Entrepreneurship and the Just Transition Fund: JTP Groundwork event in Poland

The Łódzkie Voivodship is home to the Bełchatów power plant - a lignite thermal power plant known as the biggest greenhouse gas emitter in the EU. Lignite mining and energy production dominate Bełchatów's economy, and the number of enterprises per capita is below the average of the voivodship and the national average. By 2030, employment in lignite mining in Bełchatów is predicted to decrease by 40.4%. As the region moves towards a climate-neutral future, a rethink of the economy is inevitable. Łódzkie would like to invest in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to future-proof its economy.

Łódzkie receives €369.5 million from the Just Transition Fund to invest in skills development, renewable energy deployment and energy efficiency, as well as in research laboratories and business infrastructure for local SMEs.

In addition, Łódzkie receives technical assistance from JTP GROUNDWORK to design a support scheme for SMEs. An expert exchange, entitled "The role of SME support measures in the just transition", took place in Łódź on 8 and 9 November as part of the technical assistance.

Exchanging experiences across JTF regions

The Marshal Office of the Łódzkie Voivodship and the JTP GROUNDWORK team organised a two-day conference, including experience-sharing sessions and a site visit to the Łódź Special Economic Zone, to provide SME support practitioners from Polish and other JTF regions with a platform for connecting, learning and sharing. The Marshal Office of the Łódzkie Voivodship also presented its upcoming SME support scheme, with positive reactions from both entrepreneurs and the business community.

The event welcomed more than 100 participants, including entrepreneurs from the region, local institutions focused on supporting businesses, NGOs, academics, business incubators, and representatives from regional authorities, national ministries, as well as the European Commission. Representatives from other Polish JTF regions - including Silesia, Lower Silesia, and Eastern Wielkopolska - joined the event and shared their experiences in supporting SMEs. The conference also engaged experts from Denmark, Estonia and Germany to bring a wide range of perspectives to the discussions.

The event served to:

• Provide potential operators and beneficiaries of Łódzkie's SME support scheme with the latest information on the development of the scheme and bring them in contact with successful entrepreneurs in Łódź,
• Exchange learnings on establishing successful SMEs that support the just transition of regions,
• Give a platform to institutions supporting SMEs to connect and grow their network,
• Provide inspiration on uncovering and relieving common bottlenecks in SME support. 

The conference was the final event in a series of workshops held to shape Łódzkie's upcoming SME support scheme. A first workshop focused on gathering input from potential beneficiaries in the Bełchatów area. The workshop welcomed both new entrepreneurs and existing SMEs to ensure that both their needs are accounted for in the design of the scheme. The second workshop served to collect insights and ideas from local institutions focused on supporting businesses. Inputs from the conference will feed into the final concept of the scheme, which will serve as the basis for a call for proposals to be launched by the region in February 2024.