The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested a record €1.43 billion in Poland through 49 projects in 2024. This beats the previous record of €1.3 billion invested in 32 projects in 2023 and made Poland the EBRD’s fourth-largest market last year.
Andreea Moraru, EBRD Regional Head for Poland and the Baltic States, said: “Our record delivery is a testament to the EBRD’s continued value-added as a leading institutional investor in Poland. All of our Polish investments last year went to the private sector, helping our clients to become more efficient, greener and resilient amid evolving macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges. Poland also remains a leading destination for EBRD green finance, with over 69 per cent of our total investment in 2024 contributing to Poland’s transition to a low-carbon, green economy. These results underscore our ability to meet the needs of Polish businesses while driving the growth of Poland’s economy.”
The vast majority (65 percent) of the EBRD’s investment supported the Polish corporate sector. A highlight was a €146 million financial package to the country’s leading pharmaceutical group, Polpharma, to support the development of new medicines and biotechnology products. The Bank also lent €100 million to Poland’s leading telecommunications group, Fiberhost/INEA, to finance upgrades to its fibre-to-the-home network and the development of new technology and network services, ultimately benefitting more than a million Polish households.
The Bank continued to invest in Poland’s real-estate sector, providing €100 million to Polish residential for-rent developer and operator Vantage Development, as well as €13.7 million to the Polish subsidiary of Nrep Nordic Strategies Fund IV, to finance Nrep’s Noli Studios flexible living concept.
Both investments bring a portfolio of rental apartments to the Polish market, helping to tackle Poland’s chronic shortage of rental accommodation.
The Bank also continued to play an active role in Poland’s capital and financial markets. The Bank signed several strategic equity investments for a total of more than €170 million, including participation in the landmark acquisition of Velobank, as well as an investment in leading cosmetics brand Bielenda and sporting e-retailer R-Gol.
And, the Bank supported the introduction of innovative financial tools on the local debt capital market by participating in mBank’s issuance of the first Basel III-compliant Additional Tier 1 notes listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. mBank is the first Polish bank to introduce an AT1 instrument to Poland’s capital market.