In a few days already we will know the winner of the 10th jubilee edition of the Microentrepreneur of the Year competition. Thus far 93 microfirms from across Poland - traditional ones as well as those involved in modern technologies - have received awards and recognition in the competition organized by The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation.
Since 2005 the prestigious title of Microentrepreneur of the Year and a monetary prize were given to companies from Gdynia, Torun, Wrocław, Poznan, Nysa, Koszalin and Bytom. Every year the competition appreciates the potential lying dormant in microenterprises - those focused on innovation as well as those focused on cultivating traditions.
From the very beginning, the Microentrepreneur of the Year competition has aimed to promote the idea of entrepreneurship and rewarding firms that are operating based on an idea and achieving success. Already for the past 10 years we have been presenting awards to microenterprises from all over Poland operating in a wide range of sectors, and have been following their ongoing development. In Poland there over 1.7 million microfirms operating, and the key to their success and growth is undoubtedly their ability to find market niches and efficiently respond to local demand - says Krzysztof Kaczmar, President of The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation. In the 10-year history of the Microentrepreneur of the Year competition - besides winners - over 80 films from across Poland have received recognition.
Among the winners, as well as companies that have been recognized, one can observe a variety of specializations and scales of operations. Microenterprises in the food industry, for example, include firms cultivating traditional production of gingerbread, ice cream and honey, as well as those engaged in snail farming. Many of the companies recognized thus far in the Microentrepreneur of the Year competition operate in the medical or biotechnology industry. These are often companies founded by young people who, after finishing studies in these fields, have decided to become entrepreneurs - such as the winners from 2010, the owners of the company Centrum Badań DNA (DNA Research Center). Awarded companies also successfully operate in the area of science and education. Firms operating in the sector of renewable energy and eco-friendly solutions are also noticeable.
Among the winners of the Microentrepreneur of the Year competition have been companies whose innovativeness is appreciated all over the world. The first winner was the firm IVO-Software from Gdynia, whose speech synthesizer software is used by many multinational companies.
In subsequent editions, awards were given to companies implementing new solutions and technologies that worked with firms around the world: TeleMobile Electronics, Nexwell Engineering, DNA Research Center, Sznerski Guss, and Digital Core Design. These are examples of microenterprises operating on a macro scale, enjoying success due to this. Internet giant Amazon.com was interested in IVO-Software's technology, while Digital Core Design sold selected licenses to such companies as Intel, Sony, Philips, and Siemens. As the 2011 winner, George Sznerski, owner of the firm Sznerski Guss, underscores: Thanks to winning the competition, my turnover has increased four times already. According to Jack Hanke, president of Digital Core Design, the title of Microentrepreneur of the Year helped the company in the purchasing of new equipment, recruitment of new employees, and gaining valuable new business contacts.
About the competition
The Microentrepreneur of the Year competition has been organized already for the tenth time. It is aimed at companies that employ less than 10 workers, and whose annual turnover or annual balance sheet total does not exceed 2 million euros.
Honorary patronage of the competition has been assumed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Janusz Piechociński and the President of the Republic of Poland Bronisław Komorowski. The partners of the competition are the Microfinance Centre and the Coalition for Microentrepreneurship. The Coalition's membership comprises the Business Centre Club, the Family Business Initiative, the National Chamber of Commerce, the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, Entrepreneurial Poland, the Polish Confederation of Private Employers Lewiatan, Employers of Poland, and the Polish Craft Association.
