Polish company wins Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Central Europe 2020 ranking

In the 21st edition of the ranking of the fastest-growing technology companies in Central Europe, as many as 30 percent of the places are taken by companies from Poland. They also lead the top ten, where they took as many as half of the spots. At the top of the entire Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Central Europe ranking is the Polish company Packhelp. Over the past four years, the revenue growth rate of all technology companies in the ranking amounted to as much as 1,460 percent.

In the main "Fast 50" category, 15 companies from Poland were placed. In turn, 9 found their place in the "Rising Stars" category. Most companies in the main category come from the Czech Republic (21). Polish and Czech companies together occupy more than 70 percent of the places in the ranking. Third place went to Croatia, represented by five companies. The Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Central Europe ranking also included companies from Bulgaria (3), Slovakia (2), and one each from Lithuania, Kosovo, Latvia, and Estonia.

– This year's ranking is unique in nature. The pandemic has shown that technology companies not only stimulate business growth, but also allow us to function during isolation. The enormous interest in the edition we are just closing shows how many innovative companies have been developing their potential over the past years in order to support us in this exceptional year. More than 300 companies applied to the ranking of the fifty fastest-growing companies in Central Europe. As many as 42 of the 50 companies in the list are debutants – says Agnieszka Zielińska, Partner in the Financial Advisory Department, Leader of the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Central Europe Program.

Leaders of "Technology Fast 50"

Packhelp leads the ranking

After a few years' break, the leader's place in the list once again went to a Polish company. This year's winner of Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Central Europe is Packhelp – the creator of a platform that allows users to design and order personalized packaging online. The company achieved revenue growth over the past four years of 9,077 percent.
The top ten also included four more Polish companies: EGZOTech (5th place), Solution4Labs (7th place), Zdrowegeny.pl (8th place), and Tylko (9th place).

Domination of software producers

Software producers at the top

In 2019, compared with 2016, the average revenue growth of the companies in the ranking was 1,460 percent. A year earlier it was 1,129 percent (2018 compared with 2015).

– This growth shows how healthy the technology company sector is in our region. For several years, the average revenue growth of companies in the ranking has exceeded one thousand percent. It should be expected that the technological revolution taking place as a result of the pandemic will only strengthen this trend, and in next year's ranking this result will be even better – says Agnieszka Zielińska.

As in previous years, the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Central Europe ranking was dominated by companies involved in software development. There are as many as 30 of them in the list. 11 companies represent the "media and entertainment" sector, and four are computer hardware manufacturers. Three companies are fintechs, and two belong to the medical and biotechnology sector.

New Impact Stars category

This year, technology companies could submit their application for the new "Impact Stars" award. The category was introduced with companies in mind that successfully combine the development of innovative technology products or services with a positive impact on at least one of the following areas: society, business, innovation, environment, and diversity. Each country could award three companies in this category. In Poland, the distinction was received by: Divante and Netguru (for the joint Tech to the rescue initiative), EGZOTech, and Laparo.

Detailed ranking results

How were the winners selected?

Polish technology companies lead the Deloitte ranking

The Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Central Europe ranking is a list of the fastest-growing technology companies in the Central European region. In addition to the companies distinguished in the main Fast 50 category, Deloitte Central Europe also awarded younger companies in the "Rising Stars" category. Companies apply on their own to take part in the ranking, and Deloitte verifies the financial data they provide.

Every company seeking to participate in the program must meet the following criteria:

• be headquartered in one of the Central European countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia);
• be a technology company whose activity falls within one of the following categories: communications, environmental protection, fintech, computer hardware, healthcare and medical sciences, media and entertainment, software production;
• own the intellectual property rights or proprietary technology sold to customers in products that generate the majority of the company's operating revenue;
• have an ownership structure that excludes majority stakes by foreign strategic investors.

Main "Technology Fast 50" category

Detailed criteria for companies in the main category:

• operating in the market for at least four years, i.e. at least since December 31, 2015,
• achieving operating revenue of no less than EUR 50,000 in 2016, 2017, and 2018, and revenue in 2019 of no less than EUR 100,000.

"Rising Stars" category

Detailed criteria for companies in the "Rising Stars" subcategory

• operating history of no less than three years,
• in the annual periods under review (2017-2019), achieving operating revenue of no less than EUR 30,000.

Summary

In the 21st edition of the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Central Europe ranking, Polish companies took 15 places in the main category, and Packhelp took first place with an impressive revenue growth of 9,077 percent over four years. The top ten also included four more Polish companies: EGZOTech, Solution4Labs, Zdrowegeny.pl, and Tylko.

Despite the pandemic, as many as 42 of the 50 distinguished companies are debutants, which shows the region's great potential. Among the ten "Rising Stars," it is true that there were no Poles at the very top, but STEPWISE and Skriware placed 7th and 9th. A new "Impact Stars" category also debuted in the ranking — in Poland, Divante and Netguru, among others, were distinguished in it for the Tech to the rescue initiative.