The fourth edition of the Start-Up Nation Romania program emphasizes the acquisition of entrepreneurial skills, by facilitating access to training courses, and has an available budget of approximately 446 million euros, the amount being financed from non-reimbursable external funds, through the Education and Employment Program 2021-2027.
The draft procedure for carrying out this program has been restored to decision-making transparency and integrates the modifications and observations formulated by the business environment during public consultations, the Ministry of Economy, Digitalization, Entrepreneurship and Tourism (MEDAT) announced on Friday.
"In the fourth edition of the Start-Up Nation program, we are financing businesses that produce in Romania and deliver value-added goods, including in rural areas. We have almost 300 million euros for young entrepreneurs, those who have the most enthusiasm, the most innovative ideas and who are most connected to current business development needs. But we are not leaving anyone behind: we have allocated 150 million euros for the social categories that need the most support to catch up. We are investing both in the development of business skills and in the development of the businesses themselves. In total, we will support over 7,500 entrepreneurs, with funding of 50,000 euros each," said Minister of Economy Bogdan Ivan in a release from the institution.
The financial allocation will be a maximum of 250,000 lei/SME and will cover up to 90% of the eligible expenses, with the beneficiary having the obligation to create at least two jobs.
The Start-Up Nation Romania program is structured on two pillars. Pillar I - "Activating the entrepreneurial potential of young people" has a budget of 295.75 million euros and is aimed at people under 30 years of age. The objective of the component refers to ensuring access to training courses, in order to acquire entrepreneurial skills, for approximately 25,000 young people. At least 10% of the places will be intended for people belonging to the Roma minority.
Pillar II - "Support for the development of entrepreneurship among target group individuals", with a budget of 150.44 million euros, aims to train entrepreneurship skills for 4,600 individuals residing in the less developed regions of the country. This component is addressed to individuals aged between 30 and 35, job seekers, unemployed, long-term unemployed, inactive individuals, individuals from disadvantaged categories on the labor market, without age limit, as defined in the draft procedure for implementing the program.
The program has three distinct stages of development. The first involved the registration of trainers for entrepreneurial training courses, the selection of which is currently being finalized. Subsequently, eligible individuals interested in acquiring these skills will be able to apply to participate in the courses. The last stage aims at setting up businesses by certified graduates of the aforementioned courses and their registration for obtaining financing of up to 250,000 lei/SME.
The evaluation of financing applications submitted by businesses set up by certified graduates of the courses will be done online. Among the criteria taken into account are the value of the own contribution, as well as criteria related to the investment, the sustainable development component, the start of business, criteria related to jobs and the field of activity.
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