At a Glance

Location: Romania

Impact Areas: Sustainable Agriculture

People Supported:
Small Producers

Joined NESsT Portfolio:
2021

ROMO

Overview

In Romania, small subsistence farmers manage more than 30% of the country’s agricultural lands. However, due to labor shortages and limited access to financial support and technology, most rural farmers are bound to low levels of production and struggle with entering markets. 

Founded by two small business owners, ROMO connects consumers seeking healthy and fresh products to rural small producers through digital channels, supporting smallholder farmers and artisans to establish stable sales channels while promoting sustainable practices.

ROMO leverages social media platforms to cultivate online communities that consist of health- and environmentally-conscious consumers interested in buying local. Products that small producers offer include organic fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, preserved foods, and artwork. Each week, producers post their goods to ROMO’s channels, allowing shoppers to browse and place orders in advance.  With prior information about consumer demand, ROMO producers can plan production, save costs and reduce food waste. 

ROMO also keeps its carbon footprint small. Once a week, its producers deliver products to the closest ROMO meetup location where they are able to communicate with and source feedback from clients who come to pick up their purchases. The online and in-person interactions give clients visibility into how their food is sourced and grown. By ensuring open communication between consumers and producers, ROMO fosters a loyal customer base for its marginalized producers. 

Through ROMO, small farmers and producers are encouraged to build partnerships and exchange information with one another, sharing ideas, experiences, expertise, contacts, and lessons learned. ROMO also offers consulting services to help producers to advance their branding and marketing strategies.

NESsT Investment

To sustain ROMO’s growing client base and continue its expansion efforts, NESsT and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship’s investment will support the social enterprise to develop an e-commerce website and enhance its technology infrastructure. ROMO aims to achieve national coverage in the next few years, developing new services and opening up more ROMO delivery centers to reach small producers living in remote areas. NESsT and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship will assist the social enterprise to build its national brand by offering technical expertise on marketing and communication, human resources development, and business growth strategies. 

In parallel with its expansion efforts, ROMO also wants to transition more of its farmers to sustainable agriculture practices and help them to attain organic certifications. NESsT will support the social enterprise to develop impact measurement methodologies and collect baseline data that can inform its impact strategies.