Speaker
Description
The paper aims to assess and point out the potential that rural entrepreneurship holds in Romania and its positive impact upon the development of the local communities -economic value added and improving the standards of living, education, preserving natural patrimony and promoting local cultural and culinary heritage.
Nevertheless, the purpose of our study is not only to point out the benefits of such an endeavor, but also the many challenges one has to face in order to build a sustainable local business from the economic point of view.
During the last years there have been observed an increasing number of initiatives in the Romanian rural area, especial in regions like Transylvania. During Covid and the period after, many urban residents (usually enjoying above average education and income levels) have decided to switch to rural where they acquired properties and started up small businesses, usually in slow tourism and gastronomy.
Given its natural beauty and wilderness, as well as the rich cultural patrimony and multi-ethic character, Transylvanian Highlands attracted a large number of Romanians and foreigners in search of the " lost paradise" that decided to make there their second home and even start up new businesses to make a living.
How have these small entrepreneurial projects developed in time? Have they managed to survive in an economic environment more and more characterized by unpredictability, lack of support from the local authorities and labour force issues? Have their owners found the "lost paradise" or on the contrary?
The research shall be based on analyzing 15 local businesses that were set up in the period 2020 - 2023 in the Transylvanian Highlands, by either Romanian or foreign citizens that relocated in this period of time to Transylvanian Highlands. Apart from the financial and business assessments, interviews shall be conducted in order to assess all the soft facts that made the difference between success and failure. Moreover the economic impact on the local community welfare shall also be analyzed by interviewing local community representatives.
