Some 160 thousand people in Poland were sacked in the first two months of this year, according to a report issued by the Main Office of Statistics. The unemployment scare is giving many Poles sleepless nights. But for many young Poles the economic crisis is a boost rather than a set back. 

Jacek Szafader is a good example of how young Poles respond to the crisis. When the firm he was employed at went bankrupt and Jacek lost his job, he decided to become his own boss.  Jacek says: 'Ironically, the crisis has become my ally. My clients have to cut down costs and they  come to me.' 

A report – Money Track 2009 – a joint undertaking of the Adam Smith Centre, the Maison research consultants and the MMT Management agency – shows that almost 70 percent of Poles do not perceive prospects for an improvement of their material situation. But the rest do. Almost all of them are people aged between 20 and 39.  

Five years ago, three young men, all born in 1980, created the Academic Enterprise Incubators to help young businessmen-to-be set up shop. Since then, they have enabled more than two thousand companies to enter the market. Last year, 300 young Poles turned to them for help. This year the number has already reached almost 800. Dariusz Zuk, one of the brains behind this innovative project, says small and medium size companies can and must be the future of Poland’s economy. Young people know about this and are starting their own companies.   

The American Kauffman Foundation of Entrepreneurship has recently praised the Academic Enterprise Incubators as one of the best  concepts in the world of helping young businessmen.

Click on the audio icon to listen to the report by Krysia Kołosowska.