Romania Approves November 19 as Women's Entrepreneurship Day

The Chamber of Deputies has approved a bill to designate November 19 as National Women’s Entrepreneurship Day. The initiative was proposed by the National Confederation for Women’s Entrepreneurship (CONAF) and introduced in Parliament by Geanina Pistru-Popa, a member of the National Liberal Party (PNL), Vice-Chair of the Committee on Public Administration and Spatial Planning, and member of the Committee on Health and Family.

The initiative was first announced in March during the Women in Economy Gala by Dr. Cristina Chiriac, founding president of CONAF, and Geanina Pistru-Popa. It subsequently underwent several months of consultations, approvals, and parliamentary procedures before receiving final approval from the Chamber of Deputies.

The new observance aims to recognize the role of women entrepreneurs in economic development and create an annual platform to address key challenges facing women-led businesses. These discussions will focus on access to finance, business opportunities, entrepreneurial education, and barriers to establishing and expanding enterprises led by women.

Key Highlights

• Romania approves November 19 as National Women’s Entrepreneurship Day
• CONAF and Geanina Pistru-Popa lead the initiative
• The observance promotes finance, education, and growth opportunities for women entrepreneurs

“I brought this initiative to Parliament out of a personal conviction: women who build, invest, create jobs, and contribute to Romania’s economy deserve recognition, visibility, and respect. From small family businesses to companies connected to international markets, behind them stand women who put hard work, courage, competence, and heart into what they build. We are not talking about privileges; we are talking about merit and the recognition of a genuine contribution to Romania’s economy.”

“This law is also the result of a community built around female entrepreneurship. I thank Cristina Chiriac and CONAF, the National Confederation for Women’s Entrepreneurship, for the vision and perseverance with which they championed this cause. Today, I rejoice as a Member of Parliament, but above all as a woman. The female entrepreneur builds, creates, and inspires courage in others, and today the Romanian Parliament recognizes her contribution,” said Geanina Pistru-Popa.

For CONAF, Parliament’s vote marks the beginning of a new phase. Each year on November 19, the organization aims to place progress, persistent challenges, and potential solutions at the centre of dialogue between public authorities, the business community, and the financial and education sectors.

“I wanted November 19 to become National Women’s Entrepreneurship Day because, sometimes, to change things, you first have to make them impossible to ignore. Over the years, I have met thousands of women who have built businesses, hired people, invested, faced setbacks, started over, and kept going. And I realized that simply talking about them is not enough. We need to start measuring their contribution to Romania’s economy, assessing how much of their potential we are using and how much we lose when access to finance, education, markets, or opportunities remains difficult.  That is why, for me, today’s vote does not mark the end of an endeavor; it is merely the beginning.

I would like to thank Geanina Pistru-Popa. CONAF put forward this proposal, and Geanina believed in it, turned it into a legislative initiative, and steered it through Parliament with perseverance at every stage. Months of hard work lie behind today’s vote, and I believe it is important to acknowledge that.

I thank my colleagues on the CONAF Board of Directors, our nationwide community, and the CONAF team for supporting this idea and lending weight to an initiative that is ultimately about thousands of women entrepreneurs. I also thank all the members of the Romanian Parliament who supported and voted for this initiative, choosing to recognize an economic reality that is vital for Romania.

On November 19, I do not want us to simply count congratulatory messages. I want us to take stock of what has changed from one year to the next: companies that have grown, women who had the courage to start out, better access to financing, and barriers we managed to break down.

Otherwise, it remains just a nice day on the calendar. Yet we launched this initiative precisely because we want more than that,” said Dr. Cristina Chiriac, Founding President of CONAF.

The recognition of November 19 comes after several years of growth in women entrepreneurship that has moved from individual efforts to becoming part of Romania's economic landscape. CONAF says this is recognition of an existing economic contribution and should be complemented with increased opportunities, education, mentorship and tools to support business growth.

After the law comes into force, Romania will be following more than 140 countries that have designated the 19th of November as a day dedicated to women entrepreneurship. National education programs, conferences, mentorship initiatives, and public-private partnerships to promote women’s participation in the economy and address business environment obstacles will also be given a legal footing under the law.