2025 POLICY ROADMAP

Access to international markets remains challenging: Romania’s export performance has weakened amid softer external demand and rising unit labour costs, reducing competitiveness and widening the external imbalance. Industrial activity has also slowed, including in key partner markets such as Germany, further limiting opportunities for internationally oriented start-ups.

Fiscal measures introduced in 2025 — notably higher VAT and excise duty rates — have added to cost pressures across the economy. Continued fiscal consolidation needs and elevated public spending have also contributed to a more uncertain and tighter business environment. In parallel, delays in accessing EU recovery funds have postponed key investments, including those supporting SMEs and innovation-led activity.

2025 Framework Conditions Review

The National Entrepreneurial Context Index (NECI) reflects the overall quality of an entrepreneurial environment, as assessed by its own national experts. Romania’s NECI score for 2025 is 4.6, an increase from 4.3 in 2024. This improvement lifts Romania to 26th out of 53 GEM economies globally, up from 37th the previous year, and reflects progress in several key framework conditions, particularly in infrastructure, finance, and education.

Of thirteen Framework Conditions, national experts rated four of Romania’s as sufficient or better (i.e. score ≥ 5.0), up from three in 2024. These are Physical Infrastructure (6.8), Commercial and Professional Infrastructure (6.4), Market Dynamics (6.1) and Entrepreneurial Education Post-school (5.2). The remaining nine conditions are rated as insufficient, with particularly low scores for: Entrepreneurial Education at School (2.5), for Government Policy: Support and Relevance (3.5), and Government Entrepreneurial Programmes (3.8). Compared to 2024, ten conditions improved their scores, including Physical Infrastructure (from 6.1 to 6.8), Research and Development Transfers (from 3.4 to 4.0) and Social and Cultural Norms (4.1 to 4.6). Of the three conditions whose score declined, the biggest fall was for Ease of Entry: Burdens and Regulations, from 4.5 to 4.2. Romania ranks in the top ten globally (of 53 GEM economies) for Commercial and Professional Infrastructure (9th), while its lowest rank was for Entrepreneurial Education at School (38th).

New and growing businesses’ prioritisation of sustainability was rated by national experts at 4.3, a modest increase from 4.2 in 2024. Entrepreneurs’ awareness of the need to develop and implement AI solutions scored as sufficient at 5.2, up from 4.0 in 2024, indicating growing recognition of digital transformation.

Romania’s entrepreneurial environment in 2025 shows encouraging progress, with a higher NECI score and more framework conditions reaching sufficiency. Infrastructure and market dynamics are clear strengths, while education and government policy remain areas for development. Sustainability is improving slowly, and AI awareness is growing. Continued investment in education, policy reform, and digital capacity will be essential to sustain this upward trajectory.

2025 Entrepreneurial Activity Review

Since 2023, Romania has seen a rise in the proportion of adults who say their household income has fallen, from just under one in five to over one in four by 2025. Despite this, the percentage of adults expecting to start their own business in the next three years has remained at around 6%. However, the percentage actually starting or running a new business has fallen for the past two years: from about 6% in 2023 to under 4% in 2025, whilst the proportion running an established business has fallen more slowly over the same period (from 5% to 4%). Men remain substantially more likely than women to engage in new business creation.

Just over two in five Romanian adults know someone who has started their own business, with a similar proportion seeing themselves as having the skills and experience to start their own. However, even though two in three adults see good opportunities to start a business locally, nearly 60% of these indicate that they would not pursue such an opportunity due to fear of potential failure.

Nearly nine in ten new entrepreneurs agree with the motivation “to earn a living because jobs are scarce”, but just one in eight have customers beyond Romania, a little down on a year before. More than half of new entrepreneurs expect to use more digital technology to sell their product in the next six months, while  one in five expect to employ more than another five people in five years’ time. Around eight in ten report taking action to minimise environmental impacts or to maximise social impacts, with a similar proportion claiming to prioritise such impacts above profitability or growth.