EU Funding

Start-Up Nation 2022 — the edition that made the digital package mandatory

The third Start-Up Nation edition closed on 1 September 2022, but it changed the rules of the game: since then, the digital component of a business plan is no longer optional.

Programme fact sheet

Programme: Start-Up Nation — ediția a 3-a (2022)
Programme family: Start-Up Nation
Managing authority: MAT / AIMMAIPE (now MEDAT)
Status: ClosedChecked on 30 July 2026
Submission deadline: 1 September 2022
Funding value: up to 200,000 RON
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.

The rule that still shapes Romanian start-up grants today was written in 2022: the third Start-Up Nation edition made digitalization compulsory, requiring every business plan to include a digital package of at least RON 25,000 — a website or online store, a domain name, online promotion, software, IT equipment, a smartphone and an electronic signature. The session ran from 19 July to 1 September 2022 on the granturi.imm.gov.ro platform, across two pillars: pillar I, national, with RON 500 million, and pillar II for the diaspora, with RON 20 million. The grant was RON 200,000 for two jobs created or RON 100,000 for one, and plans allocating over 60% of costs to technological equipment earned extra points. The tally: 11,700 files submitted, 7,835 admission notifications and 6,183 contracts signed. Northdan Soft built exactly the kind of digital component required then and keeps building it for edition 4, the active one — with a supplier's technical offer and budget.

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How we help

A firm answer to a frequent search

Many still search for the 2022 edition by name — here you learn directly that the session has been closed since September 2022 and that edition 4, through PEO, is the one applications go to now.

The rule that stayed: mandatory digital

The minimum digital package introduced in 2022 redefined the business plan; understanding it helps you size the digital component correctly in the current edition too.

Real figures for realistic expectations

Of 11,700 files, 6,183 reached contract — a rate showing why plans with precise budgets and maximised scores had the advantage.

The digital component, supplier-ready

For your file in the active edition, Northdan Soft delivers the website, online store or management software, plus the technical offer and budget documenting the digital package.

Two pillars and a summer session

Enrolment for the third edition stayed open from 19 July to 1 September 2022, exclusively online, on granturi.imm.gov.ro. Pillar I, with a budget of RON 500 million, addressed firms in the country; pillar II, with RON 20 million, Romanians in the diaspora starting a business back home.

Support was tied directly to hiring: RON 200,000 for two jobs or RON 100,000 for a single one. In the end, the statistics showed 11,700 files submitted, 7,835 admission notifications and 6,183 contracts signed — and the extra points for plans with over 60% technological equipment weighed visibly in the ranking.

The mandatory RON 25,000 digital package

The absolute novelty of the 2022 edition: no business plan passed without a digitalization component of at least RON 25,000. The list covered the presentation website or online store, the domain name, online promotion, the software needed for the activity, IT equipment, a smartphone and an electronic signature.

The obligation changed applicant behaviour: the digital component was no longer a decorative line but a chapter that had to be substantiated with real offers. Firms that came with specifications and prices from suppliers passed both evaluation and reimbursement more easily — a pattern kept in the active edition.

The successor: edition 4, through the Education and Employment Programme

After 2022, the programme moved onto European financing: edition 4 runs through PEO, and MEDAT has officially announced session 2. The up-to-date conditions — amounts, calendar, criteria — are documented on our live Start-Up Nation page and on the one dedicated to session 2.

The RON 25,000 threshold belonged to the third edition's procedure and cannot be assumed to apply to any later session. For a file in the active edition we size the digital component around what the business sells, then document it with a specification, a signed technical offer and a budget drawn against the categories in force.

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2022 Start-Up Nation session still accepting enrolments?

No — submissions closed on 1 September 2022, and the admitted projects were contracted long ago. Anyone wanting funding now applies to edition 4, run through the Education and Employment Programme, described on our live programme page.

What did the mandatory digital package of 2022 mean?

At least RON 25,000 of the business plan had to go to digitalization: a website or online store, domain, online promotion, software, IT equipment, smartphone and electronic signature. It was an eligibility condition, not a bonus.

How many files reached contract in the 2022 edition?

Of the 11,700 files submitted across the two pillars, 7,835 received admission notifications and 6,183 got to signing the funding contract — the rest stayed on reserve or fell at the checks.

How was a higher score obtained in 2022?

Among the criteria, plans directing over 60% of costs to technological equipment received extra points — a signal that the authorities rewarded productive investment, not just running costs.