29/06/2018

On 15 June 2018 took place a panel meeting organized by Lublin Development Foundation under the name: “Do you care to share? - sharing economy, trends and challenges" as a part of the International Conference & Expo "SMART ECOSYSTEMS", 14-15.06.2018 www.smartecosystems.pl.

During the meeting was hold a discussion on the trends, social added value of the sharing economy platform in local ecosystems and modern business models for startups –  how to run a business effectively. There were few success stories presented, i.e. Uber, Pozamiatane.pl, Panek CarSharing.

At the beginning of the event Cezary Pasternak (Lublin Development Foundation) presented the SharEEN project, its assumptions and benefits.

The major part of the event consisted of speeches hold by the following:

Mateusz Litewski, Uber– public policy manager for Central & Eastern Europe at Uber, former consultant at numerous companies specialising in e-commerce, heavy and financial industry

Piotr Boulangé, Pozamiatane.pl - director at Founder Institute Warsaw, and a Coworking Expert

Maciej Panek, Panek Carsharing -board chairman and owner of Panek S.A. and UAB PANEK

Jacek Śliwiński, Społeczna Wypożyczalnia Cargo - runs local courier company, experienced with marketing and trade, co-creator of cycling Lublin infrastructure map
 

In the last part of the event audience had chance to ask questions. After a few minutes we had very interesting discussion. The main focus of the discussion moderated by cooperation with Mariusz Trawiński from Centropolis, was on the challenges of the global, share economy services market than changes rapidly, especially in the area of car sharing. We tried to find answers on the following questions: What are the problems that share economy sector faces currently? What do need companies that want to operate in this model? What legislative measures can be introduced in the car sharing economy sector? What changes could be implemented? What can be expected from the administration?

It was highlighted that there is no statutory definition of car sharing in Poland. The development of this sector has begun in 2017.
Companies operating in the car sharing sector expect from the city authorities greater participation (support) in the development of such initiatives, expecting e.g. tax credits. Legislators should change the law allowing balanced competition, facilitating the operation of micro businesses in particular. It was also emphasized that the law "can’t keep up with technology" because it isn’t adjusted to rapidly changing modern technologies. That is why it inhibits development of innovative ventures.

The car sharing awareness among the elderly is quite small because the market seems to be concentrated rather on young people. Companies begin to introduce new types of services (e.g. rental buses, medium and high class cars). The future of the car sharing industry might be concentrated on specialization, supporting local initiatives and the dynamics of trends related to carpooling.
 

Under the so-called "good practices" for people who would like to start a business in the sharing economy model was suggested to focus on one technology/area only. It was advised to acquire new clients constantly because it enables a company to development from small to large business.