The Ministry of European Investments and Projects (MIPE) announces the signing of a new financing agreement with the European Investment Fund (EIF) for the launch of the Innovation Romania Programme, with a total funding of 106.7 million EUR.According to a press release of the relevant ministry sent on Thursday, the programme is supported by Smart Growth, Digitization and Financial Instruments Programme 2021-2027 (PoCIDIF), from European Structural and Investment Funds."This initiative emphasizes the crucial role that the Romanian State and the EIF have in supporting the investment and innovation ecosystem in Romania. The efforts started in 2012, with the first venture capital fund financed through the JEREMIE Initiative, have continued through the use of structural funds from the 2014-2020 period and subsequently through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). The new Innovation Romania Programme, conceived as a fund of funds, aims to create financial instruments adapted to the needs of the local market and which, until now, have been insufficiently developed. Thus, three types of equity funds will be launched: the Technology Transfer Fund - aimed at capitalizing on the results of research and innovation through partnerships with research and development organizations; the Business Angels Co-investment Fund - aimed at strengthening the community of private investors and facilitating their involvement in the development of Romanian entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurship Acceleration Fund - dedicated to supporting start-ups and stimulating their growth," notes the MIPE."By signing this agreement, we reconfirm Romania's commitment to support innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainable economic development. The Innovation Romania programme is an important opportunity to boost the creation of new technologies and to support small and medium-sized enterprises, which are the engine of our economy. Together with the European Investment Fund, we aim to develop a strong investment ecosystem that will attract both local and international capital," the Minister of European Investments and Projects, Adrian Caciu, was quoted as saying in the above-mentioned press release.The programme will encourage investments in SMEs and midcaps with a focus on innovation and competitiveness. Selected projects will have to meet specific eligibility criteria, aligned with the specific objective of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) : "Enhancing sustainable growth and competitiveness of SMEs and job creation in SMEs, including by productive investments".
Romanian open-water swimmer Avram Iancu announced Friday, August 8, that he has successfully swum across Europe along the famous Rhine–Main–Danube waterway, from the North Sea to the Black Sea. The 4,448 marathon swimming, completed in three stages over a total of 170 days without a wetsuit, marks what he says is a world first: crossing […]
The construction project for Romania’s second subway network, in Cluj-Napoca, is moving forward with the launch shaft for the boring machines. The Turkish general contractor Gulemark announced that building began for the launch shaft for the tunnel boring machines on August 11. This is the essential underground structure from which the subway galleries will be […]
Interim president of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Sorin Grindeanu will face an internal leadership contest after senator Titus Corlățean declared on August 8 that he will run for the party’s top position, Antena 3 reported, quoted by
The interim president of the Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSD), Sorin Grindeanu, has summoned the party's leading body on August 11 to analyse the "situation created in the governing coalition" after the reformist party USR opposed the decree of a national day of mourning for former president Ion Iliescu. The PSD leader says that the USR's...
Romania’s government has renewed the exploitation licence for the country’s only graphite deposit, located at Baia de Fier in Gorj County, Antena3.ro reported on August 8, quoting minister of economy Radu Miruță. The...
The Czech agri-food group Agrofert, controlled by former prime minister Andrej Babis, took over, through the East Grain company in Cluj, the MarAgro farm in Timiș, the transaction being approved by the Competition Council. MarAgro SRL cultivates a total area of 7,000 hectares, mainly cereals,
