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Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
News article23 January 2023Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

Discovering the Youth Essay Competition 2022 Finalist Cosmin-Alin Botoroga

Youth Essay Competition 2022 Finalist Cosmin-Alin Botoroga

“Our European economies are highly dependent on fossil fuel energies. How can future young entrepreneurs contribute to a more sustainable economy? Green startups and the era of sustainability”. A good start for Cosmin-Alin Boțoroga in the essay that made him one of the finalists in the SME Youth Essay Competition 2022.

Today we are finding out more about what motivated Cosmin-Alin Boțoroga to enter the European SME Week: Youth Essay Competition 2022, but also what are his plans for this year. You can read Cosmin’s essay here.

What made you enter the Youth Essay Competition?

The topic is very interesting for me, because I attended related events, and learned about “ESG” (environmental, social, and governance) and “CSR” (Corporate social responsibility); and due to the fact the current topic is about the environments and how can we use alternative energies to be more sustainable and take care of the environment. So, when I noticed the subject of this year’s competition I said to myself “I need to write an essay about it”. Funny thing, I wrote it one day before the deadline.

My essay is focused on sustainability and environment. However, in the center of my essay is government intervention, because the government should take care of Startups and offer specific loans, tax reduction and incentives to becoming green startups. Because for these small startups, at the beginning, you have problems, employees to pay, etc. and without any help from the government or the European Union, it is very difficult to thrive.

Besides that, from my essay, I would like to emphasise another good idea: Education, if we’re educating young founders from the beginning and you receive the education on sustainability or how to protect the environment, then your start-up might be in 10-15 years one of the leading companies. With that in mind, you will aim to protect the environment as it is part of the commitment and it is what we will leave to the future generations.

What was it like to be announced as a finalist of the 2022 competition?

To be honest, I did not expect it. Whenever I write essays, they are very complex. I was not sure my writing would be better than others would be, because I have received many critics from my teachers, so it was a good surprise. I think now I did a good job.

What did you think about the SME Assembly 2022?

Meetings like this should happen regularly in the EU, not just one a year. Because with the help of SMEs around the European Union we can cooperate with each other, learn from each other, we can exchange the “how to” and we can even work together to create new businesses.

What was your main takeaway from the SME Assembly 2022?

The connectivity between the SMEs in Europe. Also, the idea we need to take care of the startups in Europe and all their needs, so they don’t go to the USA. In Europe, we would have a big loss when they leave the European market, as they move all the activity to the US in order to grow.

What is next for you? Any exciting plans to share?

Here I have met great colleagues and I would like to collaborate with them in special projects. I have my business for virtual tours in Romania and visual staging. The idea behind it is to decorate or redecorate spaces or apartments, and make it 100% real with furniture from Romania. With these tours, you will be able to see all the details with a 360º video and move through the space. In addition, customize the space and make everything interactive. I hope we can create partnerships with Real States companies.

See who were the other two finalists of this year’s EU SME Week Youth Essay competition.

Check out the latest news on the SME Assembly and the Youth Essay Competition by regularly visiting the Promoting Enterprise blog. Subscribe to the SME Week Newsletter to stay up to date!

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