What should you watch at this year's edition of Impact'21, one of the largest economic events in this part of Europe? We've selected some of the most interesting ones so you don't miss them during the stream on the dedicated Impact platform. 1. Moderated discussion titled *How Are Unicorns Born?*, Paweł Borys, Marcin Grzymkowski, moderated by Paweł Czuryło (Wednesday, 27.10, Stage 1, 13:10) Over a million dollars – that’s how much an innovative company must be worth to be called a unicorn. However, it all starts with investments in new technologies that can prove to be a global success. Paweł Borys from the Polish Development Fund and Marcin Grzymkowski, CEO of eObuwie.pl, will discuss this with an Interia.pl journalist. 2. Moderated discussion titled *How to Digitize Without Losing the Human Touch*, Bartosz Ciołkowski, Piotr Voelkel, Jędrzej Marciniak, Magdalena Kasiewicz, moderated by Grzegorz Nawacki (Wednesday 27.10, Stage 2, 14:25) Where does humanity fit in a world dominated by artificial intelligence, robots, and autonomous vehicles? Bartosz Ciołkowski, CEO of Mastercard for the Central and Eastern Europe region, and Piotr Voelkel from School of Form will try to answer this question. Jędrzej Marciniak, Vice President of Credit Agricole, and Magdalena Kasiewicz, Customer Success Lead at Microsoft, will also join the discussion. 3. Moderated discussion titled *Fair to Women: The Role of Employers in Equalizing Opportunities for Women in the Labor Market*, Aneta Kocemba, Maciej Kuske, Monika Chajdacka, moderated by Barbara Rogala (Wednesday 27.10, Stage 4, 13:55) How to be a fair employer and help women in their professional development? This topic will be addressed by Aneta Kocemba, Head of Credit Suisse Warsaw, and Maciej Kuske, Head of Technology and Security Division at NatWest. Monika Chajdacka, HR Director at Capgemini, has also been invited to the discussion. 4. Fireside chat titled *Electromobility – A Trendy Fad or a Necessary Revolution?*, conversation between Artur Lorkowski and Paweł Oksanowicz (Wednesday 27.10, Stage 3, 16:50) The number of zero-emission cars in Poland is increasing year by year. Is this a trend, or a serious shift in societal awareness? Artur Lorkowski, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board at the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, will discuss the revolution brought about by the electrification of transport in conversation with journalist Paweł Oksanowicz. 5. Moderated discussion *Medicine 2030: Can Robots Treat Children?*, Tomasz Maciejewski, Ireneusz Wochlik, moderated by Tomasz Jaworski (Thursday 28.10, Stage 1, 13:55) Intelligent machines have already entered many areas of life. Will they soon replace doctors? Dr. Tomasz Maciejewski, Director of the Institute of Mother and Child, and Ireneusz Wochlik, board member of the AI Law Tech foundation, will delve into this topic. The panelists, along with moderator Tomasz Jaworski from Microsoft, will consider whether robots will be able to diagnose and treat illnesses as effectively as human doctors in the near future. 6. Moderated discussion titled *Where is E-commerce Heading? Trends for 2022*, Magdalena Kotlarczyk, Adam Marciniak, Joanna Pieńkowska-Olczak, Monika Zielińska, Jacek Palec, moderated by Krzysztof Berenda (Thursday 28.10, Stage 2, 12:30) Representatives from three major e-commerce companies: Adam Marciniak from CCC, Monika Zielińska from IKEA, and Jacek Palec from Frisco, will discuss the near future of this industry. Magdalena Kotlarczyk, CEO of Google Poland, and Joanna Pieńkowska-Olczak, President of PayU, will also join the discussion moderated by an RMF journalist. 7. Fireside chat titled *The Era of Perovskite Commercialization*, conversation between Paweł Oksanowicz and Olga Malinkiewicz (Thursday 28.10, Stage 3, 11:30) The market entry of perovskites could significantly change how we view the green transformation. Olga Malinkiewicz, innovator, founder, and CTO of Saule Technologies, will talk about her invention in a conversation with Paweł Oksanowicz. 8. Moderated discussion titled *Silver Tsunami vs. Gen Z. Can we find common ground in marketing to such extremely different target groups, and how should brands adapt?*, Marcin Ledworowski, Tomasz Szymański, Marta Życińska, Michał Maszkiewicz, moderated by Przemysław Kurdziel (Thursday 28.10, Stage 4, 12:15) The silver tsunami is an increasingly common phenomenon in many countries, driven by the rapid aging of society. How can the economy and marketing adapt to both young and old audiences? Marcin Ledworowski, a board member of Bank Pocztowy, and Tomasz Szymański, Managing Partner at TGTH, will ponder this. Marta Życińska, Marketing and Communications Director for Central and Eastern Europe at Mastercard, will also discuss appropriate marketing strategies. Michał Maszkiewicz, Research Manager at Carlsberg Polska, will also participate in this panel.

"The budget situation is very good. The budget surplus after September amounted to PLN 47.6 billion" – said the Minister of Finance, Tadeusz Kościński, to Marek Chądzyński during Impact’21. A month earlier, the budget surplus was PLN 43.37 billion. The Minister added that all tax revenues are growing, including VAT and CIT (by 20%) and PIT (by 15%). According to Kościński, increased inflation (by approx. 1.5% compared to budget assumptions) will result in additional budget revenues of around PLN 4 billion this year. "This inflation is caused by various factors, many of them external. Energy prices, gas prices, oil prices, have gone up significantly. We had a year of lockdown, we saved a lot because we didn't spend, so now we are starting to spend," the minister said. Details on the budget surplus Following Kościński's statement, the Ministry of Finance issued a press release detailing the September surplus. State budget revenues after September amounted to PLN 360.1 billion, which is 89% of the plan for 2021 assumed in the budget act. Expenditures amounted to PLN 312.5 billion, which is 64.2% of the plan for this year. "In the period January – September 2021, state budget revenues were higher by PLN 55.6 billion compared to the same period last year. State budget tax revenues were higher by approx. PLN 48.3 billion compared to the period January – September 2020" – reads the announcement. Compared to the analogous period of the previous year: • VAT revenues were higher by 20.7% year-on-year (i.e., approx. PLN 27.1 billion), • PIT revenues were higher by 15.4% year-on-year (i.e., approx. PLN 6.9 billion), • CIT revenues were higher by 24.3% year-on-year (i.e., approx. PLN 7.4 billion), • Excise duty and gambling tax revenues were higher by 6.1% year-on-year (i.e., approx. PLN 3.2 billion), • Revenues from the tax on certain financial institutions were higher by 8.7% year-on-year (i.e., approx. PLN 0.3 billion), it was further listed. "In the period January-September 2021, the execution of non-tax revenues amounted to approx. PLN 45.7 billion and was higher by approx. PLN 7.2 billion (i.e., 18.7%) compared to the execution in the period January – September 2020. In June, there was a payment from the profit of the National Bank of Poland for 2020 in the amount of PLN 8.9 billion" – the announcement also reads. The execution of state budget expenditures in the period January-September 2021 amounted to PLN 312.5 billion, which is 64.2% of the plan. Compared to the same period in 2020 (PLN 318.3 billion), state budget expenditures were lower by PLN 5.8 billion, i.e., 1.8%, it was further stated. "The lower execution of expenditures is mainly due to lower funds transferred to the Social Insurance Fund (less by approx. PLN 8.0 billion) resulting from lower current demand for supplementary financing due to the good labor market situation, and for the servicing of State Treasury debt (less by approx. PLN 3.6 billion). In section 39 – Transport, expenditures were lower by PLN 4.4 billion, mainly due to the parallel execution of expenditures not expiring at the end of 2020 in the scope of maintaining and repairing railway infrastructure" – it was also written in the material. At the same time, the execution of expenditures from the European Union's own resources was higher by approx. PLN 4 billion, which was primarily due to the increase in Poland's membership fee as a result of Brexit and a higher EU budget level and a higher payment from customs duties. Additionally, in January, there was a payment for the effects of EU budget adjustments adopted at the end of 2020 (PLN 0.4 billion), it was added. "Furthermore, higher execution was recorded in section 46 – Health, i.e., more by approx. PLN 3.8 billion, resulting from the transfer of a subject grant to the National Health Fund. Higher execution was also recorded in section 82 – General subsidies for local government units, i.e., more by PLN 2.8 billion" – it reads further.