Lodz Chamber of Industry and Commerce

Brief description

Lodz Chamber of Industry and Commerce (LCIC) serves as a platform for the exchange of knowledge, experience and contacts between enterprises. The Chamber associates more than 300 companies. 85% of companies are SME and most of them are from construction and textile sectors.

As the largest economic organization in the Lodz region, it gradually increases the number of affiliated companies by expanding range of modern services. The majority of members come from textile and construction industry and are primarily small and medium enterprises.

The primary objective of the Chamber is care for the business community.

The Chamber’s activities include organizing multiple conferences, training sessions and B2B meetings, frequently with participation by foreign companies. The Business Recommendation Forum has been functioning as a part of the Chamber for many years, allows members to present their companies and business achievements.

Main activities of the Lodz Chamber:

• Organizing B2B meetings;
• Visits at trade shows;
• Organizing trainings, seminars and conferences. The subjects of these trainings are varied and depend on the needs of our members;
• Participation in governmental and EU programmes supporting business development;
• Contributing to our members’ development and support their business initiatives;
• Representing our members business interests before governmental and local administration;
• Legalization of documents used in international trade;
• Drawing up universal certificates of origin.

The Chamber of Commerce runs different projects (most of them are co-financed from Eu funds like ESF) that are focusing on entrepreneurship. They encompass ono-to-one vocational counselling, business and entrepreneurship courses and financial support for business development.

We are also in close contact with Business Link which is a start up accelerator and we could also cooperate with them to boost the input we have in the project.

Here are some details about the project I run my own company.

Increase of entrepreneurship and vocational activity among 80 people (60 women/ 20 men) by creating 34 companies (start-ups). This aim is obtained by complex entrepreneurship programme for persons 29+ who are in a specific situation on job market. – unemployed for a longer period of time, looking for job, vocationally inactive and those 50+, low-qualified.

The complex entrepreneurship programme: 

• individual vocational counselling
• workshops on preparing a business plan
• consultations of business plan with experts
• ABC of entrepreneurship (basic knowledge on law, taxes, social security rules)
• individual counselling
• non-refundable support for entrepreneurship

The project the Business is for Women is mainly the same as far as the programme is concerned. The only change is the target group that only women could take part in it.

Role in the Project and Added Value

As for our possible roles in the project we could be responsible for business coaching, policy paper, startup club or a library of case studies. Business coaching and help for start ups is something that we are used to do in the projects I mentioned above. Policy paper or a library of case studies would also be possible as we are connected to policymakers, other chambers of commerce (we are part of the Polish Chamber of Commerce) business owners and managers so we have broad vision of what is necessary, urgent and on the other hand feasible to do in order to make business environment friendly.

• Vocational trainings to gain or upgrade one’s vocational competences
• Provision of work agent

Provision of financial support (non-refundable) for people willing to start their own businesses.

Experience with transnational programmes

1. ŁÓDŹ R&D EXLORER – EU, Operational Programme Human Capital. Years of implementation 2011-2014 | UDA-POKL.08.01-10-008/11-00
2. Outplacement Programme for Lodzkie Region, European Social Fund. Years of implementation: 2016-2018 | RPLD.10.02-10-0009/16-00
3. ‘I run my own business’ –, European Social Fund, Years of implementation: 2017 -2018;

Experience in the project topics: Youth Employment, Careers Advisory, Entrepreneurship Education, Validation of Learning

LCIC works for and with companies and entrepreneurs. However one of its statutory aims is to take up various activities promoting employment and vocational activity, defusing the results of unemployment. It is also active in the field of promoting entrepreneurship.

That is why LCIC is active in this by diversifies projects (founded from the Structural Funds) that promote entrepreneurship and encourage people to run their own businesses or to go back to labour market by providing them with new vocational qualifications. The target groups of these activities are mainly women and disabled people, who are statistically considered the most vulnerable ones in the labour market. However, LCIC also addresses people who are low-qualified, unemployed for a long period of time, or in a threat of losing their job.