site.btaInnovation and Growth Minister: Innovation and High-Tech Companies Are Encouraged in Bulgaria

Innovation and high-tech companies are not only the fastest growing but also the most resilient in the difficult economic situation in Europe and worldwide. These companies are the basis of Bulgaria’s sustainable economic development, Innovation and Growth Minister Daniel Lorer said during the opening of a regional forum “Investments and Innovation in Blagoevgrad”, organized by the Blagoevgrad Municipality and the American University in Bulgaria.

“We will continue supporting the Bulgarian business. An energy efficiency support programme for Bulgarian small and medium-sized enterprises worth nearly 140 million leva will be launched within a week”, Lorer added.

According to him the Innovation and Growth Ministry will invest more in start-ups and growing companies, as well as in industrial zones in order to attract more investments. 

Lorer stressed that a priority in the work of the Ministry is to strengthen the connection between education and business in Bulgaria. He pointed out that funds in the next operational programme period will be allocated to stimulate the exchange between science and business.

Alumni of the two universities in Blagoevgrad, carrying great academic traditions, are leaders in the innovation industry in Bulgaria, Lorer said. 

He announced that an Artificial Intelligence Institute will be opened in Sofia in April, which will attract companies from the high-tech sector. 

According to him, the green transition and digitalization are the main fields where funds will be invested under the upcoming operational programmes. 

Lorer stressed the importance of promoting digitalization among Bulgarian companies and added that anybody who follows the news from Ukraine, understands why the green transition is necessary. “Not only from an ecological point of view, but also considering the sovereign independence of each country”, he explained. 

The forum was attended by more than 20 international companies, AUBG alumni and representatives of successful companies in their fields, among which the first billion-dollar company in Bulgaria. There were also representatives of the academia, the regional authorities, and the diplomatic corps. Оpportunities for investments and development of innovations in the region of Blagoevgrad were also discussed at the forum with the Mayor of Blagoevgrad Ilko Stoyanov.