EBRD Boosts Romanian Startups with €40,000 in Full-Funded Consulting
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced a significant boost for Romanian entrepreneurs. The EBRD Star Venture Programme will fully finance up to €40,000 in consulting costs for selected entrepreneurs in the 2025 cohort. This move aims to help these businesses access specialized expertise to scale their operations.
The EBRD's Star Venture Programme, active in 26 countries and having helped over 550 early-stage businesses, provides tailored advisory services to selected entrepreneurs. In Romania, the programme is funded by the TaiwanBusiness-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund through the EBRD's Small Business Impact Fund. This year, the programme will cover the full net cost of advisory projects up to €40,000 per project for the Romanian cohort.
The programme addresses a common challenge faced by founders in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE): the lack of structured access to expertise for transforming ideas into scalable businesses. Mihai Cepoi, CEO and Co-Founder of Jobful, a Romanian business, accessed funding for advisory through Star Venture in 2022. The advisory projects helped founders like Cepoi identify blind spots, clarify complex decisions, and accelerate business maturity. Jobful used external consultancy to write a proposal for EIC Accelerator and later for positioning and go-to-market strategy, which influenced its growth trajectory.
The EBRD Star Venture Programme's financial support for Romanian entrepreneurs in the 2025 cohort is expected to foster growth and innovation. By providing full funding for consulting costs up to €40,000 per project, the programme aims to bridge the gap between ideas and scalable businesses, contributing to the region's entrepreneurial ecosystem.
