Key Takeaways from the Private Equity & Venture Capital Breakfast, in Warsaw
April 2026
Pedersen & Partners and CMS co-hosted the Private Equity & Venture Capital Breakfast, in Warsaw.
The event brought together representatives from local and international private equity and venture capital firms for discussions and networking around the latest Polish private equity market trends and strategic insights.
The panel discussion was moderated by Poul Pedersen, Executive Chairman, Pedersen & Partners, and Mateusz Stępień, Partner Corporate/M&A, CMS Poland.
Panelists included:
- Tomasz Ciborowski - Partner, Enterprise Investors
- Marcin Hejka - Co-Founder & Managing Partner, OTB Ventures
- Marcin Leja - Partner/CEO, CVI
- Andrzej Pietrzak - Partner, Innova Capital
- Arek Podziewski - Partner, Spire Capital Partners
- Piotr Sadowski - Partner, Accession Capital Partners
- Rozalia Urbanek - Acting President of the Management Board, PFR Ventures
Krzysztof Dabrowski, Country Manager Poland at Pedersen & Partners, highlighted the following takeaways:
- Exit volumes and Distributed to Paid-In Capital (DPI) remain below historical levels; however, Central and Eastern Europe is currently outperforming Western markets in terms of DPI.
- The Innovate Poland programme, launched in late 2025, is expected to inject at least PLN 4 billion into private equity and venture capital funds, creating strong momentum for local fundraising.
- Recent global volatility has increased the resilience of funds and their portfolio companies, with the war in Ukraine and the rapid development of AI identified as the most influential external factors.
- Dual-use companies in the defense sectors were highlighted as an interesting, future opportunities for Polish entrepreneurs and investors
The event provided a valuable platform for knowledge exchange and networking, reinforcing Poland’s position as a dynamic and evolving private capital market within the CEE region.