Survey: Romanian women are shareholders in 47% of companies with over RON 10,000 turnover

In Romania’s entrepreneurial environment, women are shareholders in 47% of active companies with a turnover of over 10,000 lei, almost at par with men, according to a survey conducted by Impact Hub and Bravva Angels for ING Bank Romania. In addition, one in four companies is 100% owned by women.

As a result, more than 260,000 local companies have a woman shareholder in their structure, and 145,000 are entirely controlled by women. In top 300 companies in Romania there are 60 companies having a female majority shareholding accounting for 20% of the companies, which also generate 20% of the total profit meaning €1.82 billion.

The survey analyzed only companies with a turnover of over 10,000 lei for the year 2021.

“Women have an increasingly active presence in the Romanian business environment. In the Business Banking portfolio – ING’s division dedicated to entrepreneurs – companies having women in their shareholding structure account for 40% of our total clients. It is interesting and encouraging at the same time that in the mid-corporate client segment (companies with a turnover of over 5 million euros) more than 70% of the companies having female shareholders have been on the Romanian market for more than 20 years.

According to our survey, women prefer stability, organic growth, and a high level of predictability. At the same time, the qualitative analysis revealed that mentoring and access to entrepreneurial communities are important needs for women in the development of their business. We are constantly working with our clients to take their business to the next level, and this year we are launching a mentoring program designed specifically for women entrepreneurs.” – Luana Sorescu, Head of Clients Business Banking Division, ING Bank Romania.

100% female-owned companies have an almost double average net profit rate than that of 100% male-owned companies Although it accounts for almost half of the number of active companies in Romania, in 2021 the total turnover of female-owned companies was €82 billion, representing only 21% of total reported revenues.

Male-owned companies generate the highest revenues per company on average, namely €1 million compared to €200,000 in female-owned companies. This indicates men’s higher appetite for risk and for growth and expansion activities. At the same time, men are present in companies from large sectors in Romania, believed to deal with high levels of pressure – trade, construction, energy, industrial production, and agriculture.

However, women are more able to generate output and efficiency, an ability that is reflected in the company’s profit rate. Therefore, the most profitable are 100% female-owned companies, with an average net profit rate of 15%, almost twice as high as that of 100% male-owned companies, which generate an average profit of 8.3%.

In top 300 companies in Romania there are 60 companies having a female majority shareholding and 7 fully female-owned companies

In 2021, the top 300 companies in Romania generated a cumulative profit of €9.15 billion. In top 300 there are 60 companies having a female majority shareholding (where women own more than 50%), which generated a profit of €1.82 billion, representing 20% of the total. Furthermore, this ranking also includes 7 fully female-owned companies, with a cumulative profit of €137 million.

In 2020-2022, women-founded start-ups accessed only 17% of total market funding

According to available data on venture capital market deals with tech companies between 2020 and 2022, only 31 start-ups have significant female ownership out of 138 analyzed companies that have accessed 189 financings and publicly disclosed their data. The total amount accessed by these women-founded or women-co-founded companies was €40 million, which represents 17% of the total amount of €235 million raised on the market at the end of 2022. Globally, less than 3% of the annual funding volume goes to women shareholders in tech companies and up to 15% in mixed teams.

“We have been looking closely at the Romanian entrepreneurial ecosystem for over 11 years, since we founded Impact Hub Bucharest. For the current survey, we analyzed the entrepreneurial ecosystem from two points of view: quantitatively, by collecting, processing and interpreting data from trusted sources, and qualitatively by obtaining 364 completions of the Entrepreneur Profile questionnaire.” – Vlad Craioveanu, CEO & Co-founder, Impact Hub Bucharest.

“Our interest as angel investors is to find profiles of entrepreneurs who differentiate themselves to create innovation and solutions for a better life. Global statistics already point to the fact that women entrepreneurs who create tech start-ups bring more return to investors. Interestingly, according to our survey, the highest rate of profitability in active Romanian entrepreneurship is of 15%, which also applies to fully female-owned companies.” – Ilinca Păun, Founder, Bravva Angels.

The second part of the survey included qualitative research based on the experiences of 364 entrepreneur respondents, almost half of whom were women. According to the analysis, when it comes to financing start-ups, women entrepreneurs prefer grants, which are easier to access by sustainable businesses, followed by bank loans.

Manufacturing and production, real estate and professional services are sectors where women perform at a high level. Creative industries, education and technology are also areas of interest for women entrepreneurs in Romania. In business development, the main obstacles mentioned by women were increasing the customer base, getting results from marketing activities in a small market and differentiating from competitors. Women entrepreneurs most value the support of entrepreneurial communities, education and networking events, as well as mentoring programs.

According to a World Bank report from 2023, Romania scores over 90 out of 100 points in terms of women’s access conditions in the business environment, an extremely good score that places us at the top in Europe. Romania is also regarded as the country with the lowest gender pay gap.