Room for Everyone is a campaign that promotes “Where to Start” as a tool that matches Polish and Ukrainian businesses based on a complementarity data model.

It transforms a narrative of foreign competition from one of scarcity and fear to abundance and opportunity for all by triggering a direct response from Polish and Ukrainian entrepreneurs.

We used the power of data to bring new Ukrainian and local Polish businesses closer together by creating opportunities for shared success.

The initiative by Mastercard was created in response to a significant cultural and economic shift within Poland due to the influx of Ukrainian refugees.

Two years after Russia's armed invasion of Ukraine, approximately 1.5 million Ukrainians remain in Poland; over 80 percent of foreigners currently settling in Poland are Ukrainian citizens. Over 755,000 Ukraininans work in Poland. Such a huge influx of refugees from Ukraine shifted public opinion.

Support for Ukrainian refugees dropped significantly. After two years of war, only 52 percent of Poles consent to accepting refugees from Ukraine. This is definitely less than at the beginning of the aggression, when over 72 percent of us were in favor of it. This is also less than last year, when support was 67%. Our involvement in helping Ukraine is also decreasing. In February 2022, only 17 percent of Poles declared that they did not intend to support Ukrainians, in 2023 it was already about 34%. According to the latest study, over 41 percent of respondents no longer intend to get involved in aid initiatives related to supporting Ukrainians. (Openfield Study, 2022-2024).

Initial help was replaced by concerns about their own jobs and businesses. During this challenging time, Mastercard saw a chance to change the conversation about immigration from seeing it as a burden to recognizing its benefits. We first helped them to settle in Poland (thanks to the Where to Settle tool), now we help them set up successful businesses.

Due to the war, millions of refugees from Ukraine have fled to Poland, seeking safety across its borders. We first helped them to settle in Poland, thanks to the Where to Settle tool. Now it’s time to help them with their small businesses.

Two years after Russia's armed invasion of Ukraine, approximately 1.5 million Ukrainians remain in Poland. The initial wave of sympathy and support from Polish society gradually began to change, giving way to economic anxieties and social tensions. Concerns about job security and access to public services led to a significant decline in positive sentiment towards the newcomers (Openfield study from 2022-2024). It started debates within communities and among policymakers about the long-term implications of hosting such a large number of refugees.

Mastercard aimed to shift the negative perceptions of Ukrainian refugees by highlighting the positive economic contributions of Ukrainian-owned businesses in Poland.

Mastercard as a company believes in “doing well by doing good”, supporting financial inclusion thanks to technology and data that Mastercard delivers.

The platform was created by Mastercard to promote better integration and economic growth. Using aggregated and anonymized transactional data, foot traffic, air quality information, and insights into business complementarity, the tool is showing optimal locations where Ukrainian businesses could open next to Polish businesses to the mutual benefit of both. By pairing complementary businesses that could support each other’s growth, such as a restaurant next to a beauty salon, the platform demonstrated and promoted beneficial relationships, showing Ukrainians as valuable economic partners. We are turning competition, something that always scared entrepreneurs into something positive, they should actively seek and support.

Mastercard effectively turned data into a tool for social change, promoting economic cooperation that benefited both local Polish entrepreneurs and Ukrainian refugees seeking new beginnings.

We based our insights on data from different studies about Poles' perception of Ukrainians (data from the Statistical Office and the Central Register of Business Activity, but also from the Openfield study conducted in 2022-2024). We also conducted our study that measured the impact of the tool on the perception of Ukrainian entrepreneurs by Polish entrepreneurs (before and after using the tool).

The target audiences were Ukrainian entrepreneurs and Polish business owners who could benefit from being near each other, promoting mutual economic growth.

The strategy was simple: show how pairing businesses, like barber shops next to restaurants, could be more successful together. This approach not only provided practical solutions but also aimed to change public perception, encouraging locals to see Ukrainian businesses as valuable contributors to the local economy rather than competitors. The more people are included in the financial system, the more opportunities for everyone, including Mastercard.

The platform is a continuation of the Where to Settle platform and was developed in partnership with Gratka, leading Polish real estate portal, to help Ukrainian entrepreneurs find the best spots to open businesses near complementary Polish businesses. Using Mastercard's aggregated and anonymized data, the platform suggests locations where new Ukrainian businesses are likely to succeed alongside existing Polish ones.

When using the platform, business owners input specific details about their type of business and location preferences. The tool identifies areas with high commercial potential and pinpoints locations where new businesses could complement existing businesses. For instance, the platform might suggest opening a bookstore near a jewelry store.

Mastercard promoted it with a digital and social media campaign featuring testimonials from Polish business owners inviting Ukrainian entrepreneurs to open business near them. We created storefront posters, digital and social media campaign, PR support and OOH.

An impact on the lives of Ukrainian and Polish entrepreneurs:

Around 28,000 businesses open in Poland every month. Of the 347,000 new businesses that opened in Poland last year, 10% were location-based businesses. The tool attracted 12,000 users it’s first month. Up to 40% of new business owners used this platform.

It also fueled shifting perceptions of Ukranians for the better:

After using our platform, 55% of Polish entrepreneurs claim that Ukrainian entrepreneurs opening companies in Poland have a positive impact on the economy (a 10% lift from before).

Best of all, it not only helped thousands, it also helped Mastercard:

Among people who used the Where to Start tool, the perception of the Mastercard brand as one that supports entrepreneurs increased significantly (an increase of 21 percentage points, from 34% among people who had no contact with the tool, to 55% among people using the tool).

It’s all about data! We based our insights on data from different studies about Poles' perception of Ukrainians, we also conducted two studies: one in which we deepened our knowledge about micro-entrepreneurs and how they make business decisions about the location of their business. And the second one that measured the impact of the tool on the perception of Ukrainian entrepreneurs by Polish entrepreneurs (before and after using the tool). The main idea was based on the conviction that data can change the perception of the world around us. From a business perspective, this means that thanks to data we will understand that there is a place for everyone in business, and whoever we thought was a competitor may turn out to be our ally. So we started with data on the socio-economic situation, from where we drew insights, to move on to the data underlying the creative idea.