Romania has over 2,300 startups worth an estimated EUR 19 billion, ranking 5th in Central and Eastern Europe, yet only a fraction are “green” businesses. The Romanian Green Startups Overview Report 2024, launched by Impact Hub Bucharest and Startarium with Rompetrol as main partner and support from Climate-KIC, identifies 122 active green startups in the country.
The report analyses financial data, CAEN codes, geographical distribution and business specifics for 104 of them, alongside survey responses from 16 entrepreneurs and in-depth interviews.
Key findings:
Bucharest hosts the largest concentration (39 startups), followed by Cluj, Timiș, Ilfov, Brașov, Sibiu and Iași.
90 out of 104 are microenterprises with under 2 million RON in annual turnover; over half have profit margins under 10%.
Top sector growth: custom software development (+1,058% over three years), often tied to energy efficiency and resource-use monitoring.
Main sectors: AgriFood tech (34%), circular economy and waste management (17%), clean energy (12%), sustainable mobility (10%), green construction and smart cities (9%), water and biodiversity (6%).
The report also situates Romania in a broader climate and policy context. In 2024, global temperatures rose 1.6°C above pre-industrial levels, with Europe warming by 2.3°C, the fastest rate of any continent. Romania’s average annual temperature reached 11.6°C in 2023, continuing an upward trend since 1940. The year also saw 152 unprecedented extreme weather events reported by the World Meteorological Organization.
Circular economy strategies in cement, aluminium, steel, plastics and food could cut 9.3 billion tonnes of CO₂ by 2050 – roughly half of current industrial emissions and comparable to eliminating all global transport emissions without touching the vehicles themselves.
The European Union is pushing for innovation in sustainability, with 21% of all tech investment in Europe in 2024 going to companies focused on sustainability – almost double the US share. Most of this (95%) targeted climate change mitigation rather than adaptation. However, Europe still struggles to scale green startups beyond early stages.
Oana Craioveanu, CEO & co-founder of Impact Hub Bucharest & Startarium, notes that while Romania has a growing green startup scene, it still lags behind countries like Poland and Hungary in renewable energy and CleanTech investments. She adds that systemic support, more capital and greater confidence in Romanian innovation are needed for global competitiveness.
To accelerate the sector, Impact Hub and Rompetrol have opened applications for the Romania ClimAccelerator, running until 18 August. The programme, supported by Climate-KIC, will select 25 startups in two categories: Pre-Seed Stage (early-stage teams developing a testable idea) and Seed Stage (startups with validated prototypes). The intensive online programme runs September–November 2025, concluding with a Demo Day in Bucharest on 20 November.