The conference was a premiere of the Resc-EWE Programme and innovative tools prepared within its framework - Toolkit Resc-EWE, which are to help in preventing and early mitigation of risks in the functioning of enterprises, so as to eliminate cases of their insolvency and bankruptcy. The meeting was held under the patronage of the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology and organised by the Family Firms Foundation (FFF), which is one of the partners of the Resc-EWE programme and the Early Warning Europe Network Consortium.

The ResC-EWE project is co-financed by the European Union under the Erasmus+ programme, which is part of the larger EU programme Forward Looking Projects.

The Resc-EWE programme is a tool for entrepreneurs that can be a real help in solving problems in the functioning of companies. It was created based on the experience of Polish entrepreneurs, experts and allows to transfer their knowledge to companies going through various types of difficulties

- noted the Deputy Minister of Development and Technology Marek Niedużak.

Katarzyna Gierczak Grupinska, President of the Family Firms Foundation, emphasised that the project perfectly fitted into the pandemic reality.

The need to help entrepreneurs is extremely urgent. It is difficult to plan the future, to implement changes when decisions about them are postponed from week to week due to lack of full information. If entrepreneurs knew more about the processes that take place in their companies, had a clear idea of how to formulate strategies, had at their disposal guidelines on how to formulate communication about the company - they could decide to implement the necessary changes faster. In the face of lack of information, this necessity is not perceived.

- notes Katarzyna Gierczak Grupińska.

Deputy Minister Marek Niedużak emphasised that in the years 2014-2020, the New Opportunity Policy prepared by the Ministry of Development and Technology and implemented by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development was realised. It was a set of instruments of assistance for companies affected by difficulties and for those who want to restart their business activities. Currently, work is underway in the Ministry on its second edition - the New Opportunity Policy 2.0.

It will be a continuation of the best achievements of the New Opportunity, also aimed at micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. In the New Opportunity Policy 2.0 we will prepare assistance also for employees who so far were only passive participants in crisis situations of the enterprise where they were employed,

- said Deputy Minister Niedużak. 

Resc-EWE programme and Toolkit

The MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) programme consists of eight instructional videos and a toolkit for self-education of entrepreneurs. The videos cover topics such as:

• entrepreneurship;
• business planning;
• business resilience to crisis situations.

Once familiarised with these, the user can use the practical part of the toolkit. This is a total of 26 tools that use active boxes with explanations and prompts to ensure maximum usability for users. The developed instruments are made available free of charge to all interested parties and are now on the website of the Family Firms Foundation, and from January 2022 on the website of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development.

EWE mentors (entrepreneurs, experts) can help entrepreneurs in using the tools - the network and contact with them is at the disposal of the FFR. 

Benefits of the Resc-EWE programme

The Resc-EWE project is a continuation of the international Early Warning project offering assistance to businesses in crisis. It is carried out by the Family Firm Foundation and is aimed at SME business owners, start-up owners, students of entrepreneurial subjects and the educational community and employers' organisations. It aims to:

• develop competencies related to resilience to difficult situations, which are inherent in the life cycle of any business;
• change the perception of business failure, so that it starts to be treated as an experience that can contribute to a much better functioning of the entrepreneur, in his/her future activities;
• access to free tools to help prevent and mitigate risks at an early stage, which is a key aspect of doing any business.

New Opportunity Policy

The theme of the conference is part of the continuation of the Ministry of Development and Technology's efforts to help Polish forms undergoing difficulties, which was reflected, inter alia, in the implementation of the New Opportunity Policy (PNS) programme. It was a programme of assistance for companies in difficulties and for those wishing to restart their business activities.

PNS was targeted at micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and included aid instruments whose main objective was to remove the cause of the difficulties rather than to compensate for the losses themselves:

• an early warning system for SMEs in periodic difficulties - PARP was the operator (diagnosis, training, advisory and mentoring support tailored to the individual needs of the company, support at an early stage when problems can be solved with non-financial tools);
• provision of aid by the ARP under the provisions of the Act of July 2020 on granting public aid for rescuing or restructuring entrepreneurs - rescue aid in the form of a loan for 6 months; temporary restructuring support in the form of a loan for up to 18 months; restructuring aid in the form of a loan for the time necessary for restructuring, but no longer than 10 years;
• New Start Programme - operator PARP (training on analysis of reasons for failure and post-training counselling).

The PNS programme covered the period 2014-2020. The effects of this programme are:

• covering 880 entrepreneurs at the threshold of a crisis situation with real assistance;
• enabling entrepreneurs to apply for financial support under public aid (each year PLN 120 million was allocated for this purpose);
• creating an early response instrument on the basis of experience from the Early Warning Europe project;
• facilitating resumption of economic activity;
• promotion of attitudes giving priority to restructuring over liquidation (an increase in the ratio of restructuring to bankruptcy was achieved).

121 mentors were involved in the implementation of the PNS programme, resulting in a network of regional consultants, which was also joined by declared and licensed restructuring advisors (in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice).

New Opportunity Policy 2.0

Currently, the Ministry of Development and Technology is developing a new programme, New Opportunity Policy 2.0. It will be a continuation of educational, informational and promotional activities initiated and developed in the first version of PNS. It will also make use of a proven scheme of action in three areas:

• prevention of enterprise crises;
• assistance to enterprises in crisis;
• support for business re-starts.

Early Warning System

The Ministry, together with the Polish Agency for Development and Entrepreneurship, has launched the Early Warning System for entrepreneurs in difficulty. It is based on the experience of Poland's participation in the international Early Warning Europe project, which was launched on 1 July 2021.

The EWS programme is based on an EU directive (Directive 2019/1023 of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) of 20 June 2019) requiring Member States to create such a tool for entrepreneurs, make it available and disseminate it.  

On 1 July 2021, the PARP Regional Office was opened in Poznań, whose key task is to conduct nationwide information activities and preventive actions on restructuring, debt relief and business bans.