Ten women entrepreneurs selected to join She’s Next program in Romania

Ten women entrepreneurs have been selected within the She’s Next program, launched by ING Bank Romania and Visa, in partnership with Impact Hub Bucharest. The finalists will benefit from personalized mentoring sessions, focused on the development needs of their businesses, as well as group coaching sessions, with the aim of interacting with the entire community of entrepreneurs in the program.

Cristina Bâtlan (founder of Musette), Ioana Hasan (cofounder of SmartBill), Alina Donici (cofounder of Artesana), Oana Craioveanu (cofounder of Impact Hub Bucharest) and Ana Diceanu (founder of Brain4Strategy) are among the mentors who will guide the participants in this professional development journey, along with financial experts from ING.

“Over 1000 women entrepreneurs have signed up for our first edition Visa She’s Next program. These results make us very happy and demonstrate the interest of entrepreneurs in this kind of programs that offer a valuable mix of resources, financing, but also networking,” said Luana Sorescu, Head of Clients, Business Banking division, in ING Bank Romania.

Percentage-wise, when it comes to enrolments in the program, 2-5-year-old businesses ranked first (35%) and were followed by those with 6-10 years of market activity (23%). Start-ups accounted for 18% of enrolments, while businesses with over 10 years of service accounted for 13%.

The mentoring and coaching sessions are held over a period of 5 months (June-November) and will prepare the entrepreneurs for the pitch at the end of the program. The finalists will present the project they want to develop in their business in front of the jury. Three of them will win grants worth EUR 10,000 to carry out their plans and take their businesses to the next level.

The 10 finalists are:

• Amaya Bags, Oradea - the business supports the tourist attractions, offering personalized souvenirs for each tourist attraction in Romania, with drawings made by a local artist.
• OilRight, Timisoara - provides collection services for used food oil and produces scented candles and DIY kits from reused food oil.
• Woolina Clothes, Bucharest - makes clothes from natural materials and provides workmanship and transformation services for recycled clothes.
• Data Detectives Technologies, Alba Iulia - develops software and medtech for children diagnosed with autism.
• Next Interior, Bucharest - offers complete interior design services for the residential segment, covering all stages of a design project.
• Moogu Design, Bucharest - engaged in the production of contemporary jewelry, with a presence already in several countries: Japan, China, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates.