GRUIA STOICA, GRAMPET: "The business sector has gone through and still is going through difficult moments"

Romanian entrepreneurs have gone through and are still going through difficult moments, businessman Gruia Stoica, the president of Grampet Group and president of the Romania-Kazakhstan business board says. In his message addressed to the BURSA conference "Female entrepreneurship. Women in power - a better world >, Gruia Stoica said: "I know many businesswomen. They are strong, brave women, who have initiative and ideas, they are patriots and they are also faced with the same problems that us businessmen are faced with.

The essential aspect to remember is that when we speak about Romanian entrepreneurship we do not speak only about businesswomen or businessmen, we are talking about Romanian businesspeople. And from that point of view, we all need to be taken seriously by those who lead our country, because we also vote, we also pay taxes, we also use education and healthcare, but maybe, most importantly, we provide jobs for thousands and tens of thousands of families, which translates into welfare for the community and of course, welfare for the country".

In his opinion, a large part of the blame for the problems of the business sector are the fault of its own members, "as they have been for a long time more concerned with attacking each other than with standing up together and trying to promote their legitimate interests. This lack of unity and coordination was visible in the way the foreign capital has succeeded in taking over, even though the jobs created by Romanian entrepreneurs are safer and more stable".

However, the largest part of the blame for the current situation lies with the decision makers and the public leaders, says Gruia Stoica, who emphasized: "What they haven't understood is precisely the fact that Romanian entrepreneurs are the safest, most stable and most important source of jobs and welfare for citizens. Because we Romanians don't move our capital to other countries, we don't close down our businesses to move them where the labor is cheaper. On the contrary, we try to develop here while also helping our communities. < Grampet Group >, the company I lead, not only has over 9,000 employees domestically and abroad, but it also helps the development of the Romanian communities. In Simeria we have a few dozens of apprentices we have brought into our factory and whom we gave jobs to, by taking in children from foster care and giving them a future. Through our foundations, we take care of over 300 children, to whom we grant full study scholarships and whom we hire at < Grampet > after they complete their college education. These are the programs that bring added value to the life of Romanians and to the communities within the country".

He also said that Romania needs a national strategy that would meet the needs of Romanian businesspeople.

"It's for naught if the public leaders take care of the fate of some company or another, if they overlook the matter of a national strategy. Without a national strategy, which should be drawn up by at least consulting us, the Romanian entrepreneurs, perhaps even listened to, we won't succeed in bringing welfare in the medium and long term in this country", the representative of Grampet also says.