# Michał Bańka

> Michał Bańka is an Accelpoint co-founder and its founding partner and advisor, with a career spanning Polish public entrepreneurship programs, startup acceleration and academic research. A former Accelpoint CEO, he is affiliated with Warsaw University of Technology and authored Open Innovation and Startups, published in 2025.

- **Role:** Founding Partner & Advisor at Accelpoint
- **Organizations:** Accelpoint, Warsaw University of Technology, Pitch Me Baby, Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (former employer)
- **Education:** Doctorate in economic sciences, management, Warsaw University of Technology, Postgraduate studies in management of EU co-financed projects, Leon Koźmiński Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management, Warsaw, Master’s degree in economics, Faculty of Foreign Trade, Ryszard Łazarski University of Commerce and Law, Warsaw
- **Known for:** Co-founded Accelpoint in 2018., Credited by Accelpoint with creating Starter, BizNest and an innovation loan fund, and authoring and managing ScaleUp., Author of Open Innovation and Startups (Routledge, 2025).

## Career timeline

- **2004-2008** — Head of the Financial Division at the Ministry of Economy, as recorded in his 2025 academic self-report.
- **2008-2011** — Deputy department director at PARP.
- **2011-2016** — Department director at PARP, supporting business environment institutions.
- **2016** — Publicly announced the launch of ScaleUp in June.
- **2018** — Co-founded Accelpoint with Hubert Anyżewski; served as CEO.
- **2021** — Maciej Majewski succeeded him as CEO; Bańka remained a shareholder and strategic advisor.
- **2022** — Visiting scholar at Stanford University School of Engineering; co-established Pitch Me Baby.
- **2024** — Listed as acting head of the Management and Quality division at Warsaw University of Technology in his 2025 self-report.
- **2025** — Published Open Innovation and Startups and co-authored a study on corporate-startup collaboration.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Accelpoint in 2018.
- Credited by Accelpoint with creating Starter, BizNest and an innovation loan fund, and authoring and managing ScaleUp.
- Author of Open Innovation and Startups (Routledge, 2025).
- Co-author of a 2025 study covering 25 international firms in 10 Polish acceleration programs.
- Completed a visiting-scholar stay at Stanford in 2022.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — A review of Open Innovation and Startups was published online in the Journal of Education for Business on 6 July 2026.
- **2025-04** — Co-authored Collaboration between corporations and startups: goals, expectations and outcomes, first published online on 16 April 2025.
- **2025-03** — Open Innovation and Startups was released as an ebook on 27 March 2025.
- **2024-12** — Named as a mentor in the SGH StartupGrowthHub program.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michalbanka/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/michal-banka
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23