At the recent Economic Forum in Krynica, one of Central & Eastern Europe’s main economic forums, it became abundantly clear that Poland is positioning itself in the Internet fast lane.
The Polish internet economy already accounts for 2.7% of GDP and is expected to reach up to 4.9% by 2015, according to a
report published by the Boston Consulting Group. This means that the Internet already accounts for more than the country’s traditional industrial leader, coal mining, and soon will drive more economic activity than such key sectors as energy, finance and health-care. (Disclosure: Google commissioned BCG’s report, though it was carried out independently).
Susan Pointer, Google Director of Public Policy and Government Relations, speaking on a panel at the Krynica Economic Forum
Good news as this is, evidence shows that Poland could do even better. In the UK, the Internet already generates 7.2% of GDP, almost three times the Polish figure. According to the BCG e-Intensity Index, the main challenges to Polish online growth include the low levels of infrastructure development and the online activity of businesses. At present, only 60% of households enjoy Internet access - and only 50% of Polish businesses leverage internet tools.
At the same time, Poland boasts many advantages. In 2010, the BCG report showed that it ranked number one in Europe in terms of the number of search queries per internet user. Polish is second globally in terms of the number of entries created in Wikipedia per person speaking a given language.
The Internet presents great opportunities for both start-ups and existing small and medium businesses. At the Krynica Summit, panel members discussed how Polish entrepreneurs can take advantage of the Net to jumpstart their businesses.
Speakers called for government and private sector collaboration, and my Polish colleague Agata Waclawik-Wejman pointed to our
Internet Revolution campaign. We worked with the Polish Ministry of Economy to offer advice on how Polish small and medium businesses can get online using both Google and non-Google tools, including a free package to help them establish a web domain, create a website and launch their first online advertising campaign.
The success of this initiative has exceeded all our expectations. More than 45,000 small entrepreneurs so far have signed up, a sign of just how fast and far-reaching the Polish Internet Revolution is proving to be.
Posted by Susan Pointer, Director of Public Policy and Government Relations, Southern and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa
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