Summary
This intervention proposes creating and funding a new institution that will serve as the ‘voice of the startup ecosystem’ (that is, including startups, investors and support organisations), bring greater system-level coordination and support.

Rationale
The Romanian Startup ecosystem faces several challenges, including a lack of understanding of startups and how they differ from other SMEs, and reliable data about the ecosystem as a whole. Many startups report that existing SME legislation does not take into account the needs of young, growth-oriented firms with novel technology or new business models. There is also poor coordination between policy makers and startup ecosystem stakeholders. Despite promising regional clusters, Romanian startups have no coherent national voice to champion their needs.

This intervention therefore proposes the creation of an entity, which includes the functions of a Think Tank – that is, serving as the ‘voice of the ecosystem’ to government; scrutinising and gathering evidence on policy and programming; advising on legislative reform; and ensuring that the needs of startups are taken into account.

In addition, it will also have several practical “Do Tank” roles, including ecosystem coordination (helping connect different existing actors and aspects); capacity-building (e.g. developing online programmes for startup education and IP education); piloting new activities, e.g. administering early stage grants, forming a new public fund.