Following the C4DI Polish trade missions to Rawa.Ink Tech incubator in Katowice C4DI hosted our first Polish-Anglo Tech trade mission in Kingston-Upon-Hull.
The purpose was to encourage bi-lateral opportunities between Poland and the UK.
Locally the mission offered the opportunity for members of C4DI to connect with a leading Polish based software development agency spending a day in C4DI.
Our Polish guests were SOFTIQ. They are based in Gliwice but have access to developers across Poland. The visit was led by Aneta Wieczorke the business development manager. Aneta is also the key account manager for SOFTIQ and is exceptionally informed regarding the Central European marketplace regarding current and future trends. The SOFTIQ delegation was made up of the CEO Piotr Żurawlow, Director of PMO Marcin Grzanka and IT Architect Zbigniew Szot. We were also delighted to meet London based Bartosz Stachal who is a business development partner of SOFTIQ as well as the cofounder of CLUIID technology a leading agency.
Aggi Ostrowska was our local Pole in residence and acted as the aide-de-camp throughout the day.
How the C4DI ecosystem looked for a Polish tech business was explored thro Community Manager Louise Cooke. She was joined by Barclays Ecosystem Manager Amy Morgan, Yorkshire and Humber DIT Trade Adviser Sharon Stathers and Foreign Direct Investment LEP lead Antony Wallis. They described the networking opportunities that would exist for a Polish based software agency in relation to; the C4DI community, Barclays Eagle labs, the DIT, and the regional economy.
This session described the membership footprint of C4DI and how it interacts with the other twenty-nine Barclays Eagle labs. (It reinforced the importance of commercial connectivity whether you were from Gliwice or from Gilberdyke).
We were joined by DIT Tech and Creative Sector Specialist Nigel Jones. Nigel delivered an invaluable insight to the Northern Powerhouse economy and the vertical sector opportunities that exist. (At the end of it I was thankful to be based in the North)! Big thanks to Linsey Brown for her help in our media Suite.
Tina Swann our events lead had booked in meetings with C4DI members: Sauce Consultants, TH3DESIGN, Arc Studios and Operance.
The meetings were of an informal nature and gave both parties the opportunity to Q&A to generate reflections on where common ground might exist. It was a superb opportunity to make new connections and link businesses to different ecosystems.
This was followed by an excellent lunch laid on from Nibble.
Thank you to our Polish partners Bona Notitia Foundation, KTW. Legal and Rawa.Ink Katowice. Recognition also to support from our Warsaw based representative Kaja Szczygiel and the input from Cambridge University cross cultural specialist Kasia Lanucha.