Young innovative companies that are conquering the market!

– For young, innovative companies, the prize of taking part in the program is a great opportunity. Not only will they have the opportunity to undergo acceleration based on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology model, but also, thanks to the Scale UP program, they will receive financing for their development  – said Grzegorz Pawlicki, director of the Innovation Office at PKO Bank Polski.

Support for start-ups with high technological potential
The aim of the program is to support young, innovative Polish companies that are developing unique technologies by accelerating the commercialisation of their products and services. The MIT EF accelerator program is open both to existing Polish technology companies and teams that only have an idea for a new business. Those qualified for the start-up program have the opportunity to participate in workshops to help create or review business models, learn how to make investor presentations and obtain ongoing support from an international team of mentors and experienced experts.

Finalists of the second edition of the accelerator program
The Nu Delta team is developing a solution for the instant, automatic recognition of invoice information using a phone camera. Waywer has developed a multi-media communication platform that enables the creation of sales processes at various stages of customer collaboration. The 2040.io team impressed the jury with its idea of ​​a smart sales assistant to replace the traditional CRM system. InnovaLab has developed material markers to prevent the counterfeiting of original products.

Among the winning start-ups are solutions for the pharmaceutical, energy and raw materials sectors. SensoriumLab has implemented the telemonitoring of patients at risk of pleural effusion, the early detection of which is crucial in the management of the condition. Medical Simulation Technologies has created the world's first transoesophageal echocardiography simulator based on real-time tomography data. The start-up Predictail is a solution for industry that allows faults in large machines to be predicted using Big Data analysis. The Vortex Oil Engineering team presented a solution that improves the efficiency of oil extraction by mechanically changing the properties of technical water and reducing its consumption.

The bank supports the development of the start-up environment in Poland
PKO Bank Polski is once again supporting the ideas of young entrepreneurs, whose main capital is their innovation and unconventional way of thinking. At the Impact'17 congress in Krakow, PKO Bank Polski and the MassChallenge accelerator - one of the biggest accelerators for technological startups in the world -  announced their partnership. The launch of the Bridge to MassChallenge accelerator program was announced, the first step in Poland's entry into the MassChallenge brand. In August last year, the bank also took over the main patronage of the fintech Startup Weekend Warsaw event, and since 2015 it has been working with D-RAFT on finding unique technologies. The fintech part of the project is currently being continued in the new corporate start-up center – The Heart Warsaw.

The bank is also open to implementing unconventional solutions proposed by young scientists and entrepreneurs in its own systems. At the beginning of the year, we were the first Polish financial institution to invest in a fintech start-up. By purchasing ZenCard, we showed that we are ready to implement innovative solutions and we sent investors a clear signal that it is worth investing in prospective Polish start-ups because their best ideas can be successfully adopted by corporations operating in Poland.

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