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Almost half of the domestic companies are led by women (43% in 2012), said Andreea Paul, the vice-president of the Budget, Finance and Banks Commission of the Chamber of Deputies.
According to her, in 2006, only 27% of the Romanian companies had women among their shareholders. Most women that lead a business are aged 24 and 35, with most of them being "educated, higher education graduates and willing to take the risk of starting a business".
The problem of women willing to become entrepreneurs is the lack of money, she said, and she mentioned that this year's budget has allocated 27% less funds to programs intended for young entrepreneurs, compared to 2013.
"Let's not underestimate the women in the rural areas. They don't have pink fingernails, what they do have is hands that have seen work. In Certeze, the richest locality in Romania, in the Ţara Oaşului region, one woman asked me how currency hedging works", Mrs. Paul said.
Presenting examples of a series of programs of networking and promotion that take place in countries such as Finland, Belgium or Ireland, Andreea Paul emphasized the fact that Romania needs to open new doors for female entrepreneurs.
The Program for Youngsters Starting in Business is ongoing, which has created so far over 13,000 jobs. This program involves 10,000 Euros in grants, but no more than half of the required amount, for young investors. If they get the rest of the money needed through a bank loan, up to 80% of that loan will be guaranteed by the state. The beneficiaries of that program have the obligation to create at least two new jobs.
Other programs for supporting young entrepreneurs are provided by Eximbank, as well as by the programs financed through European funds (POSDRU, PNDR).
Andreea Paul also mentioned that she is promoting several draft laws concerning this subject.
One of them concerns a flat tax rate of 10%, reducing social security contributions for employers by 5% percentage points, a minimum wage of 1,000 lei and tax exemptions for reinvested profits, and according to Mrs. Paul, the four solutions must be implemented simultaneously.
Another initiative she has concerns the creation of the National Agency for Private Entrepreneurs.
Andreea Paul says that the agricultural tax levied on farmers that own more than three hectares of land or those that have over three bovines, 100 fowl etc. She is also working on a draft law, which promotes the idea of this tax being directed to the local authorities which need roads and cold storage warehouses for vegetables and fruit, rather than going to the central authorities.
"I have proposed the creation of the Cultural Competitiveness Council for creative industries, which have a huge potential in Romania. For these industries I am envisioning a system that is similar to the one for IT", she said in closing.
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