Free Entrepreneurship Association

What Free Entrepreneurship Association does

Free Entrepreneurship Association (Stowarzyszenie 'Wolna Przedsiębiorczość', SWP) is a non-profit association founded in 1995 and headquartered in Gdańsk, Poland. It delivers free entrepreneurship, SME internationalisation, vocational training, and social-activation services to beneficiaries in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, funded primarily through EU structural funds and project grants (RPO WP 2014-2020, Horizon 2020/Europe, Interreg Baltic Sea Region, Digital Europe Programme, Enterprise Europe Network). The organisation operates the Pomorskie node of Enterprise Europe Network and runs the Pomeranian Export Broker, an export support programme recognised by INSME (OECD-affiliated) as a best practice in innovation support in 2018. It also runs Centrum Aktywizacji Społecznej Stogi (CAS Stogi), a social activation centre for socially excluded residents in Gdańsk's Stogi district, plus professional training, career counselling, outplacement, HR consulting (Action Learning, Business Coaching, Mastermind), and business incubation / startup grant services.

The association has 11-50 employees and runs a secondary for-fee accounting office (Biuro Rachunkowe) offering bookkeeping, payroll, tax, and EU project accounting to SMEs, foundations, and associations under individually negotiated monthly pricing. Its technology stack is non-proprietary: a WordPress website (swp.gda.pl), the b2match platform for international B2B matchmaking, and MailerLite for GDPR-compliant newsletter distribution. Membership dues from members of Stowarzyszenie Wolna Przedsiębiorczość provide a minor recurring revenue stream. The organisation holds no patents, has no AI capabilities, and is governed as a civic institution rather than a commercial entity, with strategic positioning anchored to sustained access to EU programme funding and deep regional partnerships with Agencja Rozwoju Pomorza, PARP, PAIH, the Regional Chamber of Commerce in Pomerania, Politechnika Gdańska, and the Wojewódzki Urząd Pracy.

Name

Free Entrepreneurship Association

Legal name

Stowarzyszenie "Wolna Przedsiębiorczość" Oddział Terenowy Gdańsk

Website

https://swp.gda.pl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Free Entrepreneurship Association is a Gdańsk-based non-profit founded in 1995 that delivers EU-funded entrepreneurship training, SME internationalisation, vocational activation, and social-inclusion services across the Pomeranian Voivodeship, operating the local Enterprise Europe Network node and Pomeranian Export Broker programme.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

SME Advisory Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Political Organizations (81394)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAAAOAM

Entrepreneurship & Small Business Workforce Programs

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Workforce Development Initiatives

SECONDARYBPACAOAK

Entrepreneurship & Self-Employment Transition Support

Business & Public Services/HR, Staffing & Recruitment Services/Outplacement, Career Transition & Workforce Redeployment

SECONDARYBPADAMAE

SME & Entrepreneurship Development (Trade-Linked)

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/International Trade & Economic Development

SECONDARYEDAMAHAI

Leadership, Management & Teamwork for Business

Education/Supplemental & Enrichment Programs (Arts, STEM, Language)/Entrepreneurship & Business Enrichment

Keywords

• SME advisory services
• Business consulting
• Accounting services
• Export brokerage
• Entrepreneur training

Headquarters

HQ city

Gdansk

HQ country

Poland

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. EU Project Funding: The association is primarily funded through EU structural funds, operating grants, and project financing from Regional Operational Programme of Pomorskie Voivodeship (RPO WP 2014-2020), Horizon 2020, Interreg Baltic Sea Region, and other EU programmes. Services to beneficiaries are free of charge as they are funded through these grants.
2. Accounting Services Revenue: The association operates a for-fee accounting office (Biuro Rachunkowe) offering bookkeeping, tax, payroll, and BHP services to startups, SMEs, foundations, and associations. Pricing is individually negotiated with clients.
3. Membership Fees: The association has members (members of Stowarzyszenie Wolna Przedsiębiorczość) who pay membership dues, though specific fee amounts are not disclosed.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Free Entrepreneurship Association (Stowarzyszenie "Wolna Przedsiębiorczość") is a Gdańsk-based non-profit that delivers business support services to SMEs and entrepreneurs, including training, consulting, internationalization, and paid accounting. It also runs the Pomeranian node of the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), provides export brokerage, business incubation, and social/employment activation programs for unemployed individuals and those entering the labor market.

Product overview

Free Entrepreneurship Association (Stowarzyszenie 'Wolna Przedsiębiorczość') operates as a comprehensive business support organization offering multiple interconnected services. The core offering centers on the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) for international business matchmaking and the Pomeranian Export Broker for export assistance. The organization provides professional training, career counseling, and job placement services, complemented by HR consulting (Action Learning, Business Coaching, Mastermind). Social activation programs through the Centrum Aktywizacji Społecznej address social exclusion, while business incubation services support startups. An add-on accounting services division handles bookkeeping and financial compliance. All services are available in Polish with English language support via the organization's English website.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) Pomeranian Center: A center of the European business support network providing services for international business cooperation and technology transfer
• Pomeranian Export Broker
• Centrum Aktywizacji Społecznej Stogi (CAS Stogi)
• Pomeranian Digital Innovation Hub (PDIH)

Products and services

• Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) Pomeranian Node

Quantifiable outcome

• 40 jobs targeted to be created through the 'Twoja szansa na własny biznes' project
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) Single Market ProgrammecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe association operates the Pomorskie node of Enterprise Europe Network, a EU-funded network supporting SME internationalisation, technology transfer, and innovation across Europe. EEN provides access to B2B matchmaking, partner search, and EU programme support. The current programme covers 2022–2027.
• INSME – International Network for Small and Medium EnterprisesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerINSME is a not-for-profit association working under OECD auspices that gathers innovation and technology transfer stakeholders globally. The association's Pomeranian Export Broker project was named an INSME best practice. INSME has members from 30 countries including governmental bodies, international organisations, NGOs, and business support organisations.
• Pomeranian Digital Innovation Hub (PDIH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA Digital Europe Programme project providing digital innovation support to SMEs in the Pomorskie region, in partnership with regional technology and business support organisations.
• SMART CON EUROPE (Interreg Europe)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInterreg Europe project supporting smart specialisation strategies and cross-border cooperation among European regions for SME innovation.
• Agencja Rozwoju Pomorza S.A. (Agency for Development of Pomerania)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe agency is a key regional partner co-organising events, seminars, and the Pomeranian Export Broker programme with the association. It provides co-location (Olivia Business Centre, Gdańsk) for events and acts as a co-implementer of EU-funded regional programmes.
• Wojewódzki Urząd Pracy w Gdańsku (Regional Labour Office in Gdańsk)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-implements the 'Pomorskie! Tu wracam, tu pracuję' project supporting returning emigrants from Western European countries to find work in Pomorskie.
• Gdańska Fundacja Innowacji Społecznej (GFIS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial innovation foundation collaborating in the CAS Stogi social activation projects targeting socially excluded residents of Gdańsk's Stogi district.
• Towarzystwo Pomocy im. Św. Brata Alberta Koło GdańskieminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial welfare NGO collaborating in CAS Stogi social activation projects for the homeless and socially excluded in Gdańsk.
• Fundacja Oparcia Społecznego FOSAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial support foundation partnering in CAS Stogi social-professional activation projects.
• Regionalna Izba Gospodarcza Pomorza (Regional Chamber of Commerce in Pomerania)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-implements the Pomeranian Export Broker programme and organises export seminars and business events with the association.
• Politechnika Gdańska – Regionalny Punkt Kontaktowy Programów Ramowych UE (Gdańsk University of Technology – Regional Contact Point for EU Framework Programmes)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organises Horizon 2020 / Horizon Europe information events and provides expert support for EU research programme participation for SMEs.
• Polska Agencja Rozwoju Przedsiębiorczości (PARP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPoland's entrepreneurship development agency providing national exhibition stands (e.g., WHX Dubai) and financing programmes that the association disseminates to SMEs in Pomorskie.
• Polska Agencja Inwestycji i Handlu (PAIH)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPolish Investment and Trade Agency whose foreign trade office tools and information are promoted through the association's EEN and export support services.
• INTERREG Baltic Sea Region ProgrammeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCross-border cooperation programme supporting the SNOwMan and INTERMARE South Baltic projects in which the association participates.
• OECD – Organisation for Economic Co-operation and DevelopmentminorOthersINSME, the international SME network of which the association is a member, operates under OECD auspices, giving the association indirect affiliation with OECD.
• Dom Maklerski AFS (AFS Brokerage House)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organises forex risk management training events with the association and Agencja Rozwoju Pomorza for exporting/importing SMEs.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Polska Agencja Rozwoju Przedsiębiorczości (PARP): Poland's national entrepreneurship development agency. Funds and disseminates many of the same EU programmes the subject delivers locally; partners on national exhibition stands (e.g., WHX Dubai). A senior upstream partner/funder rather than a direct local competitor.
• SMEunited (formerly UEAPME): Pan-European association of crafts, small and medium-sized enterprises. Comparable membership-based SME advocacy and services model; serves as the European umbrella for many national SME bodies, conceptually aligned with the subject's representation role within Polish/Polish-EEN networks.
• CzechInvest: Czech national investment promotion and SME support agency. Comparable business model (EU-funded business development and internationalization) at a larger national scale; offers broader portfolio but similar channels and beneficiary types.
• Polska Agencja Inwestycji i Handlu (PAIH): Polish Investment and Trade Agency offering export and FDI advisory services. Overlaps with the subject's Pomeranian Export Broker activities at a national scale; partnership-level cooperation but partly overlapping service portfolio.

Direct peers

• Enterprise Estonia (EAS): Estonian national SME and export development foundation. Highly comparable structure: state-affiliated non-profit delivering EU-funded entrepreneurship, internationalization, and innovation support services — direct functional twin.
• Slovak Business Agency (SBA / SARIO): Non-profit agency delivering EU-funded SME support, entrepreneurship training, and internationalization services in Slovakia. Highly comparable model: state-supported intermediary channeling EU structural funds to SMEs, with paid advisory services layered on top.
• Fundacja Gospodarcza im. Karola Marcinkowskiego: Pomeranian economic foundation, partnered with the subject on the "Praca przede wszystkim" employment activation project. Provides directly overlapping EU-funded vocational activation and entrepreneurship support to the same beneficiary populations in the same region.
• Enterprise Lithuania: Lithuania's national EEN node and SME internationalization agency. Direct EEN consortium peer offering identical B2B matchmaking, innovation support, and EU-funded advisory services — analogous East-Central European non-profit model.
• Regionalna Izba Gospodarcza Pomorza (Regional Chamber of Commerce in Pomerania): Chamber of commerce co-organising Pomeranian Export Broker, export seminars, and B2B events with the subject. Provides overlapping SME support, networking, and internationalization services in the same Pomeranian geography.
• Agencja Rozwoju Pomorza S.A. (Agency for Development of Pomerania): Regional development agency co-implementing EU-funded entrepreneurship and export programmes (Pomeranian Export Broker) with the subject. Operates from the same Olivia Business Centre in Gdańsk, sharing beneficiaries, partners, and EU funding sources — direct operational overlap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/EEN_EU
• Facebookfacebook.com/UwolnijSwojaPrzedsiebiorczosc/?ref=bookmarks

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Free Entrepreneurship Association