Startup Funding in Poland for an MVP: PARP, FENG and Regional Funds

The main public money for an early-stage founder in Poland is PARP's Platformy startowe dla nowych pomysłów, an incubation programme for Eastern Poland followed by development grants of up to 600,000 zł and then 2 million zł. FENG, the national programme for a modern economy, funds research-heavy projects through Ścieżka SMART, with a minimum of 3 million zł of R&D costs. The sixteen regional programmes add loans and occasional grants. Of these, Platformy startowe is the one built for a first product, and it explicitly treats external services as an eligible cost; the catch is that it is limited to six eastern voivodeships and its development call for new startups is closed until PARP announces the next one.

This page sets out each scheme as its official documents describe it on 20 October 2026, then answers whether the money can pay an outside development team, or one outside Poland. It is orientation, not financial or legal advice. Several PARP web pages block automated access, so many facts below come from PARP's own published PDFs, linked inline. For other countries, see the European MVP funding hub, and for programmes run from Brussels, EU funding for startups.

At a glance

Platformy startowe dla nowych pomysłów

Funded from the European Funds for Eastern Poland programme (FEPW, Działanie 1.1). PARP describes the platforms as "darmowe, kompleksowe programy wsparcia startupów od momentu rejestracji spółki" (free, comprehensive support programmes for startups from the moment the company is registered), in its Kraków presentation of 29 May 2025.

Incubation (Komponent I)

Who can apply. According to PARP's 2026 plans document, "osoby fizyczne lub zespoły składające się z osób fizycznych posiadające nowy pomysł biznesowy o charakterze innowacji produktowej co najmniej na poziomie krajowym" (individuals, or teams of individuals, with a new business idea that is a product innovation at least at national level). The Kraków presentation adds the "wymóg założenia spółki kapitałowej w makroregionie" (requirement to set up a capital company in the macroregion). We found no age limit.

What incubation gives you. Office space, accounting, tax and legal services, an incubation manager, individual specialist services including IT and design, micro-grants, and introductions to large companies. One operator, Unicorn Hub, states an average micro-grant of "średnio 30 000 zł netto" usable for MVP development, graphic design and research, in its deck published on the Lubelskie regional funds site. The same deck requires the application form to be "wypełniony w języku polskim" (filled in in Polish).

Operators and deadlines. PARP lists six platforms. Per the Kraków presentation, recruitment for HugeTECH Revolution, Mazovian StartUPolis and Wschodni Akcelerator Biznesu 2 ended earlier in 2026, Hub of Talents 3 ended on 30 September 2026, and Start in... (Rzeszów, Mielec, Kielce) and Unicorn Hub edition II (Lublin, Stalowa Wola) run into 2027. PARP's 2026 plans confirm that "najdłuższy termin aplikowania upływa 10 maja 2027 r." (the latest application deadline is 10 May 2027). Operators recruit in rounds, so check the platform's own site.

Development grant (Komponent IIa)

Amount and rate. Up to 600,000 zł, at most 85% of eligible costs, so at least 15% is your own contribution, according to PARP's announcement. Projects last up to 12 months.

Who can apply. "Mikro i mali przedsiębiorcy prowadzący działalność w formie spółki kapitałowej, którzy zakończyli program inkubacji" (micro and small capital companies that have completed incubation), with a positive recommendation in their incubation report. The project must run in at least one of Lubelskie, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Warmińsko-Mazurskie, Świętokrzyskie or Mazowieckie excluding the Warsaw capital region.

Eligible costs. "Zakup usług wspierających wdrożenie modelu biznesowego, wynagrodzenia zespołu projektowego, środki trwałe, surowce, materiały oraz wartości niematerialne i prawne" (purchase of services supporting the business model, project-team salaries, fixed assets, raw materials, materials and intangible assets). The Kraków presentation lists "usługi zewnętrzne" (external services) as a direct cost category, with indirect costs at a flat 15% of salary costs.

Status. The sixth call ran from 30 June to 17 September 2026 and is closed. In the previous round, PARP funded 83 projects with 47.8 million zł. The Kraków presentation says calls run until December 2027, but no next IIa date is published.

Komponent IIb

Up to 2 million zł at up to 85%, for companies that have finished a IIa project and filed their final payment claim. Eligible costs include "usługi zewnętrzne związane z działalnością przedsiębiorstwa – z wyłączeniem usług szkoleniowych" (external services related to the business, excluding training). Open from 6 October to 10 December 2026 at 16:00, according to PARP. It is a second step, not an entry point.

FENG: Ścieżka SMART

FENG (Fundusze Europejskie dla Nowoczesnej Gospodarki) is the national programme for research and innovation. Its main company instrument is Ścieżka SMART.

The SME call. According to the call notice for FENG.01.01-IP.02-003/26, PARP takes applications from 29 October to 29 December 2026, until 16:00, through its LSI system. It is open to "mikro-, mali i średni przedsiębiorcy prowadzący działalność zarejestrowaną na terenie Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej" (micro, small and medium firms with a business registered in Poland), anywhere in the country.

Amounts. Funding of 35% to 80%, depending on the task, cost type, company size and location, with maximum aid of 50 million zł. The R&D module is compulsory, and the minimum eligible cost is "3 mln zł na prace B+R" (3 million zł for R&D work).

Eligible costs include "koszty zakupu usług zewnętrznych (podwykonawstwo dotyczące badań i usług doradczych związane z projektem)" (external services: subcontracted research and advisory services related to the project).

A consortium call run by NCBR closed on 16 October 2026.

What it means for an MVP. A 3 million zł research floor puts SMART out of reach for most first versions. It is worth knowing about once you have a genuine R&D programme.

Regional programmes

Each of the sixteen voivodeships runs its own European Funds programme for 2021-2027, with grants and, often, loans through BGK and other financial intermediaries. Two examples:

• Mazowsze. The Fundusze Europejskie dla Mazowsza programme runs separate calls for the Warsaw capital region (RWS) and the rest of the voivodeship (RMR). Its financial instruments page names BGK as the fund manager for "Pożyczki na rozwój MŚP" (SME development loans) under Działanie 1.3. The calls currently open to businesses are skills and social calls, not startup grants.
• Małopolska. The regional schedule, updated 19 October 2026, shows skills calls open to companies, with no SME innovation or startup grant call.

Regional calls change through the year. The schedule (harmonogram) on each programme's site is the place to check.

Poland Prize

Poland Prize was PARP's route for founders from outside Poland. PARP's Kraków presentation lists it as a path within Smart UP for "startupów spoza Polski" (startups from outside Poland), with grants of up to 400,000 zł through accelerators. PARP's 2026 plans document says Smart UP "będzie realizowany do 10 marca 2026 r." (will run until 10 March 2026). We could not open the Poland Prize page itself. Treat it as closed unless PARP confirms otherwise.

Can this money pay an outside development team, or one in another country?

Scheme by scheme, from the official documents:

• Platformy startowe, incubation. Specialist services, including IT, come from the platform operator and its partners. One operator says its micro-grant can be used for MVP development. Whether that micro-grant can pay a supplier you choose, including one abroad, is set by each operator's rules, which we could not read. The official guidance does not say; ask the platform operator before you commit.

• Platformy startowe, Komponent IIa and IIb. External services are an eligible cost in both. PARP's announcements set no cap on the share of external services and no rule on the supplier's location; the detailed call rules (regulamin) sit on PARP pages we could not open. Ask PARP's information line, or the platform that incubated you, before you rely on a foreign supplier.

• FENG Ścieżka SMART. Subcontracting is allowed and is costed under "usługi zewnętrzne (podwykonawstwo)". PARP's SMART FAQ says subcontractors on B2B or contract-for-work terms must be chosen "zgodnie z zasadą konkurencyjności" (under the competitiveness rule), and that "nie jest zabronione by zadania realizowane w ramach podwykonawstwa były realizowane zdalnie" (it is not prohibited for subcontracted tasks to be done remotely). It also says subcontracting does not count as cooperation for scoring.

• Rules that apply across 2021-2027 EU funds. The national eligibility guidelines (section 3.2) say:

  • the competitiveness rule applies to orders above 80,000 zł net; offers are requested through the Baza Konkurencyjności (BK2021), with at least 7 days for responses on goods and services;
  • below that threshold, the beneficiary must still ensure fair competition and equal treatment of suppliers;
  • orders "nie mogą być udzielane podmiotom powiązanym z nim osobowo lub kapitałowo" (may not go to entities linked to the beneficiary by people or capital);
  • conditions set for suppliers must be proportionate.

  We found no clause limiting suppliers by country, inside or outside the EU. That is our reading of the text, not an explicit permission, so ask the institution running your call.

About us. Easify invoices in euros from its registered entity in India, so for a Polish company we are a supplier outside Poland and outside the EU, and the reverse charge normally applies for VAT. Above 80,000 zł, a funded project would have to run a competitive procedure, and we would need to respond to it like any other bidder; we cannot be picked directly. If a call requires a Polish or EU supplier, or documents in Polish that we cannot provide, we do not qualify, and you should know that before you apply.

How to plan your MVP budget around it

1. Do not sign before the rules allow it. EU-funded calls generally fund costs within the project period after the application or agreement. Check your call's rules on when costs become eligible before you commit to a supplier.
2. Run the procurement properly. Above 80,000 zł net, publish the request in BK2021 and compare offers. Below it, keep evidence that you compared prices fairly. A clear written scope makes offers comparable.
3. Write the scope first. Grant bodies and procurement rules both want a defined deliverable. Our €900 MVP Scoping Sprint produces a written scope with a fixed price and timeline, and the €900 is credited against the build if you build with us. That is general advice: no Polish scheme requires or accepts our document specifically, and it does not replace a competitive procedure where one is required.
4. Plan for the 15%. Platformy startowe funds at most 85%, so the rest, and any VAT the call does not cover, is yours.
5. Size the first version. Our MVPs typically cost €5,000 to €25,000 over four to twelve weeks; MVP costs in Europe explains what moves the price, and our 12 questions for choosing an MVP agency help you compare offers.
6. Budget for Polish. Applications and many operator forms are in Polish.

Products we build are deployed to EU data-centre regions. Our engineering team is in India, so describe that accurately in your privacy notice and in any application that asks where work is done.

For a comparison of agencies across the region, see MVP development companies in Central and Eastern Europe.

Scheme details checked against official sources on 20 October 2026. Schemes change; confirm with the programme before applying.