Located in the North-West of Romania, Oradea has enjoyed a very positive development in recent years, being viewed as an attractive location both by individuals and companies. Banking on massive investments in public infrastructure undertaken in recent years, the city has managed to attract both private investments and tourists.
Oradea’s continuous investment in improving the quality of life of its citizens and in public infrastructure, coupled with new programs and initiatives aimed at supporting the creation of new startups are setting the city to become one of the most attractive startup hubs in Romania. With a highly developed entrepreneurial culture due to its proximity to the border and various historic reasons, having excellent healthcare facilities and offering unique cultural experiences, Oradea’s future may reside in its rather “softer” skills, a combination of business development talent and wellbeing services, complementing the more techy nearby hubs of Cluj and Timișoara.
In recent years, Oradea has become one of the favorite destinations for Romanian and foreign tourists, with the number of tourists exceeding for the first time the number of inhabitants in 2018. The city has a unique combination of attractions, such as the Art Nouveau-style historical center, recently refurbished to bring back the splendor of the past, the Nymphaea Aquapark, one of the largest and most modern in this region of Europe and the Băile Felix resort, one of the most popular destinations for spa tourism in the country.
“The quality of life and jobs are first and foremost in our scoring. The people see Oradea as a city with a Western European touch, that has changed, modernized”, says Marcel Heroiu, urban development expert at the World Bank.
“What we have been trying to do is to attract companies that offer the jobs of the future, such as Braintronix, a company specialized in the production of AI robots. They want to do part of the R&D in Oradea and they are 100{f41bb597d5deecdc483afb3f8a2efbebc69e613d3bfe8a5c5b89e7603f3bb6a2} determined to train new specialists here.”, said Alina Silaghi, Oradea Local Development Agency.
“Oradea is very welcoming and offers a lot to startups and to large companies. I am talking to people that I know from several large companies and encourage them to come to Oradea because they can get land where they can build a headquarters, close to the city and also close to the new highway that will connect Oradea to the rest of Europe, through Budapest.”, said George Haber, investor and board member of Braintronix.
“Oradea will have an infrastructure that will be made available to those who have innovative ideas, to those who work in the creative industries.”, says Deputy Mayor Mircea Mălan.
“The challenge of Oradea Tech Hub and Make IT în Oradea: to gather and create a sustained joint effort”, says David Achim, Executive Director of the Make IT in Oradea Association.
“The purpose of the Oradea Tech Hub was exactly this: to coagulate and bring together companies, freelancers and local stakeholders to help develop the city towards higher value-added services and products than the well-known outsourcing.”, Alin Mercheș, President of Oradea Tech Hub.