Overview of Government Support
Government support in regards to running a business in Romania is one of the most nuanced topics in registering and maintaining a business here.
Being a member of the European Union, Romania benefits from a significant inflow of funds from the EU development funds, and social funds, of over 29.2 billion EURHowever, absorption is below the EU average of around 60%, by about 10 percentage points.
While this may initially appear to be bad news due to the lack of offers, it also presents opportunities. This is true for many business sectors that the EU aims to support in Romania, including agriculture, energy, and industry.
This means you can directly benefit from non-refundable government funding, independent of your country of origin (Even if you're North Korean, Swedish, or from Ghana), as long as your Romanian company wins and respects the project plans proposed to the EU.
The cherry on the cake however is that you don't even need to be the winning party either. Companies receive significant funds to allocate to digitalization in their fields, giving ample opportunity to digital enterprises that build websites, online platforms, and marketing companies to get them accessible and known by the general public.
European Funds Structure
Green Transition - 15.32 Billion EUR allocated
The distribution of European funds to Romania in 2023 primarily aligns with the EU's strategic agenda for energy independence and the shift to renewable energy sources, with over 52.5% of the allocation, totaling more than $15.32 billion, directed towards these goals.
This means a lot of jobs, and opportunities for entrepreneurs working in fields from manufacturing, to energy itself. So if you're an expert electrician, or know your way around the energy field, running a digital business in this field shows significant promise in Romania.
Digital transformation - 1.89 Billion EUR allocated
The second-largest allocation sector, at approximately 1.9 billion EUR, is the "digital transformation" of Romania. This entails embracing technology to enhance efficiency across all sectors, including building websites, developing platforms for task automation, and transitioning into a modern nation with technological prowess.
From getting a pizza parlor set up with a delivery system on WordPress to creating intricate industrial automation tools, digital entrepreneurs can undoubtedly ride the wave of funding heading their way.
Governmental Sector Funds - 11.97 Billion EUR allocated
Approximatively 12 billion EUR were allocated in order to facilitate improving the governmental sector, from building sustainable infrastructure, to facilitating access to key resources, including working on e-Residency programs and more.
While this doesn't directly affect private enterprises, the government must auction off any project that has any financial value, and any company, independent of shareholder structure (with foreign shareholders), in most fields.
Auctioning off is simple, can be done from anywhere, and provides huge opportunities. With Government entities paying 100.000 EUR for wordpress installations, there surely is a project that will fit you :)
National Programs
While the EU covers a huge majority of the funds allocated to growing the region, the Government also implements key programs to facilitate entepreneurs in starting and modernizing their businesses.
From allocating money to the entepreneurial field through grants, the SRL-D program which gives you 10.000 EUR in non-refundable money and tax reductions, if you decide to start your first company, to various projects to facilitate youngsters in staritng a business.
Free registration for students
If you're enrolled as a student at any university, whether in Romania or abroad, you are exempt from paying the 30 EUR official monitor publishing fee, notary fees, and various other fees incurred during the process of starting your own business.
While this is not a huge incentive, with the savings not being more than 50 EUR for most people, it's never a bad idea to save some money, am I right?
In that regard, Incorpo.ro does offer this service to students, and we're planning to launch a program to subsidize the entire cost of registration, including QES signature issuance, to support student initiatives in the digital arena.
Start-up Nation
Start-up nation was an attempt of Romania to facilitate