Challenges and Barriers for Female Entrepreneurship: Insights from the Women in Green Tech Event in Bucharest

There is a need to close the gender gap in entrepreneurship. That is why we need to come up with policies, discuss initiatives that empower women, overcome cultural barriers and effectively support female entrepreneurship.

This is the idea of the event “Women in Green Tech – Boosting Female Entrepreneurship”. Bringing together entrepreneurs, investors and stakeholders toan event discussing how to lift women in the field of green tech and entrepreneurship.

Innovation Norway Bucharest Office organized this event through the EEA and Norway Grants.The message was a call for action and ambition on female entrepreneurship in Europe.

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The 19th of November brought together over 100 people from 8 different countries at a splendid location in the city center of Bucharest. Many were from Romania and the countries in the region including Bulgaria, Greece and Croatia. Others represented partner countries in the EEA and Norway Grants, including Portugal and Poland. More than 40 participants travelled from Iceland and Norway. The Villa, a venue dating back in the 1800s, hosted the crowd from morning until evening for a day of exciting presentations, panels and conversation on the status of women in green tech.

We connected with female entrepreneurs, investors, and stakeholders representing companies, public entities, investors, the academia and funds to speak on the topic of women in green tech. Engagement levels were high, both during presentations and at the networking.

See the full agenda here.

The State of Play

The event opened with welcoming words from the Norwegian Embassy and Ministry of Energy in Romania,before we moved to look at the State of Play in Europe, Romania and Norway, presented by Theresa Neuhauser, Hildegard Brandl, and Thomas Egger Sørensen. The joint message was a call to action and ambition!

Women Tech EU is an initiative from the European Commission to boost female entrepreneurship in deep tech. A total of 2% of financing for deep tech innovation within the EU goes towards women-led companies. Besides highlighting the clear need for initiatives towards women at European level, Ms. Neuhauser presented the open call with financing and a capacity-building programme that aims to adjust this imbalance, and the opportunity created a good buzz among the potential applicants in the room.

The message from Norway was loud and clear. Despite ranking amongst the top on several gender equality rankings, this is not translated into the field of female entrepreneurship. Thomas Egger Sørensen, reporting on the State of Play in Norway, came with a stark reminder that there is still work to do: Only 16% of growth-oriented start-ups and 17.5% of leaders in the top 200 companies in Norway are women. He emphasized the need for cooperation and competition to foster innovation and growth, urging more women to enter the green tech sectornow that Europe needs to benefit from our entire talent pool in the green transition.

The numbers are better in Romania than in Norway. Hildegard Brandl, who is Vice President of CONAF in Romania among many other roles in business, presented statistics on female entrepreneurship in Romania. She noted that women represent 39% of entrepreneurs, predominantly in services, retail, and creative industries. However, women-led businesses receive 23% less funding than their male counterparts. They alsoface persistent cultural stereotypes and limited access to business networks and mentorship opportunities. Ms. Brandl also highlighted the importance of government grants, training programmes, and support from organizations like Wingate.

A range of initiatives with the same aim

The day saw various presentations and panels on diverse topics within women in green tech. One panel highlighted success stories from female-led startups that have been financed by Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein through the business innovation programmes in Romania and in Bulgaria, both operated by Innovation Norway.

Another panel showcased the best initiatives on gender equality and female entrepreneurship financed through the EEA and Norway Grants in Europe. with the initiatives underlined that the Grants could support many different forms of initiatives. The speakers came from our partner countries Greece, Poland, Iceland and Portugal to present the successes of the Women on Top cooperation, the Call for Female Entrepreneurs, andthe Women in Energy cooperation between Iceland and Romania. Portugal presented the impressive Promova Project that has resulted in 60% of participants being promoted to leadership positions within their companies. All of this has been supported by Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein through the EEA and Norway Grants across Europe.

Harpa Pétursdóttir spoke on Women in Energy, an Icelandic initiative to bring together women involved in the energy field in Iceland. Her message was clear: “As the founder of Women in Energy Iceland, I’ve seen firsthand how crucial it is to empower women in the green tech sector. The energy transition is one of the most important tasks facing Europe today, and yet, the role of women remains undervalued. I believe this is not just a gender equality issue, but an issue ensuring we maximize the talent, creativity, and leadership potential that will drive us toward a more sustainable and resilient future. A win-win for society as a whole!”

Angela Holter, Angel Investor and founder of Women Investors’ Network Norway, echoed the sentiment: “Women have a historical disadvantage for networks, and it's time to lift each other up. The same way men pass on opportunities to one another on the golf course or at a dinner party, we need strong networks and substantial conversations that position us in front of opportunities.”

The EEA and Norway Grants have also funded start-ups, and five women-led start-ups from Romania and Bulgaria came to speak about their experience and business. The topics ranged from innovative, plastic-free packaging presented by Lam’On, to AI-powered solutions for cancer detection by Synaptiq.

The concluding panel of the day was a discussion on the Final Reflections and the Way Forward led by Rannveig Solumsmoen Gimse. It saw the gathering of Georgana Pogonaru, Honorary Counsel of Iceland and entrepreneurial leader, Oana Ozmen, member of the Chamber of Deputees and Secretary of the Industry Comittee, Angela Holter, Angel Investor and founder of Women Inverstors’ Norway, as well as Theresa Neuhauser, Communications Manager at WomenTechEU.

The day was full of inspiring presentations, panels and most of all – women. The topic of female entrepreneurship and women in green tech has never been more pressing, and it was especially inspiring to see all the women who are already moving to be the change. Speaking on their experience and presenting funding opportunities for women, we cannot wait to see what is in store in the future. We look forward to following up on connections made and are excited for the future of women in green tech and their impact on Europe.

Rannveig Solumsmoen Gimse, Progamme Director for Romania and Bulgaria for the EEA and Norway Grants, adds about the event that “The event was not just a great experience, it was also important for Innovation Norway. The event was a success with a high level of interest, engagement and contacts made for future cooperation on super interesting initiatives. We wanted to signal that we hope to contribute more to boost female entrereneurship in Europe through the EEA and Norway Grants to innovation. The event strengthened our belief that this focus will have a valuable impact!”

The connections made and planned for future cooperation left attendees excited about what lies ahead. Follow-up grants were made available for the participants to travel on business purposes and strengthen cooperation.

A special thanks also to the amazing speakers and all the active participants who travelled from 8 different countries to meet, discuss and make plans for cooperation in the future.

Written by:

Ana-Maria Axenia,

Adviser, Innovation Norway Bucuresti Office

Mia Kristine Martinussen,

Trainee, Innovation Norway Bucuresti Office