Business services

The impressive growth of the sector in recent years has strengthened Poland’s position among the world’s most important investment destinations for business services centers (BPO, SSC/GBS, IT and R&D). Today the modern services sector is one of the fastest growing areas of the Polish economy. We are the leader in the CEE region, both in terms of the number of centers and employment in the industry. The main reasons for locating this type of investment in our country are well-educated, open to innovation employees. The strategic location of Poland on the map of Europe, the favorable investment climate and economic stability, as well as the development of modern infrastructure and the ecosystem supporting the activities of BSS1 investors are also advantages. Poland’s main partners in this industry, in terms of the value of exported services, are Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom. In 2020, exports of the industry accounted for 26.9% of Poland’s services exports.

In Q1 2021, there were more than 1.6 thousand Polish and foreign centers of business services sector in Poland, including BPO, SSC/GBS, IT and R&D entities. They employed a total of 355.3 thousand people (3.9% more than last year). In 2020, 65 new centers started operations, while in Q1 2021 there were 9 centers. In 2020 and 2021, foreign centers dominated among new investments (82.0%). The total share of the three largest business service centers: i.e. Kraków, Warsaw and Wrocław (Tier 1 cities – the first level in terms of employment in the sector and its maturity), in the number of new centers was 53.0%. The share of Tier 2 centers was 32.0%. The remaining new investments (15.0%) were located in Tier 3 or 4 cities. Compared to 2019, the share of Tier 1 cities in the number of new investments increased in 2020 and Q1 2021. Thus, the previously observed increase in the importance of smaller locations is not continuing. In a COVID-19 pandemic situation, the majority of new investments and new foreign centers appear in the most globally recognized Tier 1 or Tier 21 cities.

Industry definition

The industry is coded SJ under the BPM6 classification. The industry includes research and development, professional, technical, trade-related, and other business services.