When Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced “The New Deal” in the US in the early part of the 1930s, it unleashed a series of economic energies that propelled the American economy throughout the twentieth century, and its effects are still felt even to this day.
The series of programmes itself is not the source of inspiration, but I want to hold on to this metaphor to convey a simple and firm message: we need to establish new pact with Romanian entrepreneurs in order to unleash a series of economic energies that will propel the Romanian economy throughout duration of the 21st century.
The reason is obvious: the past few years have shown us that there is a new, largely digital, service-oriented economy, but it’s not alone, because production also remains a very important component that is more agile, more mobile, truly cross-border, it innovates, and by innovating it breaks known patterns, and that engages and generates new economic models and new economic behaviours.
Simply put, the entrepreneurs of the year 2020 look totally different from those entrepreneurs and capitalists who have been embedded in the collective mind. And a modern and liberal state must see itself as a partner to this people, not as their superior.
The new entrepreneurial pact I want to introduce during my tenure as Minister of Economy, Energy and Business Environment is based on this partnership paradigm. To paraphrase, I do not want to ask the entrepreneur, “What can you do for your government: how much tax can you pay, how many jobs can you create, etc.?” Instead, I want to ask them, “What can your government do for you?” I also disagree with that slightly outdated idea that the best thing a government can do for the business environment is to leave it alone, because we can and must act positively in support of entrepreneurial initiatives.
Each state has several competitive advantages, which position it in the global economic ecosystem, and the entrepreneurial capital, meaning people’s desire and openness to starting new businesses and innovating is, in my opinion, as important as a country’s energy reserves, because sooner or later, the oil reserves will run out, but economic creativity reserves are unlimited.
This new entrepreneurial pact that I’m proposing to Romanians is based on the following concepts:
Development – entrepreneurial development goes hand in hand with the society’s economic and social development, therefore entrepreneurs’ success is eminently linked to the society’s success;
Innovation – I am a big supporter of the creative industries, of economic innovation, and I am convinced that the economy of innovation is synonymous with the economy of the future;
Responsibility – that of political decisionmakers towards entrepreneurs, meaning being committed to not confusing them, to creating an environment that is conducive to innovation, but also the entrepreneurs’ responsibility towards their communities.
These pillars will allow us to relaunch the Romanian economy on new development parameters. Of course, all the instruments of the Economy, Energy and Business Environment Ministry, whether we’re talking about Invest Romania, the Start-up Nation Programme, foreign trade or all the public policies we develop, are designed to serve this new entrepreneurial pact.
I congratulate all of those who are part of the Top 100 Entrepreneurs list and I encourage all entrepreneurs in Romania to have the confidence and courage to continue writing history in Romania!
