In Berlin, medium-sized and innovative firms will find good surroundings enabling them to succeed in entering foreign markets. If you have a company in Berlin, it means that one of your legs is in the East and the other in the West. This is a big advantage for companies, Polish ones in particular," he says.

Solange Olszewska, deputy president of bus manufacturer Solaris started expansion into Berlin with just two buses a couple of years ago and has now provided a quarter of all buses in Berlin. "A good reference in Berlin helps not only in other parts of Germany but in all of Europe," says Olszewska.

Berlin's authorities offer subsidies for new investors. Polish companies can apply for support of up to 35 percent of an investment. Wrocław-based Druckon Etiketten is one of the companies that has been granted such support. "We filled out an application with a representative from Berlin Partner. We prepared the necessary documents. The whole procedure lasted about a month," says Marcin Godlewski from Druckon Etiketten.

Apart from all that, Berlin is a large market, with nearly 3.5 million inhabitants. Entrepreneurs who have already invested there say the cost of employment is comparable with Poland, since Germany's capital is still less economically developed than many other regions of the country. A 100-sqm apartment in Berlin can be bought for EUR 2,000 (zł.7,628) per sqm, whereas prices of as much as EUR 4,000 (zł.15,256) per sqm are not rare in Warsaw.