The third edition of the Start-Up Nation scheme, under which entrepreneurs get grants of up to RON 200,000 (EUR 40,000), will be launched possibly at the end of April or by mid-May at the latest, minister of entrepreneurship and tourism Daniel Cadariu confirmed.

The scheme will initially have a budget of RON 520 mln (EUR 104 mln), which is expected to cover only a quarter of the projects submitted by entrepreneurs.

The budget will be increased accordingly at the first budget revision, minister Cadariu said.

The recipients of such grants have to return to the state budget, as taxes paid for their activity, at least the value of the grant within a certain period of time - according to the scheme's design.

Some 14,000 companies were financed through the Start-up Nation program, in the first (2017) and the second edition (2018), with up to RON 200,000 per business.The combined budget allocated for both editions was RON 2.8 bln.

The companies set up through this program managed to employ about 50,000 people. They had a total turnover of RON 3.2 bln at the end of 2020, according to an analysis conducted by daily Ziarul Financiar.

(Photo: Daniil Peshko/ Dreamstime)

andrei@romania-insider.com