Seven out of ten Romanian technology start-ups have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the results of a study initiated by the Romanian Tech Startups Association (ROTSA), in partnership with actors from the national start-up ecosystem.
According to the research “Impact of COVID19 on Technology Start-ups in Romania”, quoted by Agerpres, businesses of this type in Romania have revenues, on average, of 150,000 euros per year, are active on the market for less than four years and have less than four employees.
To take decisions to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, the founders of the start-ups consulted with the entire team (50%) or the advisory board, mentors, and coaches (49%), while 39% received advice from to other entrepreneurs.
The most prosperous ecosystem of local technology start-ups is in Bucharest, followed by Cluj, Timiş, and Bihor.
The most significant evolution of the start-up ecosystem in Romania took place in 2017, when the number of newly established technological start-ups almost tripled compared to the previous year.
According to the study, the main markets represented or targeted by the start-up ecosystem in Romania are in Europe (France, Spain and Italy), while 41% of respondents indicate the US as the main market.
The start-ups with the highest number of employees are those in the fintech (35.2%), automation (35.2%) and marketing (14.2%) categories. On the other hand, the highest-income start-ups fall into the same categories: automation (38.1%), fintech (31.8%) and marketing (12.1%).
In terms of financing, the main source of these technology businesses is self-financing, over a third (36%) of them have raised private funds (Business Angels – in proportion of 23%, VC – of 9% and Equity Crowdfunding – of 4 %).
The specialized study was conducted between February and March 2021 on a sample of 117 technology start-ups in Romania.
ROTSA (Romanian Tech Startups Association) is a non-profit organization that aims to promote, support and represent the interests of technology start-ups in Romania.
The new digital hub ROTSA Digital Hub, launched on Tuesday, July 13, 2021, will be part of the network of nine digital hubs for each of the partners in the Danube Energy + project, a project taking place in nine European countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia , Germany, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine).