EU Funding

România Start-Up Plus: the largest entrepreneurship scheme under POCU, archived

Grants of up to EUR 40,000 for new businesses and a budget raised from EUR 105 million to EUR 477 million — a historic scheme, now closed, whose role is played today by Start-Up Nation, delivered under PEO, the 2021-2027 education and employment programme.

Programme fact sheet

Programme: POCU — Schema de antreprenoriat «România Start-Up Plus» (AP 3)
Programme family: POCU
Managing authority: MIPE — AM POCU
Status: ClosedChecked on 30 July 2026
Funding value: per the official applicant guide
Eligible beneficiaries: SMEs

The programme's official applicant guide

Northdan Soft is a software supplier, not a funding consultancy, and is not affiliated with any managing authority or development agency. Programme information is indicative — always check the conditions in the programme's official applicant guide.

România Start-Up Plus was the broadest entrepreneurship scheme financed through POCU, the 2014-2020 human capital programme, under Priority Axis 3 — and it remains one of the most searched names in the history of Romanian EU funding. Its mechanics are worth understanding, because they explain today's schemes too: grant administrators, not entrepreneurs, filed the project proposals, between 15 August and 30 October 2016; out of 347 proposals, 195 administrators were selected, and the budget was raised from EUR 105 million to EUR 477 million precisely in order to finance them. Only afterwards came the entrepreneurship courses, the business plan competitions and the grants of up to EUR 40,000 per new business, paid in two instalments — the second conditional on generating revenue of at least 30% of the value of the first instalment within 12 months. The Bucharest-Ilfov region was excluded, and the money actually reached entrepreneurs only in 2018-2019. Many of the businesses created were digital: websites, online stores, IT services. The scheme is closed today; a start-up's current route to funding runs through Start-Up Nation, the edition delivered through PEO — and Northdan Soft remains, as it was then, the software supplier of new companies, not their funding consultant.

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How we help

The scheme's history, with its real figures

347 proposals, 195 administrators selected, a budget raised from EUR 105 million to EUR 477 million — the verified data of the scheme, not the legends in circulation.

A mechanism that explains today's schemes

The model of grant administrator, business plan competition and instalments conditional on results recurs in current schemes; whoever understands it applies better.

The alternative open to entrepreneurs

For anyone who wants a start-up grant today, the current route is Start-Up Nation, fourth edition, through PEO — with our status page kept up to date.

Software for a newly founded company

Our Start-Up Digital package covers exactly the needs of the first year: website, online store or application, with a clear budget suited to a funded business plan.

How the scheme worked: administrators first, entrepreneurs second

România Start-Up Plus was not a call where entrepreneurs applied directly to the ministry. The POCU managing authority first selected the grant administrators: proposals were filed between 15 August and 30 October 2016, 347 arrived, and 195 were selected for financing. To cover them, the scheme's budget was raised from EUR 105 million to EUR 477 million.

The administrators — NGOs, universities, consultancies, chambers of commerce — then ran entrepreneurship courses and business plan competitions, at the end of which the winners received grants of up to EUR 40,000 per new business. Payment was made in two instalments, the second conditional on revenue of at least 30% of the value of the first instalment within 12 months. The Bucharest-Ilfov region was excluded from the scheme.

The lessons of a scheme that took its time

The first lesson is patience: although the selection of administrators finished in 2016, the money reached entrepreneurs only in 2018-2019 — the long institutional chain meant years between announcement and grant. Anyone planning a business on European money today has to calibrate expectations against realistic calendars, not press headlines.

The second lesson concerns the profile of the businesses: many of the companies created were digital — websites, online stores, IT services — because a digital start-up reaches most easily the revenue threshold required for the second instalment. The model of a grant conditional on revenue has remained standard in the schemes that followed.

The current route: Start-Up Nation through PEO

The România Start-Up Plus scheme ended together with POCU and is not being relaunched under that name. Its role is played today by Start-Up Nation, whose fourth edition runs through the PEO 2021-2027 programme — our pages on Start-Up Nation and on the second session keep the status and conditions current, with references to official sources.

Northdan Soft's position is unchanged from one scheme to the next: we are the software supplier of your new company. We build the website, the online store or the application from the business plan, with a technical offer and a budget by cost category — while the funding application and the relationship with the grant administrator stay with you and your consultant.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still obtain the EUR 40,000 grant through România Start-Up Plus?

No — the scheme ended together with the POCU 2014-2020 programme, and the selection of grant administrators dates from 2016. For a start-up grant today, the current direction is Start-Up Nation, run through PEO, with the status followed on our dedicated page.

How did entrepreneurs receive the money under the Start-Up Plus scheme?

Through the grant administrators: the grant of up to EUR 40,000 per new business was paid in two instalments, the second conditional on generating revenue of at least 30% of the value of the first instalment within the first 12 months of activity.

Why did it take so long for the money to reach the companies?

Because the scheme had two storeys: first the selection of the 195 grant administrators (proposals filed in 2016), then the courses, the business plan competitions and the contracting — so the grants actually reached entrepreneurs only in 2018-2019.

How does Northdan Soft support a start-up that obtains funding today?

With the software part of the business plan: website, online store or application, delivered with a technical offer and a budget by cost category — our Start-Up Digital package is built exactly for that. We are not funding consultants: the administrative dossier stays with funding specialists.