“The IT sector is witnessing formidable growth in Romania, and it shows,” Radu Georgescu told ZF in an interview. “Ten years ago I couldn’t find two entrepreneurs for the innovation incubator I had set up. I closed the project at some point. Now this kind of incubators is thriving, they are packed. I find it extraordinary.”
Radu Georgescu is the entrepreneur that put Romania on the global technology industry map in 2003 when he sold an antivirus technology to Microsoft. Since then, he has successfully exited a number of companies built from scratch, like payment processor GeCad ePayment, sold to Naspers group, or the electronic software distribution solution provider Avangate, acquired by US private equity firm Francisco Partners.
Asked if the global IT giants that opened various IT support, outsourcing or software development centers in Romania had a positive or negative impact on the industry, Georgescu said that he for one thought the impact was positive.
“Had it not been for those centers, we would have had fewer chances to develop. Those companies came to Romania with knowledge about processes, about the management and created a generation of people who had a place to learn how to develop. It’s a very good thing for Romania.”
One of the biggest IT sector employers in Romania, Oracle, opened an office in Bucharest in 1995 and in 2004 started developing a services center for international customers in 27 languages. The number of employees reached 600 in 2006 and by 2009, the team in Bucharest doubled, with the headcount currently close to 3,000. Fellow US company HP, too, has more than 3,000 employees in Romania, while IBM about 1,500.
Many other multinationals opened centers in Romania, such as Microsoft, Atos, Alcatel Lucent, Dell, Electronic Arts, Endava, Ericsson, Gameloft, Huawei, Ixia, Luxoft Metro, SAP, Stefanini and Ubisoft.
After having worked for such multinationals, Romanians ‘absorbed’ knowledge and realized they could establish their own business, Radu Georgescu says.
“People realized they have the chance to do more as entrepreneurs.”
As for the problem IT companies have with finding suitable people, the founder of the Gecad group says the situation will be resolved as prices increase.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)