Poland’s market for start-ups combining commercial activity with solutions to social and environmental problems is expanding. The challenge for founders is increasingly not whether impact matters, but how to prove that positive outcomes can coexist with a scalable and profitable business model. The Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP) is responding with acceleration programmes and a new Business Impact competition for technology companies already operating on the market.
One of the initiatives is Startup Booster Poland – Tech Impact, designed for operators of acceleration programmes supporting companies whose products or services are linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The programme has a budget of PLN 40 million and is financed under the European Funds for a Modern Economy programme.
During this year’s call, which ran until mid-July, 20 applications were submitted seeking more than PLN 376 million in total support.
“We are trying to demonstrate that impact businesses can be profitable. Their financing needs are not necessarily different from those of other start-ups, but their business models may be different depending on the challenge they address,” Izabela Banaś, deputy director of PARP’s Centre for Analysis and Strategy, told Newseria.
Investors need to understand the longer path to returns
PARP points to a structural problem in impact investing: companies may require substantial capital while some benefits — both financial and social — emerge over a longer horizon. Measuring impact can also be more complex than tracking standard financial indicators.
Maja Wasilewska, project coordinator at PARP’s Centre for Analysis and Strategy, said investors often need a better understanding of why an impact-oriented company may deliver commercial value later than a conventional business while still requiring comparable financing and guarantees.
According to the Positive Impact Start-ups database maintained by Kozminski Business Hub, Poland has more than 700 innovative impact-oriented entities. Over eight editions of its Positive Impact Start-ups list, the organisation has highlighted more than 170 companies and organisations, including 21 that entered the market in the most recent year.
Technology can support many different social goals
Impact start-ups cover a broad range of sectors. The market expanded in medtech during the pandemic, while the war in Ukraine increased interest in dual-use technologies, cybersecurity and defence. Other companies focus on education, public health, equality, climate, accessibility and sustainable food systems.
PARP stresses that these areas should not be treated as mutually exclusive priorities. The agency’s broader portfolio already includes programmes such as DeepTech Goes Dual, supporting deep-tech and dual-use technologies, and Scale Up Green, aimed at business models aligned with the circular economy.
Business Impact competition targets market-tested solutions
The new Business Impact competition is intended to showcase technology solutions that already generate revenue while delivering a measurable positive effect. PARP is looking for businesses with potential to scale in Poland and abroad in five areas: climate and environment; health and wellbeing; education and skills; social inclusion and equality; and responsible food and agriculture.
One example is Banto, a team of parents, child psychologists and technology experts developing an app designed to help children aged 8–13 build healthier relationships in the digital environment. The company is preparing a pilot involving around 200 pupils from 10 classes and plans to compare survey results before implementation and six months later.
The broader policy goal is to make the investment case for companies that aim to solve real social or environmental problems without giving up commercial discipline.
Source: Newseria. The material was prepared during PARP Future Camp 2026, an event co-financed under European Union programmes.
