Bucharest, October 19^th, 2021 – Banca Comercială Română and ROREG (the Romanian Association of Regional Development Agencies) signed a collaboration protocol aimed at promoting EU financing opportunities, available for entrepreneurs through the Regional Operational Programs.

The joint initiative is focused on facilitating the entrepreneurs’ access to information to enable them to attract investments with a value amounting to over EUR 3.5 billion, provided through the Regional Operational Programs managed by RDAs, as Management Authorities. The amounts dedicated to the private sector are prioritized on investments aimed at supporting performance enhancement, encouraging innovation and digitalization. More than EUR 11 billion will be made available through ROPs under the 2021 – 2027 multiannual financial framework, for a wide range of projects, covering the eight priority axes focused on the sustainable development of competitive regions.

BCR and ROREG support collaboration through absorption of EU funds and draw attention on Romania’s growth prospects, on the long term, as well as on the role of investments within the community. The partnership includes:

• education and counselling on financing programs
• promotion of the workshop dedicated to financing programs on the School of Business platform hosted by BCR
• a series of regional conferences describing the financing opportunities available for entrepreneurs, public authorities and state companies
• promoting the calls for projects part of the ROP 2021-2027 and organizing dedicated workshops

“The protocol between BCR and ROREG is a joint initiative aimed at promoting the available financing resources and developing more flexible workflows for entrepreneurs. There is a potential for growth considering the outstanding local initiatives, and we must show entrepreneurs that EU funds can accelerate the implementation of their projects. EU funds are the best way to improve our economic prospects, being a major resource to capitalize on Romania’s human potential,” declared Sorin Maxim, president of ROREG and managing director of the West Regional Development Agency (RDA)

“Entrepreneurs now have the opportunity to attract significant investments through ROPs, and the 2021-2027 financing framework presents a lot of opportunities. It is our role to seize them and provide the business environment with all the information and instruments necessary to smoothly go through the process of accessing funds. These funding opportunities will help us reduce the economic gap at regional level, and even more so, improve the economy and living standard in Romania,” declared Vasile Asandei, Vice President of ROREG.

 “The collaboration between BCR and ROREG is a common call inviting entrepreneurs to attract EU funds for investments. Grant funds accelerate the modernization of Romanian businesses, be it joint-stock companies or limited liability companies, enabling them to maintain their relevance across the production chain. In addition to providing education and advisory on financing programs, BCR will also contribute with several personalized banking products, adapted to the needs of each type of beneficiary. We are convinced that economic success will depend on social and environmental responsibility, which is why we focus on the sustainable transformation of our economy. This partnership is a first step forward for all the decision makers and stakeholders to support the dissemination of opportunities for accessing EU funds among entrepreneurs”, stated Sergiu Manea, CEO Banca Comercială Română.

The total estimated allocation of the 8 Regional Operational Programs currently exceeds EUR 11 billion and includes the following amounts for the 2021-2027 financial framework:

• ROP North-East – over EUR 1.7 billion
• ROP North-West – over EUR 1.4 billion
• ROP Center – approx. EUR 1.4 billion
• ROP West – over EUR 1.1 billion
• ROP South-West – over EUR 1.2 billion
• ROP South-Muntenia – over EUR 1.5 billion
• ROP South-East – over EUR 1.4 billion
• ROP Bucharest-Ilfov – approx. EUR 1.5 billion

The Regional Operational Programs will focus on several priorities:

• Priority axis 1 – A more innovative region
• Priority axis 2 – A more digitalized region
• Priority axis 3 – A more sustainable and environmental-friendly region
• Priority axis 4 – A region with more sustainable urban mobility
• Priority axis 5 – A more accessible region
• Priority axis 6 – An educated region
• Priority axis 7 – A more attractive region
• Priority axis 8 – Technical support

Entrepreneurs who wish to grow their business using EU funds may follow the latest workshop launched by BCR School of Business – Funding programs for entrepreneurs, which includes complete information accessible free of charge for all the interested parties, about EU funding opportunities and about how to access and use funds that are better suited to the area in which they operate.

Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR), a member of Erste Group, is the most important financial group in Romania, including operations of universal bank (retail, corporate & investment banking, treasury and capital markets), as well as specialized companies on the leasing market, private pensions, housing banks and banking services.

BCR provides a full range of financial products and services, through a network of 18 business centres and 16 mobile offices dedicated to companies and 370 retail units located in most cities across the country with over 10,000 inhabitants. BCR is the No. 1 bank in Romania in the market of bank transactions, BCR customers having available the largest national network of ATM and multifunctional machines- almost 1,800, 11,300 POS and complete services of Internet banking, Mobile banking, Phone-banking and E-commerce. 

*  *

BCR – Corporate Communication

Cătălin Lupoaie, e-mail: catalin.lupoaie@bcr.ro, tel.: 0786.347.229

This information is also available on our website: www.bcr.ro

For more details about the products and services provided by BCR, please contact us using the following details:

InfoBCR

Web: www.bcr.ro

Email: contact.center@bcr.ro

Tel.: *2227, toll-free from all national fix/mobile networks - Telekom, Orange, Vodafone, RDS-RCS