Start-Up Nation Romania 2026 - Pillar I (Youth Entrepreneurship)
Pays for up to 90% of a young Romanian founder's new small-business costs, worth up to 250,000 lei, after they complete a mandatory entrepreneurship training course.
The grant can go toward a wide range of costs: technological equipment, renewable-energy systems such as solar panels or heat pumps, company-formation costs up to 1,000 lei, furniture and office equipment, a website or online store, IT equipment and software licences, and consulting for putting the application together, capped at 10,000 lei. Salaries, utilities, accounting services and rent are ha…
Pillar I of Start-Up Nation Romania 2026 backs Romanians aged 18 to under 30 who want to set up their own small business, including people returning from abroad, regardless of their current employment status. It funds new companies across most sectors, with a minimum secondary-level education (ISCED 2) as the only formal entry bar. Primary fishing, aquaculture and agricultural production and processing, export-related activities, weapons, tobacco, alcohol, controlled substances and energy products, and leasing activities are excluded, and a beneficiary cannot have received more than 300,000 euros in de minimis aid as a single enterprise over the past three years.
Sign up free to see the funding breakdown
Sign up free to see the industries in scope
Sign up free to see the full eligibility
Sign up free to see how to apply
Sign up free to see what you submit
Sign up free to see where teams trip up
Guides for this application
All guides →Grant Financials and Co-Funding Evidence: Examples for Startup Applications
See examples of grant financials, match funding evidence, co-funding tables, accountant letters, investor commitments, and budget-to-work-plan checks.
DocumentsGrant Work Plan Template: Work Packages, Gantt, Milestones, and Risks
Use this grant work plan template to structure work packages, tasks, owners, deliverables, Gantt timing, dependencies, and risk registers.
Submit & reportGrant Reporting Requirements: Post-Award Reports and Compliance
Learn what grant reporting requirements cover, how financial and performance reports work, what to track after an award, and how to avoid post-award compliance mistakes.
Find grantsGovernment Grants for Startups: What Deeptech Founders Should Know
A practical guide to government grants for startups, including Grants.gov, SBIR/STTR, state programs, eligibility, fit, timelines, and when to apply.
Similar grants
Browse the directory →Start-Up Nation — Pillar I (2026 edition)
🇷🇴Romanian Government · Romania
Funds Romanian entrepreneurs aged 18-30 starting new small businesses with up to 250,000 lei.
Startup Nation Romania (Pillar I)
🇷🇴Govt. of Romania · Romania
Funds young Romanian entrepreneurs aged 18-30 with up to 250,000 lei to start a business.
5th Innowwide Call for Market Feasibility Projects — Autumn 2026
🇪🇺EUREKA · Global / Multinational
Pays SMEs a fixed EUR60,000 grant to run a six-month market feasibility project testing whether their innovation can be commercialised in a target country in Africa, the Americas, Asia or Oceania.
Startup Nation Program (2026 Edition, Pillar I)
🇷🇴Govt. of Romania · Romania
Funds Romanian entrepreneurs aged 18-30 with up to 250,000 lei to launch an SME.
SME Eco-Tech
🇷🇴MEDAT · Romania
Gives Romanian SMEs, including trade, services and qualifying micro-enterprises, a co-financing grant of up to RON 267,240 toward green and digital investments, provided they also secure a matching bank loan.
ERC Proof of Concept Grant
🇪🇺European Commission · European Union
Funds existing ERC grant holders in testing the commercial or societal potential of already-funded research through a fixed EUR 150,000 top-up grant.