Publication:
Scaling Up Romania: A Policymaker’s Toolkit

Abstract
This report is divided into two main parts. Part One examines Romania’s Instruments for Entrepreneurship and contains analysis conducted by the World Bank team. It culminates with recommendations to improve the functionality of the Romania’s policy instruments. Part Two presents Policy Recommendation Notes for consideration as operational elements accompanying Romania’s National Startup Ecosystem Strategy. These could easily serve policymakers preparing Romania’s future science, technology, and innovation (STI) policy mix for the upcoming EU financing perspective. Most of the policy recommendations presented in this report overlap with the Top 12 Interventions identified by the Romania entrepreneurial ecosystem, revealing significant alignment between the analytical findings and the demand for policy by key ecosystem stakeholders. Please see Annex A. Top 12 Interventions Identified by the Romanian Entrepreneurial Ecosystem for an overview of the Top 12 Interventions. At the request of the North-East Regional Development Agency (NE RDA), two additional Policy Recommendations are included within, ‘Scale up through exports’ and ‘Implementing Startup Visas’. The team recommends additional analysis to inform a ‘Transform Public Procurement’ recommendation that improves domestic market access for startups. This report is complemented by the separate report "Starting Up Romania: Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Diagnostic" which provides a comprehensive assessment of entrepreneurship and startup performance in Romania. See link below.
Link to Data Set
Citation
Kapil, Natasha; Rogers, Juan Douglas; Haley, Christopher David; Ghita, Alexandru Florin; Lu, Zoe Cordelia; Arslan, Can. 2022. Scaling Up Romania: A Policymaker’s Toolkit. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37582 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
Associated URLs
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Publication
    Starting Up Romania
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022) Cruz, Marcio; Kapil, Natasha; Can, Arslan; Astudillo Estevez, Pablo Andres; Haley, Christopher; Lu, Zoe Cordelia
    The report is organized in four chapters that together provide a comprehensive assessment of entrepreneurship and startup performance in Romania. Chapter one examines the context of entrepreneurship in Romania through a cross-country comparison that covers key outcomes and structural pillars of the ecosystem. The analysis exploits both firm-level data and cross-country indicators. Chapter two spotlights the potential of subnational entrepreneurship ecosystems, with a focus on tech startups and high-potential startups. This chapter identifies potential subnational ecosystems and sheds light on the characteristics of average tech startups in Romania, and their similarities to and differences from high-potential startups from Romania. It also includes a connectedness analysis, which helps us understand the relationships between entities in the ecosystem and the regional interdependencies. Chapter three examines the characteristics of public programs and private ecosystem enablers supporting entrepreneurship in Romania. Chapter four presents the policy recommendations stemming from the analysis within the report and juxtaposes them with policy priorities identified by ecosystem stakeholders. This report is complemented by the separate report "Scaling Up Romania: A Policymaker's Toolkit" that outlines stakeholder- and diagnostic-driven policy recommendations for Romania’s National Startup Ecosystem Strategy. See link below.
  • Publication
    The Demand for, and Consequences of, Formalization among Informal Firms in Sri Lanka
    (2012-03-01) de Mel, Suresh; McKenzie, David; Woodruff, Christopher
    The majority of firms in most developing countries are informal. The authors of this paper conducted a field experiment in Sri Lanka that provided incentives for informal firms to formalize. Offering only information about the registration process and reimbursement for direct registration costs had no impact on formalization. Adding payments equivalent to one-half to one month's profits for the median firm led to registration of around one-fifth of firms. A larger payment equivalent to two months' median profits induced half the firms to register. The main reasons for not formalizing when offered incentives included issues related to ownership of land and concerns about facing labor taxes in the future. The degree of bureaucracy in the registration process also seems to matter for those with the incentive to register, with response to the incentives higher in Colombo, where the registration process was easier, than in Kandy. Three follow-up surveys, at 15 to 31 months after the intervention, measure the impact of formalizing on these firms. Although mean profits increased, this appears largely due to the experiences of a few firms that grew rapidly, with most firms experiencing no increase in income as a result of formalizing. The authors also find little evidence for most of the channels through which formalization is hypothesized to benefit firms, although formalized firms do advertise more and are more likely to use receipt books. In qualitative interviews owners of formalized firms also feel their businesses have more legitimacy. Finally, formalizing is found to result in a large increase in trust in the state. Their focus is largely on the private costs and benefits of existing firms formalizing. Within their sample they cannot measure broader impacts of formalization on other firms (who may prosper from not having to compete against informal firms not paying taxes), nor impacts of easier formalization on entry of new firms. Nevertheless, our results suggest that although most informal firms do not want to formalize, given the current private costs and benefits of formalizing, policy efforts that lead to relatively modest increases in the net benefits of formalizing would induce a sizeable share of informal firms to formalize.
  • Publication
    Fostering Entrepreneurship in Azerbaijan
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2013-09-04) Kuriakose, Smita; Kuriakose, Smita
    A dynamic and vibrant private sector is crucial to economic growth, with firms making new investments, creating jobs, improving productivity, and promoting growth. Entrepreneurial activity is pivotal to the continued dynamism of the private sector, as the generation of new businesses fosters competition and economic growth. This is particularly relevant for Azerbaijan, whose government faces a central challenge to create conditions that will facilitate growth in nonoil tradable sectors. The core objectives of Azerbaijan's development strategy are to diversify the economy away from the oil sector and sustain high employment and growth. Encouraging high-growth entrepreneurship can help Azerbaijan achieve these goals as it moves toward new opportunities in value added and tradable sectors. This study shows that high-growth entrepreneurialism is low in Azerbaijan and that innovative activity among firms is very low. Several factors hinder business growth and entrepreneurship: lack of competition, especially among smaller firms; financial systems that are not conducive to business development. Companies cite high interest rates and risk-averse lending policies as substantial hindrances to expansion. In addition, risk capital is in short supply; and lack of industry-relevant skills. The government could play an important role by removing bottlenecks that impede entrepreneurialism in the general business environment as well as by designing new financial policy instruments that foster entrepreneurship and innovation. In doing so, the government needs to exercise care that the design and management of these instruments prevent capture or corruption and promote efficiency. Lack of competition is an issue in Azerbaijan, particularly for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which face uneven treatment within the enterprise sector.
  • Publication
    The Agribusiness Innovation Center of Senegal : Scaling a Competitive Horticulture Sector through Value Adding Post-Harvest Processing
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011) Brethenoux, Julia; Dioh, Simon; Drago, Nicola; Giddings, Steven; Olafsen, Ellen; Thaller, Jim
    Senegal has tremendous potential to raise incomes and create jobs in agriculture. This potential is particularly strong in the horticulture sector where Senegal enjoys a comparative advantage because of the following factors: favorable climatic and water conditions; capacity to supply European markets at a time when others cannot; proximity to European markets with availability of competitive air and sea transport; access to quality inputs; and few policy distortions. The fact that exports have increased from 2,700 tons in 1991 to 51,270 tons in 2011 indicates the quality and demand for Senegalese horticulture products. However, only about 5 percent of the fruits and vegetables grown in Senegal are processed. The country imports many processed products that could be produced competitively domestically, and exports raw materials that, if processed, could be sold at much higher margins. Processing could also help reduce post-harvest losses, which dramatically affect farmers' incomes. The country is, therefore, not realizing the income and job generating potential offered by its comparative advantage. This document proposes a new model for promoting the growth of a competitive value adding horticulture sector in Senegal. The Agribusiness Innovation Center (AIC) will provide a set of financial and nonfinancial services to high-growth potential entrepreneurs, aiming to accelerate the growth of their enterprises and demonstrating product, process, and business model innovation across the horticulture sector. AIC complements existing efforts focused on farm-level improvements and foreign investment facilitation.
  • Publication
    The Agribusiness Innovation Initiative in Ethiopia : Enabling a Climate Smart, Competitive, and Sustainable Agribusiness Sector
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012) Brethenoux, Julia; Aleme, Teklu Kidane; Olafsen, Ellen; Thaller, Jim; Webb, Julian
    The Agribusiness Innovation Initiative (AII) seeks to contribute to advancing a climate-smart competitive agribusiness sector which will create more jobs and raise incomes for Ethiopians. The AII will contribute toward this objective by identifying innovative growth-oriented entrepreneurs who are pursuing business opportunities based on value addition of agricultural commodities and providing them with a holistic service offering that accelerates their growth and increases their sustainability. In the process of doing so, the AII will engage all stakeholders along the value chain, thus strengthening the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem affecting the start-up and growth of innovative agribusiness enterprises. Relatedly, the AII will strive to have a demonstration, or catalytic, effect, encouraging a new generation of entrepreneurs to enter, grow, and advance the industry. The AII will have two groups of beneficiaries. The direct beneficiaries include high growth potential agribusiness entrepreneurs and small businesses. This group includes a high percentage of women. The indirect beneficiaries are the small-holder farmers that supply the raw materials to the enterprises, and the tangential service providers, such as truckers, packaging providers, and others that will benefit from the increased demand generated.

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Publication
    Global Economic Prospects, June 2025
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-06-10) World Bank
    The global economy is facing another substantial headwind, emanating largely from an increase in trade tensions and heightened global policy uncertainty. For emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), the ability to boost job creation and reduce extreme poverty has declined. Key downside risks include a further escalation of trade barriers and continued policy uncertainty. These challenges are exacerbated by subdued foreign direct investment into EMDEs. Global cooperation is needed to restore a more stable international trade environment and scale up support for vulnerable countries grappling with conflict, debt burdens, and climate change. Domestic policy action is also critical to contain inflation risks and strengthen fiscal resilience. To accelerate job creation and long-term growth, structural reforms must focus on raising institutional quality, attracting private investment, and strengthening human capital and labor markets. Countries in fragile and conflict situations face daunting development challenges that will require tailored domestic policy reforms and well-coordinated multilateral support.
  • Publication
    Global Economic Prospects, January 2025
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-16) World Bank
    Global growth is expected to hold steady at 2.7 percent in 2025-26. However, the global economy appears to be settling at a low growth rate that will be insufficient to foster sustained economic development—with the possibility of further headwinds from heightened policy uncertainty and adverse trade policy shifts, geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and climate-related natural disasters. Against this backdrop, emerging market and developing economies are set to enter the second quarter of the twenty-first century with per capita incomes on a trajectory that implies substantially slower catch-up toward advanced-economy living standards than they previously experienced. Without course corrections, most low-income countries are unlikely to graduate to middle-income status by the middle of the century. Policy action at both global and national levels is needed to foster a more favorable external environment, enhance macroeconomic stability, reduce structural constraints, address the effects of climate change, and thus accelerate long-term growth and development.
  • Publication
    World Bank Annual Report 2024
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-25) World Bank
    This annual report, which covers the period from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, has been prepared by the Executive Directors of both the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA)—collectively known as the World Bank—in accordance with the respective bylaws of the two institutions. Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, has submitted this report, together with the accompanying administrative budgets and audited financial statements, to the Board of Governors.
  • Publication
    Latin America and the Caribbean Economic Review, April 2025: Organized Crime and Violence in Latin America and the Caribbean
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-28) Maloney, William F.; Melendez, Marcela; Morales, Raul
    The Latin America and Caribbean region faces a very different outlook from what was foreseen six months ago. Despite continued progress on reducing inflation, LAC continues to grow more slowly than any other region of the world and increasing its dynamism and job creation potential faces new and daunting challenges. First, higher and more persistent inflation than anticipated in the advanced countries has slowed global interest rate declines which constrains regional monetary authorities’ ability to loosen monetary policy. Second, higher interest payments on debt consume an increasing share of government revenue impeding progress on reducing deficits and creating fiscal space for necessary public investment. Third, rising tariffs have driven up uncertainty around the nature of the global trade order, threaten market access for exports, and call into question the nearshoring project. Fourth, increased return migration will, in some cases, stress local labor markets and dampen remittances. Fifth, organized crime, and the violence that accompanies it continues to expand, reducing the quality of life of citizens, dampening economic growth, and undermining the integrity of public institutions. Progress on the fiscal front, as well as continued productivity related reforms to make the region more able to negotiate a changing environment are needed.
  • Publication
    Business Ready 2024
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-03) World Bank
    Business Ready (B-READY) is a new World Bank Group corporate flagship report that evaluates the business and investment climate worldwide. It replaces and improves upon the Doing Business project. B-READY provides a comprehensive data set and description of the factors that strengthen the private sector, not only by advancing the interests of individual firms but also by elevating the interests of workers, consumers, potential new enterprises, and the natural environment. This 2024 report introduces a new analytical framework that benchmarks economies based on three pillars: Regulatory Framework, Public Services, and Operational Efficiency. The analysis centers on 10 topics essential for private sector development that correspond to various stages of the life cycle of a firm. The report also offers insights into three cross-cutting themes that are relevant for modern economies: digital adoption, environmental sustainability, and gender. B-READY draws on a robust data collection process that includes specially tailored expert questionnaires and firm-level surveys. The 2024 report, which covers 50 economies, serves as the first in a series that will expand in geographical coverage and refine its methodology over time, supporting reform advocacy, policy guidance, and further analysis and research.