In rural areas of Romania, the job market is connected to two major aspects: the development of non agricultural activities and entrepreneurial education/culture promoting. Rural economy is based on small entrepreneurs-many of them being women.
National Statistics Institute data show that trade and services are the fields of activity preffered by rural women entrepreneurs age up to 35 and having a secondary educational level. Women with an university educational level and a higher income use to invest in food or cosmetics industry and tourism as well.
Most rural women entrepreneurs started the business with their own capital ( up to 5000 € ). Some of them get finances from relatives or friends rather than banks. This aspect could be explained – in a way – by their low level of financial management.
Usually, the headquarters of the company is at home or in the nearby. This way, the entrepreneur is able to do her mother/wife duties as well.
After 2007( when Romania became a EU member country) training opportunities increased a lot for rural women entreprenurs. Programmes such as POSDRU, Erasmus, Europe for Citizens,allow rural women to enrich their entrep[reneurial knowledge, to start a business or to develop a former one.
