The Start-Up Nation program, which aims to stimulate entrepreneurship in Romania through grants, will continue this year with a budget of over EUR 440 million from European funds, minister of economy, entrepreneurship and tourism, Ştefan-Radu Oprea, said on Tuesday, July 16. 

"I think an emergency ordinance will be passed at the first government meeting," he added. 

The minister also said that another state-backed program, one aimed at helping women entrepreneurs, is expected to start at the end of July. The authorities are currently working on the technical platform for applications. 

Romania's economic development must be based on investments, salary increases, and consumption growth, minister Oprea commented.

"Geography is Romania's friend. In this period, we are no longer a country on the border of the European Union; we are a country on the front line, where there is effervescence (...) And I like to quote from The Economist, which says that in the next 7 - 8 years, Romania will have the highest economic growth in the European Union," he said, quoted by Agerpres. 

In the minister's view, Romania's exports could reach the value of EUR 100 billion this year, up from EUR 93 bln in 2023.

andrei@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/George Calin)