| Summary: | Since 31 December 2019 and as of 01 June 2020, 6,136,085 cases of COVID-19 (in accordance
with the applied case definitions and testing strategies in the affected countries) have been reported,
including 371,857 deaths. The rapid evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered challenges for the
medical system, economic and social systems of world and EU Member States. This crisis has affected
thousands of lives and continues to put enormous pressure on economic systems. For these reasons, it is
necessary to manage economic and social problems as soon as possible and to support/ promote solutions
to sustain the sectors affected by the pandemic crisis. Small and medium size enterprises are the most
vulnerable ones because of their size, scale of operation, limited financial managerial resources. The SME
sector was one of the hardest hit sectors during the C-19 crisis, in both Romania and at global level. This
fact determined the governments of the world states, including the one of Romania to take urgent
measures for keeping the sector afloat. According to official statistics, in Romania, three out of ten
companies are in the risk zone, with expenditures higher than incomes (Financial-Banking Analysts’
Association) and with a total number of 850.000 employees (one-fifth from the total number of employees
in the private sector). This paper analyzes the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the SME sector in Romania,
attempting to contribute with solutions and proposals for post-crisis resilience and recovery.
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