Łódź Special Economic Zone becomes an Accredited Innovation Center
The Ministry of Development and Technology has granted the Łódź Special Economic Zone the status of an Accredited Innovation Center in the acceleration function. The list of centres from call I/2026 was approved on 3 June 2026. The status is valid for 36 months, until June 2029.
What accreditation means
Individual accreditation is confirmation by the minister responsible for the economy that a centre meets quality standards and has the competence to provide pro-innovation services. The ministry grants it in a competition, in one of four functions: incubation, acceleration, technology transfer from science to business, and provision of infrastructure.
Call I/2026 was announced on 20 February 2026 and applications were accepted until 25 March 2026. The first list of 27 centres was approved on 3 June 2026 by Michał Jaros, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Development and Technology. After updates on 27 July and 7 August 2026 the list has 36 centres: science and technology parks, foundations, universities and companies. Among them are two companies managing special economic zones: the Łódź SEZ and the Pomeranian SEZ, both in the acceleration function.
What the acceleration function covers
Under the competition rules, acceleration is a time-limited, intensive support programme for formed teams that have at least a prototype or product or initial market validation. Its aim is rapid scaling, preparation for investment and entry into new markets. The ministry sets five goals for accredited accelerators: faster commercialisation of technology, a greater ability of startups to raise private capital, rapid implementation of innovation in the economy, cooperation between startups, investors and large companies, and higher survival and growth rates for startups.
What the status brings
- The right to use the mark and the name “Accredited Innovation Center” in correspondence and promotion.
- The right to apply for public support dedicated to accredited centres, including operational programmes financed from European Union funds for 2021–2027.
- Confirmation of the standards that startups and corporate partners of Łódź SEZ programmes can count on.
The status is valid for 36 months from the approval of the list, that is until June 2029.
Acceleration at the Łódź SEZ
The accreditation confirms the track record of the Zone's acceleration programmes. Since the first edition of Startup Spark, the Łódź SEZ has completed four programmes and the fifth is under way. More than 250 startups have gone through the programmes, and close to PLN 50 million has gone into their development and the testing of their solutions. In Spark 3.0 a single grant reached PLN 400,000. Programme partners have included Ericsson, Procter & Gamble, PwC, Bosch, Siemens, Airbus and Miele, as well as Polish companies such as Indigo Nails, Grupa Pietrucha, Ceramika Paradyż and PGE.
Acceleration at the Łódź SEZ means pairing startups with large companies that test their solutions on site. The startup receives a grant, mentoring and access to the partner's plant; the partner gets proven technology.
The full list of accredited centres is available on the website of the Ministry of Development and Technology. The ministry plans the next call by the end of 2026.