Taking ‘real action’: InPost founder Rafal Brzoska sends 500 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Ukraine
One of Poland’s leading entrepreneurs Rafal Brzoska sent a train carrying over 500 tonnes of food and medical supplies to Ukraine this weekend, in what he deems as taking “real action”.
The 34 wagon vessel holding nearly 1,000 pallets of goods left Poland on Thursday in complete secrecy as the threat of Russian missiles worsens for humanitarian efforts.
The 1,700km journey to eastern Ukraine was completely funded by InPost founder Rafal Brzoska and his wife Omena Mensah in a personal project, the “Convoy of Polish Hearts” alongside the Government Strategic Reserves Agency in Poland.
Speaking with Morning Wire, the entrepreneur said the motivation behind the project was simple: “The time to act is now”, he said.
“I want to give an example to my fellows – both in Poland and abroad”.
The war in Ukraine was a turning point for Brzoska, who is worth an estimated $1.3bn and a distinguished businessman.
“For me, it was hard to sit down at a table and have business as usual, whilst forgetting about Ukraine. The answer is obvious because it is natural and necessary”, he explained.
Brzoska made his name in the world of business by founding InPost, the leading out-of-home e-commerce enablement platform, whilst still at university.
The company has grown and pivoted, and was valued €9.5bn after a buoyant Amsterdam debut last year. It continues to expand across Europe and the UK.
Since Russia’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, Polish-born Brzoska has been working on a number of humanitarian missions.
He contrasts this to major corporations, who have acted in “knee jerk” ways. In particular, he criticised what he called “war-washing”, and one-time gestures from multi-billion dollar firms, which normally pale against immense profits.
Whilst global firms may think that freezing assets or pausing operations may be the answer, Brzoska said we need to shift towards a more long-term view, and accept a “new world order”.
In this sense, Brzoska praised Meta and Twitter’s reaction to the war, arguing that it was clear and decisive against the Kremlin invasion.
However, the takeaway point is that the devastation in Ukraine is not going away any time soon, and businesses need to recognise this.
“This is the time where we all should work together and simply share what we have to help others”, Brzoska said.
Since the invasion in late February, at least 2.8 million people have crossed into Poland and around 774,000 into Romania. More than 7.7 million people have been displaced within Ukraine, according to the UN.