www.business-review.eu Business Review | May 2022
26 ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Startups looking to shape local post-pandemic office market Offices in Romania have generated nearly half a billion euros in deals in each of the past few years, but startups are betting on a more flexible workplace and technology that puts landlords in control of their building data. By Ovidiu Posirca lease, and sell properties. Buildings can be fully managed using digital apps, enhancing the efficient consumption of resources. Nooka Space, a startup developing microoffices that can be leased for short periods using an app, believes that hybrid work arrangements will shape the future of the traditional officer sector. Sergiu Babasan, country manager at Nooka Space Romania, suggested that the local coworking spaces market is still underdeveloped. “There is high potential for growth in this segment, especially as hybrid working becomes the norm and companies look for the right solutions to meet the needs of today's employees. Moreover, the crowding of urban areas and the growing need for employee The adoption of flexible work has taken off in recent years
P
flexibility are conditions that create the right environment for the development and success of coworking services,” Babasan told BR. The startup aims to reach total investments
ropTech, the field that encompasses all
ever that digitalization and Environment,
innovation in real estate and construc-
Social and Governance (ESG) goals are key
of EUR 2 million by the end of this year and
tion, aims to improve efficiency and
to a successful, sustainable future,” Bogdan
to add more compact office spaces near resi-
facilitate all activities related to the property
Nicoara, CEO & Cofounder at Bright Spaces,
dential projects. In fact, housing developers
sector. Startups looking to tackle complex
told BR. The Romanian startup has digitalized
could add micro-offices in the mix of facilities
issues in real estate had already raised more
more than 464,515 sqm of commercial spaces
offered to residents in a bid to adapt to emerg-
than USD 12 billion between 2020 and 2021,
since its creation in 2019 and recently opened
ing work arrangements in a post-pandemic
according to the 2021 PropTech Annual
its first international office in London.
economy.
PropTech innovation can be broken into
The concept of the metaverse is also
the digitalization of the property ecosystem,
three main opportunity channels that cover
turning into a driving force in the way we
introducing new ways to design offices, sell
information, transactions, and building man-
approach work, according to Nicoara. In his
homes or boost energy efficiency in commer-
agement.
view, we will soon be able to mix remote and
Barometer. The pandemic has accelerated
cial buildings. “Even if the corporate innovation adoption
Technology allows everything to be digitally recorded and retrieved online, from pub-
office work in a more immersive way than ever before.
process tends to be long-lasting, I am happy
lic records to office lease data, including real
“Imagine being in Bucharest and taking
to say that developers are increasingly open
time heating system temperatures for every
part in a meeting in your company’s office in
to using innovative solutions proposed by
building. Furthermore, people have gotten
London, but not through what has already
startups. Two years after the pandemic start-
accustomed to using secure online platforms
become a traditional tool¬—Zoom—but
ed, real estate companies have it clearer than
to get mortgages, explore office floors for
through a virtual reality tool that transports
