At the 15th European Economic Forum Łódzkie 2022, Roman Matys received thanks from Grzegorz Schreiber, Marshal of the Łódź Voivodeship, and took part in several discussions on the role of regional and local government in business development.
Trust
With Deputy Marshal Andrzej Górczyński he discussed how to build trust between authorities and entrepreneurs. Trust, Roman Matys said, is confidence in the other side’s decency, and it grows out of openness and shared experience. Entrepreneurs should not pressure the authorities or dodge agreements, and the authorities should act as a partner rather than only a controller. The participants agreed that in the long run there is no alternative to partnership.
Which entrepreneurship to support
Asked why government should support business at all, Roman Matys distinguished three types of entrepreneurship: ordinary, innovative and necessity-driven, when people start a business because they have no other income. Necessity-driven entrepreneurship often undercuts prices and earns little, so it should be a short transition stage.
Support works when the state, local governments and donors act together: cheap long-term loans, co-financing, funding for innovation, training for entrepreneurs, cooperation projects between them, simple taxation. Most big corporations were once small companies with big ambitions.
What matters most
Asked by the moderator, PwC Poland partner Dionizy Smoleń, to name the single most important factor, Roman Matys answered: take proven solutions from other regions and adapt them instead of inventing your own. Experts are often jealous of other people’s experience, and reinventing the wheel costs time and money. New solutions that appear while adapting are a bonus.
Original (in Ukrainian): matys.com.ua, matys.com.ua, matys.com.ua