In just half a year since 2023 began, the Romanian startup ecosystem witnessed a multitude of impactful events and programs. To provide a comprehensive overview, we have compiled a list with one of the most significant ones during this period. 

As part of Startup Ecosystem Radar, we curate and condense this valuable information into a digestible format and offer it as a free monthly newsletter to our partners and clients. Our goal is to provide insights about the ecosystem, empowering informed business decisions and facilitating connections with relevant stakeholders. Don’t miss out on the latest updates – subscribe to our newsletter today!

Highlights of Events & Programs in the Romanian Startup Ecosystem (2023)

1. FreshBlood together with Activize and powered by Microsoft for Startups, EIT Health, Fortech Investments, Fortech Products and Wolfpack Digital, have created the second edition of the Romanian HealthTech Startups Overview Report, an overview of the healthtech ecosystem and the most active healthtech startups.

2. Spherik Accelerator and its partners have launched SynergistEIC, a 6-month acceleration program for greentech startups, with grants of €50K for the selected 15 startups. The program will have the next call in March 2023.

3. Innovation Labs organized its 11th edition of the national workshops and mentoring program for young tech entrepreneurs, being the main university based tech startup accelerator program in Romania (link).

4. Make IT in Oradea has launched the third edition of Bright Labs Incubator, a program designed to help first-time ambitious tech entrepreneurs from SEE take their bright ideas to market in six months (link). Also, starting with this edition, the program is supported by the Estonian investment fund Startup Wise Guys through access to international mentors, partnerships for international expansion and funding opportunities (link).

5. InnovX-BCR accelerator opened registrations for the Startups group, dedicated to technology entrepreneurs with businesses over €50K as yearly revenue. (link).

6. Fifteen startups have been accepted into the Advancing AI 3 accelerator, a Techcelerator and Google for Startups initiative supporting AI-focused startups in Central and Eastern Europe. The program offers mentorship, networking, and funding opportunities to accelerate their growth (link). Furthermore, they have partnered up with ROTSA and Startup Reaktor to support EIT Digital Venture, a new opportunity for early-stage tech startups from the Baltics, Eastern Europe and Southern Europe (link).

7. Startup Reaktor, the first incubation platform in Romania that automatically leads validated startups to private funding, partnered with Rōnin to get incubated startups financed (link).

8. Orange Fab Romania added four new startups to its program, providing mentorship, resources, and access to Orange’s network and customers (link). Also, they launched a call for 5G projects, inviting startups and developers to collaborate on commercial solutions utilizing 5G technology and network (link).

9. F&B Business Accelerator has launched a new edition of its accelerator program for startups in the hospitality and retail industry. This year’s program includes a specialized fund for HORECA and retail, which will provide startups with additional funding and access to industry experts (link).

10. The second edition of FIX Cluj, an incubator program aimed at young people between the ages of 16 and 26 who are from Cluj-Napoca, has been launched. The program provides grants of up to €50K, as well as personalized mentorship and support to help young people develop and test innovative ideas (link).

11. EIT Urban Mobility consortium, formed by Iceberg, Spherik Accelerator and FZMAUR, launched a new edition of its Startup Support Programme, which offers mentorship and practical experience in areas such as product management, go-to-market strategy, sales, financial forecasting, pitching, and investment strategy (link).

12. Rubik Hub has launched new editions for Rubik Garage, an equity-free accelerator for MVP-stage & early-stage startups from the CEE Region (link) and RubikEDU, a program that aims to support early-stage startup founders in developing and validating their business ideas, and it offers access to various resources, such as mentorship, training sessions, networking opportunities, and co-working spaces (link).

13. INNO, the department responsible for innovation and investment attraction of the Northwest Regional Development Agency, has launched the first accelerator in Romania dedicated exclusively to startups in the fields of health and life sciences, LevelUP Health & Life Sciences Accelerator (link). 

14. The Institute of Excellence in Entrepreneurship (IdEA), the developer of numerous entrepreneurial education and training projects, launched cohort #8 for its most famous program, Commons Accel (link).

15. Empowering Women in Agrifood, an accelerator program by Impact Hub Bucharest, launched its third edition, aimed at early-stage women entrepreneurs in the agribusiness sector (link).

16. The 6th edition of digital incubator Future Makers has been launched, for startups in health, wellbeing, and innovation sectors (link).

17. Women in Tech Romania and the Bravva Angels community organized the HackHER hackathon, aimed especially at teams with women and focused on gender equality in the technology field (link).

18. Launch, the community that supports Romanian founders of early stage startups, has organized the first edition of Launch Health Tech, bringing together the most active players in the health technology ecosystem (link). Moreover, throughout this period, they have organized several community events, workshops and campus days.

19. How to Web has launched Spotlight 2023, the competition dedicated to early-stage tech startups from Central and Eastern Europe. The conference event will take place in Bucharest, during October 4-5 (link).

20. Early-stage startups had the chance to register for Upcelerator, an online accelerator program in Eastern Europe. In the program, participants received support from over 40 experienced mentors, a clear structure and action plan, as well as mentoring hours and more. (link). 

Conferences & tech events

1. Startup Weekend Bucharest and Startup Weekend Oradea brought together in March those interested in startups with co-founders, mentors and experts (link).

2. Startup Moldova Summit 2023 brought together investors and entrepreneurs from the Republic of Moldova and other countries. The summit aimed to showcase the Moldovan startup ecosystem and to connect local startups with potential investors and partners (link).

3. The sixth edition of the Future Healthcare conference has been organized by Wall-street.ro and it focused on the role of innovation in transforming the healthcare system (link).

4. Codecamp, the longest-running IT conference in Romania, took place in Bucharest, attended by the tech speakers of the moment, who addressed topics of interest to the IT industry (link).

5. Bucharest Tech Week 2023 took place in May and it focused on the role of digitalization in driving efficiency across various industries (link).

6. start-up.ro has organized the Smart Future event, which was a map of innovation initiatives and a guide for how technology changes Romania in the next year (link).

7. Techsylvania, the annual technology conference and innovation festival held in Cluj-Napoca,  took place in June.

8. Unchain Fintech Festival, conference related to fintech & blockchain organized in Oradea, took place at the end of June.

Closing

Even after a careful selection, we can see that the list is quite long, there has been a lot going on in the Romanian startup ecosystem in terms of programs and events. As we move forward to the second part of 2023, there are still numerous exciting opportunities and initiatives awaiting eager participants. 

To always be up to date with the vast array of resources, insights, and updates available, we invite you to check out our other informative products and subscribe to our newsletters down below!