COVID-19 Crisis Among Romanian Entrepreneurs—Challenges and Support Measures

There is consensus on the fact that COVID-19 crisis goes far beyond its medical roots and poses great challenges for entrepreneurs all over the world. Not only specific business models are provoked, but also the underlying principles of our economic and social system, based on human interaction and consumption as prerequisite for growth, prosperity and well-being. The pressure on the public system, national and international institutions and authorities, which were urged to come with rapid solutions and answers in order to bail-out and support the entrepreneurial ecosystem is enormous. The present paper aims at investigating the main challenges faced by Romanian entrepreneurs and the support schemes and public measures, as they were perceived by the interviewed persons, owners of small and medium-sized enterprises from Romania. After delivering a brief introduction of the specific features of the Romanian entrepreneurial environment and the impact of COVID-19 crisis on Romanian companies, the paper focuses on the policies and support measures offered by the state. Different categories of support schemes are depicted and critically analyzed within the broader European context, but also from the perspective of several Romanian entrepreneurs, target population of the aforementioned measures, participants in a qualitative study, based on in-depth interviews, conducted in the time framework July- December 2020.