Prizes for bright business ideas

Young entrepreneurs who think they have valuable business ideas may earn the financing and counselling support they need to put them into practice.

The Romanian-American Investment Fund (FRAI), Arthur Andersen and The Romanian Bank for Development – Groupe Societe Generale have announced they would organise the national competition for business plans called “Give Yourself A Chance,” to be joined by people between 18 and 30 years old.

An international jury made up of representatives from the finance and consultancy fields will select the best projects. The winner will be granted a 6,000-dollar award and will benefit from specialised assistance in order to apply his own business idea. The projects may be submitted by August 31.

The organisers said that, if the competition is a success, they would continue the project over the next years.

The idea of holding such a competition came from the need to improve the quality of the business plans drawn in Romania, David Strine, project manager with FRAI, said.

“We organised a business nest and we were disappointed with the quality of the received plans,” Robert Luke, managing director with GED Capital Development administering the Romanian Post-Privatisation Fund (FRPP), maintained.

The fund last year launched an IT nest, which failed, although the bulk of financing was supported by FRPP. The entrepreneurs only had to come with the idea and the project to apply it, but some having joined the programme said they were afraid to reveal their ideas, lest they were stolen later.

Robert Luke says it is important that a certain business plan thinking should eventually emerge, as it completely lacks in Romania now. “There are a lot of entrepreneurs in Romania and they have many skills, but they need to be advised how to put their ideas on paper, in a business plan,” Robert Luke said.

The culture of the business plan and the other western business concepts are still at the beginning in Romania. Last years’ experience points out that the Romanian business environment can hardly produce managers or projects to persuade the foreign investors and bankers to place their money.

Although money can be found, the projects often fail to live up to the standards imposed by investors, related to profitability and risk covering. Good project managers are hard to find in Romania, both in the private and public sector.