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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined the Warsaw – London Bridge launch at The Heart

Warsaw, 18th July 2017 Their Royal Highnesses met Poland’s rising tech scene at The Heart Warsaw, recently opened business hub with panoramic view of the capital. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took part in the inauguration of the ‘Warsaw–London Bridge’, an initiative aimed at strengthening mutual relations between the Polish and British entrepreneurs. Two Polish tech companies, Whisbear  and Migam, received special awards that will help them leverage London’s unique opportunities for scaling up to become global players.

“The Warsaw-London Bridge, organised jointly by The Heart and British Embassy, showcased the energy, creativity and future potential in UK-Polish business links. We were honoured to welcome as special guests, Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who met the young entrepreneurs, start-ups and scientists with links to both countries”, said Jonathan Knott, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Poland.

The meeting took place at The Heart, an international tech hub co-created with over 40 leading corporations. The creation of the space, located on the 38th floor of Warsaw Spire, was inspired by London’s Level39. “It is an important day for The Heart and our startup ecosystem. Poland is getting known not only for our great programmers, but also ambitious tech entrepreneurs. We are very happy that we can support them by building bridges between Warsaw and Europe’s most important business centres”, said Tomasz Rudolf, CEO of The Heart.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge explored solutions offered by Polish entrepreneurs expanding to UK. The attention of the Royal Couple was attracted by, among others, a smart bike JIVR, educational robot Photon, smart toy Whisbear and educational apps Dr. Omnibus and Neurodio. Companies presenting included also Smart AR and BIVROST, a sign language translator Migam and telemedicine solutions Sidly and Pregnabit. During the visit, the Royal Couple met also young scientists supported by the E(x)plory program, which recognizes and supports remarkable teenage talents in their future careers.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge presented awards to two startups that won the competition accompanying the Warsaw–London Bridge initiative. The jury recognized Whisbear as the best HealthTech Startup. Migam received an award for best Retail tech solution. The winners will get the opportunity to take part in meetings with corporations organized by The Heart in London, as well as monthly access to the shared space at Wayra – a corporate accelerator created by a Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica.

“The UK has a close relationship with Poland. Several of our start-ups, including the extremely promising Switchee, have founders with Polish roots, and I am sure that Polish entrepreneurs will continue to make an increasingly substantial impact on the European tech sector in the years to come”, said Gary Stewart, Director of Wayra UK.

Mastercard will also support the awarded companies in scaling their business. “At Mastercard, we know that the best environments for the development of innovations are open cooperative ecosystems that involve startups and corporations. Therefore, as the strategic partner of The Heart, we help to combine these two worlds by, among others, sharing knowledge and best practices”, explained Bartosz Ciołkowski, general manager of the Polish branch of Mastercard Europe.

About The Heart Warsaw:

The Heart is a European center for corporate-startup collaboration. Located on the 38th floor of Warsaw Spire, the hub connects fast growing tech companies, investors and leading multinational corporations. The center runs programs related to FinTech, Omnichannel, HealthTech and Smart City. The Heart supports large organizations in the implementation of innovations created by selected startups from across Europe. As a result, the best young entrepreneurs from the whole region can scale their businesses faster and expand internationally. Find out more: theheart.tech

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