The European Business Women’s Employers’ Association PEFA kicked off the national Business Outlook 2026 project through a large-scale event held in Sibiu, which brought over 120 participants to the same table: representatives of the private business environment, officials from the Ministry of Economy, Digitalization, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, the Ministry of National Defense MApN, the Prefect’s Institution, ITM, Sibiu City Hall, private companies, entrepreneurs and financial-banking institutions. The participants openly approached the current economic challenges, the geopolitical and military context, national security as a catalyst for economic development, shared perspectives and identified concrete solutions for the community and regional development.

During the same event, PEFA announced the establishment of the PEFA Sibiu branch, a strategic step in the process of consolidating and expanding the employers’ network at regional and national level, with the aim of supporting and representing the business environment in Transylvania, building solid partnerships and developing female entrepreneurship in the area.

Andreea Negru, President of PEFA, said: “Business Outlook 2026 represents a true platform for authentic dialogue, where the perspective of the business environment intersects with the responsibility of the authorities and the strategic direction of financial institutions. What we managed to build in Sibiu responds to a real need: a framework based on trust, which allows open discussions about the future and facilitates joint actions. The launch of the PEFA Sibiu subsidiary reflects a sustainable commitment to the development of the business community in the region. “

Lorena Stoian, First Vice-President of PEFA, said: “When the right people meet in the same room — entrepreneurs, decision-makers, military representatives, bankers, academics — the conversation becomes concrete and solutions emerge. This is the model we believe in at PEFA: authentic collaboration, not protocols. Business Outlook 2026 has all the premises to become the most important project for consultation and cohesion of the business environment in Romania this year.”

The event marked a landmark moment in the dialogue between the private and public sectors, bringing together for the first time, in a common framework of debate, the business environment, central and local authorities, the military, the banking system and academia