Between 4-5 October ROMPRO Foundation and Romanian Business Community were represented at the RePatriot 2017 Summit by Cătălina Negru (ROMPRO Director) and Anna Hajdu (ROMPRO PR), at the invitation of Georgeta Argeșanu, founder of the Franco-Romanian business catalyst AccelerRO.

Business Summit RePatriot - Invest in Romania, held between 4-8 October 2017 in Bucharest and Poiana Brasov, is an event that brought together nearly 300 top entrepreneurs and managers from Romania and the diaspora to facilitate new strategic and business partnerships. RePatriot's goal is to create links that stimulate the return of Romanians who have emigrated to help accelerate the development of the Romanian economy.

The program is an initiative derived from the projects of the Romanian Business Leaders Foundation, a community of Romanian entrepreneurs, managers and professionals from various fields, united by the desire to contribute to the public good, beyond the interests of business, industry or field, and motivated by the belief that Romania will be a better country for business when it becomes a better country for its people.

RePatriot is addressed to all Romanians who have already returned from the diaspora, but also to those who want to go back to their country or are not returning, but can be with their country, wherever they are.

Cătălina Negru

"Georgeta Argeșanu found out about the ROMPRO Foundation through a good friend in the Netherlands, who had attended the Romanian Days Festival. He asked us if we could come to the summit and so we attended a RePatriot event for the first time. I had heard many times about RePatriot, but I didn't have the chance to meet any of the team members until I met Georgeta.

Seeing the programme of the event, I found it very interesting and a good opportunity to meet those who, like us, want to do more for Romania. I was particularly impressed from the very first moment by the determined people there, who are convinced that together they can catalyse the business environment to cooperate and together they can stimulate the growth of investments that will lead Romania towards a real economic expansion.

Our wish is to soon bring the RePatriot team to the Netherlands, where we are convinced they will find a lot of resonance for ideas and implementation."

Below is a summary of the moments from the session in Bucharest, where the message was simple: Romania offers business opportunities that we can seize together and we must invest in Romania and recommend our country as an investment destination.

Open

Marius Bostan, initiator of RePatriot, Felix Pătrășcanu, leader of RePatriot and Sandra Pralong, State Counsellor, Department for Relations with Romanians Abroad.

Panel 1: Investing in Romania

What the economy looks like in 2017-2018? How sustainable are the economic fundamentals today? What are the economic indicators? How does monetary and fiscal policy influence? Investment trends and risks. What are the short-term forecasts?

Moderator: Claudiu Vrînceanu (entrepreneur and one of the leaders of RePatriot)
Keynote speaker: Ionuț Dumitru (President of the Tax Council)
Speakers: Sergiu Oprescu (President of ARB, CEO of Alpha Bank Romania), Stelian Mic (managing partner at Partners at Law), Horia Braun (economist and member of the Association of Financial and Banking Analysts), Gabriel Iștoc (entrepreneur, founder of B-Team Consulting).

Presentations:

RePatriot Moment - Felix Tataru, President IAA World Wide

RePatriot pyramid:

What the diaspora can do for Romania:

  • Let's talk about Romania;
  • Recommend Romania for tourism and investment;
  • Let's invest in the country, not just spend (make sure the money produces);
  • To export Romanian products;
  • To transfer new ideas and mentality back home;
  • Let's come and work at home;
  • Doing business at home.

What Romania can do for the diaspora:

  • Mobilizing mayors to bring the diaspora closer to Romania;
  • Diaspora Days in August;
  • Simplifying bureaucracy;
  • Repatriation incentives;
  • Co-financing for start-ups;
  • Easy access to voting;
  • Promoting job vacancies;
  • Providing business opportunities.

Panel 2: Investing in production, logistics and real estate

Where and how are manufacturing investors turning? What are the biggest opportunities for investment in manufacturing facilities in Romania? What funds and state aid are available for manufacturing investors and for those expanding production capacities? Logistics, an increasingly tempting stop for investors: what are the main opportunities? What will be the 2018 trends in real estate investment?

Moderator: Felix Pătrășcanu (co-founder of FAN Curier and leader of RePatriot)
Keynote speaker: Ion Lixandru (CEO Romtrailer, Vice President of the National Union of Road Hauliers)
Speakers: Ilinca Păun (CEO Colliers), Marius Ștefan (Manging Partner Autonom), Elias Wexler (CEO DeltrexUSA), Hildegard Brandl (managing partner Unith2b Arhitecture and one of the leaders of RePatriot), Florin Furdui (Country Manager Portland Trust)

Video

Panel 3: Investing in tourism, services and agribusiness

Which areas bring the best returns in tourism and agribusiness? How do external factors influence the internal market? What do foreign investors want when investing in tourism? What is the role of a country image in attracting investment in tourism? How can the diaspora be involved in attracting new investment? Finance, EU money and agriculture: what opportunities does 2018 bring?

Moderator: Dragoș Anastasiu (CEO Eurolines and one of the leaders of RePatriot)
Keynote speaker: Mirabela Miron (Avisso President and RestartHome initiator)
Speakers: Luciana Păunescu (founder Maxitours Belgium and shareholder BlueAir), Anca Thompson (Regional Hospitality Consultant, Hospitality Consults, LLC), Răzvan Pascu (travel and investment consultant, founder Travel Focus), Sergiu Manofu (founder Travel Idea and one of the leaders of RePatriot).

Presentations:

Panel 4: Investing in hi-tech

How to invest in hi-tech? What workforce needs do we have to attract investment? Why should companies invest in digital transformation? What are the best areas for investment? Smart City, Industry 4.0, Artificial Intelligence, relevant topics of discussion for Romania 2018?

Moderator: Marius Bostan (entrepreneur and initiator of RePatriot)
Keynote speaker: Viorel Udma (Accendo)
Speakers: Nicolae Rațiu (President of "Rațiu Foundation" and President of EuRO Data Park), Bogdan Tudor (founder StarTech Team), Cristian Anastasiu (managing director Chapman Associates), Dan Călugăreanu (President of TechAngels Romania), Ovidiu Ghiman (Telekom), Dorel Năsui (CEO of Airadio and Safemobile).

Video.

Presentations:

Panel 5: Start-Up Demo

RePatriot introduces investors and financiers to five Romanian start-ups with growth potential.

Moderators: Emil Munteanu (Managing Partner Power Net Consulting) and Bianca Grip (Founder GripADS), both leaders of the RePatriot Project.
Jury: Dea Wilson (Founder Lifograph), Roxana Olaru (Founder CREADIV), Claudiu Vrînceanu (leader RePatriot), Val Bejenuță (Head of Portfolio at Startup Europe Partnership and Advisor at MTS Venture Fund), Georgeta Argeșanu (Founder AcceleRO France) and Mircea Divricean (Honorary Consul of Romania in Utah).

Presentations:

Thanks RePatriot for the organisation and kindness with which he provided the materials!

What's your reaction?
0Cool0Upset0Love0Lol

Add Comment

to top
en_GB