Blockchain Business Poland kicks off in earest

I remember first meeting Bartek Bilicki in March 2018. We discussed the value of blockchain technology and the potential it has to transform businesses, industries, and our everyday lives. As we exchanged thoughts, we realized that in Poland to date there have been no events that would educate the community on the opportunities and challenges that blockchain technology presents, from business, technological or regulatory perspectives. Responding to the need, we decided to set up Blockchain Business, a series of events aimed to provide opportunities for educating, sharing industry experiences, discussions and networking. As we mark the first anniversary of Blockchain Business, it’s time to summarize our accomplishments so far.

It’s been an incredibly intense year. We have arranged meetups on behalf on Blockchain Business and Blockchain Girls, both in Poland and abroad, focusing on introducing the technology, presenting adoption case studies, debating on implementation challenges and generating enthusiasm towards the potential of blockchain.

The first Blockchain Business meetup was a full house event held in April 2018 in Poznań. It was the first large-scale meetup focusing on the blockchain technology in Poland. Consequently, other Polish cities followed. I would like to use this opportunity to thank the people who have helped make this happen.

Particularly, I’d like to thank Maciej Tomkiewicz from Oracle Poland, our strategic partner and sponsor. Maciej is also a member of the Polish Blockchain Association and has put a lot of time and effort to help us with the Blockchain Business initiative, for which we are incredibly grateful.

Thanks also to Maciej Krasowski, another member of the Polish Blockchain Association. Maciej was the first one to notice the scaling potential of BB and helped us arrange the first meetup in Łódź. Today the Blockchain Business events in Łódź attract professional and knowledgeable audience and are the go-to event for networking and knowledge-sharing on blockchain-related topics.

Following the Łódź meetup, the Blockchain Business event agenda expanded to include Gdynia, Szczecin, Berlin, Gniezno and Wrocław, all arranged with the help of local community leaders who helped make the events a success.

The event in Gdynia featured strong, professional presentations with core focus on finance and insurance. The speakers represented industry leaders, including the Bank of Poland and AXA insurance. Thank you to Michał Dworakowski and his team for helping us organize and lead the event.

We followed with a full house event in Wrocław, liaised by Pawel Rytelewski and his team. One of the most memorable speakers of the event was Agata Slater who discussed the value of design and user experiences in the process of accelerating the blockchain innovation.

The next location we targeted for a meetup was the northern city of Szczecin, where the audience had a chance to listen to a number of fascinating talks. One of the most interesting talks was given by Szymon Giermakowski who discussed the business potential of Azure Blockchain Workbench — Microsoft’s solution built on Ethereum blockchain. Thank you also to Paweł Sławacki for helping us arrange and organize the Szczecin event.

By far the most challenging event for us so far has been the Berlin meetup, the first Blockchain Business event we organized abroad. We are flattered to have been sponsored and supported by Oracle Germany, represented locally by Maciej Kawecki who helped tremendously to make the event a success. Thank you!

In September we held an event in Gniezno, the home town of Szczepan Bentyn, Bartosz Bilicki and Piotr Beńke, IBM Poland’s CTO. Piotr gave a fascinating talk, discussing the business potential of private Hyperledger blockchains and presenting various implementation case studies led by IBM world-wide.

We are also incredibly proud to have launched Blockchain Girls, our second initiative that kicked off in September in Poznań. Blockchain Girls is a series of meetups targeting women (and men) who are new to the blockchain technology and who want to gain knowledge, share ideas and experiences on the topic in a safe and informal setting. Every Blockchain Girls meetup we have organized to date has generated a lot of interest and a full house. Huge thanks go to Paulina Paprzycka and Olga Brzeżecka who are the core leaders and ambassadors of the initiative.

It’s been a big year indeed, but we have even bigger plans! 2019 will mark new initiatives, more meetups, new collaborations, which should all provide even more space and opportunities for networking and knowledge sharing. All of this is happening thanks to a group of fun and enthusiastic people who are passionate about blockchain technology and want to see it scale and develop. See you all soon!