People to watch in 2022

Even as the coronavirus pandemic continued to make waves in 2021, the local business environment managed to overhaul its strategies in order to post positive results, build new business plans, and deal with the difficulties generated by the crisis. But at the same time, companies were also hit by issues like rising energy costs and the lack of specialised workforce. Nevertheless, the last two years have taught business leaders one of the most valuable lessons: that any crisis can be turned into in a real opportunity for further development. Business Review talked to the leaders of some of the most dynamic industries in Romania to find out how they’ve managed to find success during the pandemic and discuss their plans for 2022. Read on to learn all about the business leaders you should watch in 2022!

By Anda Sebesi

A visionary business woman

Having made her mark on some of IMMOFINANZ Romania’s major business accomplishments last year, Fulga Dinu, Country Manager Operations, sat down with Business Review and talked about the real estate developer’s plans in Romania for this year.

By Anda Sebesi

2021 was quite a challenging year for Fulga Dinu, but for different reasons than 2020. While the uncertainty of the pandemic continued in 2021, the element of surprise was gone, as business players had learnt how to tackle the situation. “Since I identify with the company quite closely, last year’s strategy was based on moving ahead with plans, quickly adapting to any unexpected circumstances, and working to achieve our goals. This strategy was proven right,” she says. Yet the pandemic context remained the top challenge of 2021, and it meant steering the IMMOFINANZ business sturdily through rough waters. “However, I strongly believe that unexpected situations can also generate amazing opportunities, so I would say that last year was quite a successful one,” Dinu adds.

At IMMOFINANZ , 2021 was marked by innovative strategies and solutions. The company started off the year by acquiring the former BCR headquarters on Victoriei Avenue, a landmark building that will undergo a major refurbishment which will not only transform the building’s appearance, but also rejuvenate the entire Bucharest old centre area. Then, IMMOFINANZ signed a long-term lease in one of its newly refurbished buildings in IRIDE Park —the refurbishment had been carried out successfully in pandemic year 2020—with Provita, a renowned hospital operator, thus reshaping the perception of the Dimitrie Pompeiu area and opening a new line of business for the real estate developer. “And last but not least, we started the refurbishment of our VIVO! shopping centre in Baia Mare, which was also marked by a first as our partner Lidl opened a store inside a mall for the first time in Romania.” And these were just three of IMMOFINANZs many major business accomplishments in 2021. In short, the positive side of 2021 for the company had to do with all the innovative transactions it managed to close. “I should also add that this was possible thanks to a wonderful and dedicated team that remained motivated and open-minded throughout the rather harsh times we were going through,” Dinu notes. In 2022, Dinu says that the company will roll out its internationally recognised myhive office brand in yet another office building. “In addition, as if we were able to foresee the new demands brought along by the pandemic in the office segment, we will also be launching our flexible offering in the myhive buildings, a solution that will allow our customers to enjoy full flexibility, whether for short or long term leases, in terms of both the spaces (from single desks to fully serviced and furnished office spaces) and the services they require. We shall also continue investing in our retail properties in order to increase their attractiveness and help them adapt to the ever-changing market requirements,” she says. Although 2022 looks promising, it will also be marked by the energy crisis. “Our industry will continue to be influenced by the fast-changing demands of our customers, in both the office and the retail segments, but we’re already working on solutions that will certainly turn out to be right for them. I’ve already mentioned our flexible office product, and for the retail segment we’re looking to make the shopping experience more convenient, familyoriented, pleasant, and safe. In a nutshell, we will continue to do business in a sustainable, successful, and ever-adapting manner.”

Pushing for transformative solutions

Julien Munch, the CEO of Carrefour Romania, says that his main strategic pursuits this year will include online and offline expansions and strong focus on proximity formats, staying true to the company’s omnichannel profile. At the same time, the company will continue to partner up with local farmers and producers in order to provide fresh local products to its customers.

By Anda Sebesi

Julien Munch became the CEO of Carrefour Romania at the beginning of 2021 and, since localisation is a very important direction for the company and also something he strongly believes in, he travelled over 7,000 km to explore Romania and gain a better understanding of the local context. “It was essential for me to meet and talk to experienced colleagues, local producers, and customers, on top of what I did in my day to day work, in order to understand their needs and continue to adapt our strategy accordingly,” he explains.

The pandemic and its risks and the associated restrictions have been the biggest challenge for Carrefour Romania recently, but it has relied on its agility.

As such, 2021 saw a series of major business achievements for Carrefour Romania, which continued its expansion both offline and online, by opening 27 stores, of which 23 in the Express category. It also made moves in the e-commerce area, continuing its expansion with Bringo and crossing the threshold of 100 stores included in the platform. “The launch of the 30-minute fast delivery service for small formats in August 2021 contributed to this figure. Six months after its launch, the service is already available in 9 cities and includes 48 stores. Our objective is to bring it to all major Romanian cities this year,” says Munch.

The relationship with customers was another area of focus last year for the retailer, which launched the Act for Good programme. The unique digital platform in the Carrefour app transforms shopping into a personalized experience with social impact, and in doing so attracts responsible consumers. “In just one year, the Act For Good programme reached 1 million active app users and 6 million monthly visits”, underlines Munch.

For the past several years, Carrefour Romania has been focused on its partnerships with local farmers and producers in order to always provide fresh local products for its customers. The Gradinile Noastre din Zarand Cooperative and its 20 farmers, along with more than 130 other farmers in the Varasti Cooperative, are two such examples. “We will also continue to invest money, know-how, and human resources in cooperatives. We are currently collaborating with the Varasti and Gradinile Noastre din Zarand cooperatives. To these we can add flagship programmes such as Crestem Romania BIO and Deschidem Vinul Românesc, which continue to grow each year,” he adds. From a financial perspective, the retailer achieved results that came in line with its expectations and confirmed the volatility surrounding the retail sector. “We recorded a 2 percent growth in sales in comparable terms, driven by high client satisfaction, despite the fact that our hypermarkets in commercial centres were impacted by restrictions.”

Munch says that this year, the company will keep a strong focus on its proximity format and omnichannel model. Equally important are partnerships with local producers, as part of its global Act for Food commitment. “We now have the highest number of partnerships with local producers on the market, namely more than 1,000, 300 of whom are ultra-local producers who only deliver small quantities to stores in their vicinity. These are partnerships that benefit the local economy, the farmers and producers involved, as well as our customers, who have access to an increasingly rich assortment of Romanian products through the Carrefour network,” Munch notes. As for the future, Munch puts it simply: “Quick and smart reactions in this complex environment, coupled with a long-term vision, will make a difference in both the private and public sectors.”

Perfection is in the details

The local construction market is very dynamic and it is dealing with many challenges, the most critical being the shortage of specialist workforce. BR sat down with Razvan Parvulescu, Business Development Coordinator at BTDConstruct & Ambient, to find out how the company did in 2021 and gain insight into its plans for this year.

By Anda Sebesi

BTDConstruct & Ambient, a Romanian construction company founded back in 2013, saw intense business activity last year, when it continued construction for several projects started in the previous year, but also focused on winning new contracts in the residential sector.

“Even though last year was still marked by the pandemic, I can certainly say that overall, it was a good year. Businesswise, the industry experienced a remarkable recovery, and personally I was pleased that we have been able to hold physical meetings again. The business atmosphere was occasionally dynamic; we attended MIPIM [the world’s leading real estate event] in September last year, together with a joint delegation of various companies operating in the Romanian construction industry,” says Razvan Parvulescu. BTDConstruct & Ambient specialises in offering integrated services, from architectural projects to superior engineering, project management, and complex digital systems. The company’s core mission is driven by a simple concept: details make the biggest difference.

Confirming its high-quality work, the company last year ranked 18th in the Top 100 General Contractors in Construction (an independent ranking published annually by IBC Focus). “We were also nominated for Best Constructor of the Year at the 2021 CIJ Awards Gala Romania,” says Parvulescu. As human resources are crucial for the success of any business, the BTD Group of Companies (with BTDConstruct & Ambient at its core) has a team of professionals which is constantly growing, having now reached approximately 200 specialists in fields such as Project Management, Construction Works Management, and Business Support.

Digitalization has also been a top priority for BTDConstruct & Ambient over the past two years, as representatives believe it will bring considerable benefits to the company over the long term. “Our employees are already using a dedicated system: the 5D BIM Modelling programme. In terms of a timeline, we expect BTDConstruct & Ambient to be a fully digitalized company by the end of the third trimester of 2022,” Parvulescu notes. In terms of financial performance, he says that based on the company’s current projects and plans to increase and diversify its portfolio, it is expected to reach a new financial milestone in 2022 in terms of turnover, especially since last year’s turnover maintained an upward trend, exceeding EUR 61 million. Asked about the biggest challenges of last year, Parvulescu says that having an adequate workforce that includes specialists, craftsmen, and skilled construction workers remains a challenge for the company, as it is for other players in the industry as well. “In fact, the lack of labour force, at all levels of specialisation, is considered to be the biggest problem facing the industry in Romania.” He adds that the social and economic uncertainty was another difficult part of 2021. “At the beginning of last year, this was my main concern. But once vaccination became available, I was able to see things more clearly and plan my actions more accurately.”

Parvulescu says that BTD sees the Romanian construction market as being dynamic and ever-developing. “We’re seeing a technological revolution on the horizon, as a result of the more intense pollution, on the one hand, and of the insufficient labour force on the other. Green buildings and sustainable projects are starting to dominate the conversation, and we are strongly supporting the move towards resource efficiency.”

Optimistic signs for the local real estate market in 2022

After building a new terrace at Timpuri Noi Square and planning the project’s Phase 2, which will be focused on the retail component, Vastint Romania has high expectations of 2022. BR sat down with the company’s Managing Director, Antoniu Panait, to talk about plans and objectives for this year.

By Anda Sebesi

Although slightly uncertain, 2021 turned out to be suitable for business decisions. As a real estate company, Vastint Romania constantly analyses the needs of the market, its potential, whether clients’ requests match its own standards, and so on. “Having the ability to reflect upon all these details has proven very useful, allowing us to be more confident that the projects we embark on are the most suitable for the Romanian market,” Panait says.

The pandemic has not only disrupted people’s daily routines and interactions over the past two years, but it has also wreaked havoc on their mental health. “The constant changes that companies have had to deal with have represented major business challenges, and they’ve resulted in significant fluctuations both in tenant presence in offices as well as in the general demand for office space,” Panait explains. However, he adds that thanks to its high technical standards, Vastint Romania could provide the best possible working conditions to its tenants. “Our main focus has definitely been to ensure excellent conditions for everyone who entered our buildings.”

Asked about Vastint Romania’s achievements of last year, Panait says that the biggest one was that the company managed to keep all its employees safe and healthy while at the office, as a result of the company’s high quality projects and the safety measures it implemented during this period. “Secondly, business wise, we managed to add a new terrace at Timpuri Noi Square and we are planning Phase 2 of this project which will be focused on the retail area.” As for the company’s plans for this year, Panait says that work on Phase 2 of Timpuri Noi Square will begin as soon as the market will allow it. “2022 started on a positive note, as we’ve been seeing an increase in office space lease requests.” He adds: “As humans are social beings, it’s clear that two years have been more than enough to understand that working from home doesn’t work for everybody, and therefore we are expecting the number of employees who return to the office to continue growing. 2021 had a slightly higher rate of predictability than 2020, and we’re preparing for an even more business-friendly 2022.”

Panait says that it is still too early to predict how 2022 will end, but that this doesn’t stop Vastint Romania from being positive and confident that the real estate industry will move forward at full speed in the coming period. “The market has been learning and adapting in the last two years, and we will definitely see more deals being closed in 2022. And hopefully, the global situation will be safe enough to allow us to carry on with our plans.”

Building strong teams and long-lasting partnerships

Metro Romania CEO Adrian Ariciu had a very good 2021, as his company recorded an increase in turnover and made significant progress in all its business areas.

By Anda Sebesi

“As CEO, my priorities have been and will always be to build and invest in a strong team and establish long-lasting partnerships with our professional clients and partners.” This is what Adrian Ariciu, the CEO of Metro Romania, said at the beginning of our interview with him. Last year was very good for the company, as it managed to achieve several important goals. The retailer accelerated the expansion of the LaDoiPasi franchise, optimised its logistics processes, and developed digital solutions and a multichannel business model for its professional customers. This required an effort from the whole team, to keep the product range aligned with demand and ensure its availability at the highest quality standards.

“To stay on top of the ever-changing market, we started a major digitalization process, its main goal being to accelerate and develop digital solutions that respond to today's requirements. This is an essential process for us and we have made substantial investments, and the results can be seen on all levels,” he says. Among the digital products launched by Metro Romania last year were DISH, a platform for hospitality businesses, and the METRO app, an alternative to the traditional card that clients use to access electronic invoices, see real time product availability and prices, and find the latest discounts and catalogues.

Ariciu says that the acceleration towards e-commerce that was imposed by the pandemic has forced the company to improve its existing services as well as develop new ones that meet today's needs. “It is clear that digitalization and e-commerce will also dominate 2022, as they are essential strategic ways to improve consumer experience. However, these will only be able to evolve with optimised logistics. I am confident in the Romanian market’s potential and in the success of the wholesale model. It takes courage to consolidate a business model in a modern economic environment, but if the priority is the customer and if processes are designed to help and contribute to the success of their business, good results will follow.” From a financial perspective, METRO Romania recorded an increase in turnover last year. “This growth was mainly based on the accelerated development of the LaDoiPasi franchise, the expansion of the logistics centre that provided us with optimal capacity to cope with the growing demand, as well as the company’s digital transformation, which contributed to the streamlining of internal processes.”

Asked about the challenges the local retail sector may face this year, Ariciu says that we’re witnessing an increase in food prices and that the cost of the average shopping cart is likely to rise further. In the production cost structure, we can already see an impact on logistics, transport, wage increases, auxiliary materials, packaging or non-food products. “The greatest challenge for the retail sector may come from potential consumption habit changes following a decline in consumers’ financial resources. Due to the price increases, consumers will look for the cheapest products in each category,” he explains.

This year, Metro Romania will focus on three growth pillars: developing an ecosystem of digital solutions for its professional hospitality clients and traders; accelerating its food service delivery process to better serve its professional multichannel customers without any gaps in supply and product quality; and expanding the LaDoiPasi franchise to 2,000 stores by 2023, maintaining its position as the market leader in franchised convenience stores.

Focus on consolidation

With innovation at the core of its business strategy, Leader Team Broker has developed a visionary approach that enables it to provide insurance to companies in 20 EU member states. Founder Razvan Rusu says that his focus in 2022 will be on consolidating the company’s product portfolio and team.

By Anda Sebesi

Looking back at 2021, Razvan Rusu says that although it was difficult from many points of view, it was also a year when the company took advantage of new market opportunities and, to some extent, implemented lessons learnt during the previous crisis. “The 2008-2009 crisis taught us that the biggest mistake you can make in difficult times is to panic. Instead, you must take a step back, look at the market and the economic climate as a whole, then reinvent yourself and come up with new solutions that are adapted to economic realities,” he argues.

The world is changing at a much faster pace than it did in the 80s and 90s, and the jobs which are emerging at an unprecedented speed, especially in technology, also require insurance. “Traditional products are not adapted to these new jobs, and that's what we are doing: redesigning and creating insurance products to keep up with the changes and find our place in the new economic paradigm.” For example, the company launched the IT Professional Liability and Cyber Risk Insurance in 2019, which Rusu says is now one of the company’s best-selling products and it is expected to continue growing in the coming years. “The insurance market is increasingly dynamic, and we work to identify new needs that arise, create the right products for these needs, present them to our partners in Romania or in London, and thus often come up with first-time offers for companies in Romania and Europe,” he explains.

In 2021, Leader Team Broker created a product dedicated to Amazon sellers, following the global retailer’s massive expansion. In addition, its product portfolio was adapted and upgraded in order to adequately serve companies in 20 EU member states. It was also the best financial year in the company's history, despite the difficult economic conditions. “We brokered premiums worth more than EUR 7.2 million, which is an increase of about 20 percent compared to the previous year. Plus, we managed to retain almost all of our people, which is a real achievement in the current context,” Rusu notes. The crisis on the labour market, which has been affecting the Romanian economy for years now, has also reached the insurance sector. It's getting harder and harder for players in the field, including for Leader Team Broker, to find insurance specialists. “We are not lacking ideas; we are running short of people interested in learning and implementing our innovations.”

This year, Leader Team Broker will continue to innovate and develop new products that respond to market needs, as well as strengthen its territorial expansion in Europe, which it began last year. “The watchword in 2022 will be consolidation, at both the product portfolio and the team level. For us, the challenge will be to find new markets and new areas where we can come up with new products to offset any losses we may incur from bankruptcies or budget cuts in areas we’re currently covering. Innovation will therefore be extremely important in the coming period, as it will help us find products that respond to new trends and changes on the market and help us further develop and strengthen our business.”

Committed to sustainable development

Rombat CEO Alin Ioanes managed to keep the company on a market leading position last year while taking major steps to transform the company’s team and vision. And plans for this year are equally bold: Rombat aims to make further investments to expand its production capacity, reduce its carbon footprint, and launch products and solutions for customers looking for green energy production facilities.

By Anda Sebesi

2021 was an excellent year for Rombat, as reflected by two key figures that hit record highs, namely the number of new battery sales as well as the amount of lead recovered and reintroduced into the manufacturing process.

“We sold 2.65 million car batteries, 15 percent more than we had sold in the previous year. At the same time, through our recycling facility at Copsa Mica, we recovered about 13,000 tonnes of lead from used batteries and brought them back into the production process,” Ioanes says. Additionally, Rombat was able to strengthen its position as market leader, which it has held for 25 years.

Ioanes says that last year was full of challenges for him as CEO, from several points of view, including consolidating Rombat’s position on the market in a complicated economic context and leading the transformation of the team and the changes in the company’s vision. The pandemic also remained an important topic at Rombat last year, as it involved the redesign of some operational flows to ensure health and safety and business continuity. “This crisis has shown us that nothing is permanent and that everything might change overnight, even though changes may not necessarily be negative. It was the best incentive for us to think outside the box and make quick decisions.”

In economic terms, the shortage of raw materials and the rising energy prices were also among the major issues of 2021. “For a big consumer of energy like us, the explosive rise of energy prices had a major impact. The commodity crisis has also led to significant increases in the prices of lead and polypropylene. This global phenomenon has shown us that besides its benefits, globalization can also have shortfalls, and companies worldwide have been striving to identify sources of key materials nearby, in order to reduce transportation costs and delivery times,” Ioanes explains. Ioanes expects the next few years to be challenging, too. “The watchwords of the future will be innovation, digitalization, and automation, all of which are extremely important in the new economic context and will help us remain competitive and strengthen our position as market leader.”

In 2022, the company aims to make further investments to expand its production capacity, reduce its carbon footprint, and launch products and solutions for customers looking for green energy production facilities. “We want to add Li-ion batteries to our product range, for customers developing photovoltaic parks or for users who are interested in installing green energy production facilities within their households.”

According to the Rombat CEO, the automotive sector is a healthy competitive environment with very strict conditions and rigorous performance standards. This means that only serious companies can succeed on the market, by carefully managing multiple variables: operations, costs, quality, and business plans. “The inflationary spiral will continue this year, while the geo-political context will also influence the economy. We’re going to see further changes in consumer behaviour, and many business in the industry will reposition themselves as a result,” Ioanes predicts.

Three new FDI trends that will influence Romania in 2022

Investor confidence in the industry and global value chains remains low Greenfield foreign direct investments (FDI) will remain low, business services investments will flourish, and new projects could arise in the context of covid shortages and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. These are the most important foreign direct investment trends Romania should keep an eye on this year.

By Claudiu Vrinceanu

GREENFIELD PROJECTS STAGNATING

Romania’s Greenfield FDI will maintain a low level, despite the fact that these crucial investments are expected to grow by approximately 6 percent globally this year following a bounce-back to pre-shock levels in 2021, according to GlobalData's FDI forecasting model, analysed by Investment Monitor. In recent years, Romania has failed to attract new greenfield investments in crucial areas such as the food industry. However, specialists and officials are expecting a new investment in the automotive sector, which already has the highest number of greenfield projects. Local authorities say that a new automaker is negotiating with Romanian officials to open a factory in Cluj-Napoca. The investment will begin with a few million euros, and it will continue for a year or two if the negotiations go well. The manufacturer’s plans include renting out an entire 150-hectare industrial park to support its investments.

Recent reports show that infrastructure financing is up as a result of recovery stimulus packages, but greenfield investment activity remains weak across industrial sectors globally. Greenfield investment remainded 30 percent below pre-pandemic levels, on average, across industrial sectors. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's study (UNCTAD), only the IT and communications sector has fully rebounded. Also, investor confidence in the industry and global value chains remains low. The number of greenfield investment project announcements saw very little change in 2021 (-1 percent in number, +7 percent in value), according to the UNCTAD’s Investment Trends Monitor. The number of new projects in global value chains (GVCs)—including intensive industries such as electronics—declined further.

COMEBACK FOR BUSINESS SERVICES

Foreign direct investment in knowledgeintensive business services could continue to rise in Romania, as the sector experienced significant growth at the beginning of the year. Bucharest is becoming increasingly exciting, attracting investments in new service centres. An example of this is Ford Europe’s announcement of a new service centre opening in Bucharest as the company’s latest investment in Romania, following those made at its Craiova plant. Similarly, Booking.com has leased a new headquarters in Bucharest to set up a regional service centre that will employ over 700 employees. The centre will be a hub for highly skilled workforce, industry best practices, software development, and collaboration opportunities for the Dutch group's Cybersecurity, IT, and Finance functions.

REBOUND FOR SEMICONDUCTORS

The shortage that occurred during the covid-19 pandemic highlighted our reliance on semiconductors. As economies reopen, the need for chips will grow significantly, with many semiconductor manufacturers outlining major new investments. In 2021, the global semiconductor market rose by 10.9 percent to USD 488 billion, according to World Semiconductor Trade Statistics cited by FDI Intelligence. The microchip crisis has severely affected the auto industry this year, forcing several manufacturers, including Groupe Renault and Scania, to interrupt production.

The Romanian government currently has a microelectronics project in the works. The country has a history in this field, but lately, we have been integrating products made abroad and exporting the output. Romania could become a strategic semiconductor supplier in the EU using funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).

Internationalisation opportunities for Romanian companies in 2022

Romanian companies are starting to see export as a growth strategy, with some businesses even planning production facilities abroad or cross-border acquisitions. There is no single benchmark of success, but the design of regional enterprises also depends on state support and private or public educational programmes. A mix of new export programmes, revived state schemes, and educational ventures are available for Romanian entrepreneurs who are looking to go international this year.

By Claudiu Vrinceanu

Romanian businesses need practical training for internationalisation

NEW PROGRAMMES

The main objective of Romania’s export strategy must be to level out the country’s trade balance. While the government has the leverage it needs to enhance and increase exports of domestic capital, programmes aimed at supporting exports among companies with domestic capital are limited.

A new promising scheme is the Innovation programme aiming to support new inventions as well as the export activities of SMEs operating in non-polluting trade and services with a turnover below EUR 1 million. The scheme is designed to finance activities that stimulate Romanian exports or support international transactions and local companies’ investments abroad. For 2022, the programme has a maximum ceiling of guarantees of RON 1 billion, a budget that targets more than 1,800 companies. It is one of the four new guarantee programmes recently launched in priority areas for the Romanian economy, consisting of state aid schemes providing guarantees and grants for part of the loans contracted by recipients.

RESTORED GOVERNMENT SCHEMES

Export promotion and internationalisation programmes have finally been revived after a year of being frozen. As a result, members from the Export Council Working Group can now join the Export Promotion Programme (EPP) and the Internationalisation Programme.

Romanian companies will be able to access de minimis state aid totalling approximately EUR 3 million to attend fairs and exhibitions abroad or participate in online events for a fee in order to pursue internationalisation.

Companies selected for funding will receive a lump sum to cover part of the costs of participating—individually or as part of a national mission—in fairs and exhibitions in EU countries or outside the European Union. Eligible expenses will include companies’ event booths and participation fees for online or offline events.

EDUCATIONAL VENTURES FOR FUTURE EXPORTERS

Successful international expansion represents validation for local entrepreneurial companies. Many businesses that have expanded globally have taken part in other countries’ internationalisation programmes. In Romania, the number of similar cases is small.

Accelerators of this type are dedicated to companies that are already doing business abroad or looking to expand their international presence. For example, the ScaleOut accelerator provides support, mentoring, expertise, and networking access for Romanian companies to internationalise on a specific target market. The accelerator works with both tech and non-tech companies aiming to develop in a new country through an educational curriculum.

Romanian businesses need practical training for internationalisation. For example, entrepreneurs want to understand how to choose their target export markets, evaluate the needs of those markets, and get up to speed with the legislative requirements of the targeted countries.

Another initiative that is available for exporters in the business environment is the Export Passport. The project's total budget of one million euros allows 400 employees in SMEs to improve skills that are relevant for export activities.

This project also provides the “Exporter's Guide,” which will create the prerequisites for increased competitiveness through medium and long-term innovation. This guide describes the optimal path for an enterprise to follow in its export activities and helps them train current and future staff to organise export activities.

Cluj tech startup hires 70 software engineers in just over a year

How was your idea born and how did you think you would make a difference on a very crowded market?

Sorin Buiga (SB): The idea first came much earlier, while the three of us were all working at one of the biggest outsourcing companies in Cluj. It all started from the internal need to allocate more seniors on certain high-end projects. My proposal was to create an internal excellency centre that would gather the best talent for the most advanced projects, but the context was not favourable at that time, because the company was just about to be acquired by another market player. Marius Baghiu (MB): We started to feel that we no longer liked what we were doing and that it wasn’t what we were best at. We were distancing ourselves from the team as new management layers were appearing. The way things were going just didn’t feel right. Andrei Dumitrescu (AD): We immediately started talking about the possibility of doing something together. We thought we couldn’t be the only ones who felt the need to work and live differently. Soon after that, I decided to leave the company. How much market research did you do before you embarked on this journey?

SB: Shortly after we left our previous jobs, Marius and I travelled to the US. We wanted to get to know the market and the clients and figure out what we really wanted to do. We had meetings with several technology-driven companies and investment funds, and most of them were talking about machine learning. After we got back home, we decided to invest in creating a consulting startup that would focus on high-end product engineering and AI solutions.

How did you manage to attract projects and talent?

SB: We didn’t think for one second that we wouldn’t be able to attract the engineers we needed. The real challenge for us was to find customers that would fit our profile, namely technology companies or late-stage startups whose products were already established on the market. We quickly realised that it would be quite difficult to sign a machine learning project up-front. Around that time, we started our first collaborations with Taycor and Ecrée, on product development. Two Three entrepreneurs from Cluj founded tech startup HEITS digital, which in a little over a year has managed to attract a team of 70 passionate engineers who are now working on software development and machine learning projects for clients in the US. BR sat down with the three co-founders—Sorin Buiga, Andrei Dumitrescu, and Marius Baghiu—to hear their story.

By Anda Sebesi

years later, even though most of our projects are in the product development area, we have also managed to implement machine learning projects for some of our clients. MB: We quickly realised that we needed to grow our team, so we started to talk to more and more specialists. We explained how we wanted to do things here at HEITS and they accepted the challenge and joined our team. That’s how we’ve managed to build a team of 70 engineers in just a little over a year.

What are your plans and objectives for 2022?

MB: For 2022 we are developing several internal initiatives around AI and machine learning. We want to provide the team with the necessary tools and equipment to help them express themselves. SB: Keeping the unbelievable attrition rate we have had so far, growing our customer portfolio by 30% and creating Machine Learning working streams within each company we are working with. AD: Personally, I think the most important thing that we all want is to continue our story with the same momentum we’ve had since we started out and to succeed in attracting more people who are passionate about technology to our team.