Baćkowice is a small municipality located near the town of Opatów in south-central Poland. For decades, the area has suffered from economic decline and depopulation given its location far from cities with more job opportunities and with the closing of businesses that left many inhabitants without a job, particularly women. A main source of employment for women in Baćkowice was the sewing room Wólczanka which closed in 2006.

Many women in rural areas often have “housewife” status which, according to the Polish Employment and Counteracting Unemployment Law, means they cannot register in a labour office, nor receive any unemployment benefit. Given the lack of other employment opportunities in the area at the time, the municipality of Baćkowice decided to acquire the offices of former companies that had closed in order to convert them into a space that would attract investors and create jobs in the area.

The municipality of Baćkowice designed a project for a business incubator to improve conditions for the development of new SMEs in the area after the closure of many businesses. This included providing a space to attract investors and respond to their needs. 

For instance, entrepreneurs could decide to rent offices that still needed refurbishment work at a significantly reduced cost. The idea was that these new businesses would generate job opportunities for unemployed citizens, including those from vulnerable groups. 

The mayor of Baćkowice had long ago anticipated that the area could face depopulation and had consistently been taking initiatives to prevent this. In 2012, the municipality started to purchase and renovate different old buildings with its own resources. 

Nonetheless, this source of funding was not sufficient to develop the whole incubator project. Finally in 2018, after applying for funds under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) – programming period 2014-2020 – the incubator was created. 

The project includes a building with two levels housing a sewing company. After the successful completion of the first project, the municipality decided to construct another building with local funding. This was opened in 2022, offering the services of a dental clinic, a barber shop, a restaurant, a rehabilitation centre and a veterinary clinic. 

Behind the success of the incubator there is a committed municipality which has been run by the same municipal head since 1989, who has earned the trust of the local community of the rural area of Baćkowice thanks to listening to people’s needs and proactively seeking solutions to tackle issues. 

The municipality took an active role in pitching the incubator to potential investors from other areas, offering spaces at an attractive cost, finding different funding sources and acting as a facilitator with other enterprises, such as the transport company that has made the incubator more accessible.