EY: Poor education, the main obstacle to starting a business in Romania

Poor education ranks first among the top obstacles for those who want to start and develop a business in Romania, 23 percent of respondents saying this, compared to only 16 percent in 2016, EY’s Romanian Startups Barometer shows.

Access to finance and fear of failure are the other impediments.

Entrepreneurial education, unlike the academic one, develops through the contact with the successful entrepreneurial stories. That’s why, almost half of respondents indicated mentoring and discussions with other entrepreneurs as their main source of learning (44 percent).

At the same time, 27 percent of entrepreneurs believe the startup financing solutions would have the biggest impact, up 22 percent over last year. 24 percent of respondents believe that exempting or lowering taxes would help them most, 20 percent mention fiscal relaxation and simplification, and 4 percent – fiscal predictability.

According to the EY’s barometer, 36 percent of entrepreneurs will invest more in promotion, while 67 percent of respondents are worried about raising funds to increase their number of employees.

Most startup entrepreneurs dedicate ten hours to their business each day, as in the first edition of the study, which means they work 16 percent more than full-time employees in Romania.

Most of the surveyed entrepreneurs come from urban areas (93 percent) and activate in various sectors, from IT & tech (27 percent) to media and advertising (11 percent), business services (10 percent).

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