site.btaUPDATED Sofia Hosts 2nd National SME Conference Smart Growth: Transformation 4.0

The capital hosted Wednesday the second national conference dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) Smart Growth: Transformation 4.0. The event, organized by BGLOBAL magazine in cooperation with BTA and the Ministry of Innovation and Growth, was attended by business representatives, members of the executive branch, and financial institutions, the organizers said.

A measure in Bulgaria’s Recovery and Resilience Plan that provides for BGN 260 million to be allocated for the technological modernization of business enterprises had aspects of it outlined for the first time at the conference. Other topics on the agenda included: how can SMEs continue to enjoy sustainable growth despite the consistently high energy prices and the prognoses for economic stagnation; what the winning transformation models in business are and how national and EU funds can be used to fund this transformation.

One of the two discussion panels at the forum focused on technological modernization. Members of the panel included the head of the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency, Boyko Takov, Fund of Funds CEO Martin Gikov, and United Bulgarian Bank board of directors member Desislava Simeonova.

The second panel was dedicated to energy efficiency in regard to business processes and the price optimization of energy sources. Specific policies of the Government and the ruling majority directed at SMEs were presented by Deputy Energy Minister Iva Petrova and by Vladislav Panev MP, member of the parliamentary Committee on Energy.

The dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Atanas Georgiev talked about the effective models of transition to renewable energy sources.

Following is what some of the participants said.

Kalin Marinov, deputy head of unit in charge of EU funding for competitiveness at the Innovation and Growth Ministry: The Recovery Plan has BGN 1.3 billion for economic transformation. The first procedure (for technological modernization of companies) is due to be put up for public consultation next week and be open for application early in July; it will have a total of BGN 260 million available. Half of the funding will be in the form of grants and the cap for one project is EUR 200,000, which may be spent for acquisition of machines and equipment, and specialized software. Funding for digitization will also available under the Operational Programme Competitiveness and Innovations, which is expected to be approved by the European Commission in the coming months.  

Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency head Boyko Takov: The process of digitization has two sides: one is the government and the other are SMEs. The government's task is to ensure instruments and back financially measures, and the businesses' task is to implement these measures. In digitization in Bulgaria, things remain to be done but the country is doing quite well. I am optimistic that more and more companies will take up this path.

Fund of Funds Executive Director Martin Gikov urged businesses to be pro-active in seeking funding.

Nikolai Nalbantov, head of Energy Strategies Department of the Energy Ministry: The Recovery Plan has funding earmarked for pilot projects for production of green hydrogen and biogas, as well as for construction of facilities for storage of energy as part of RES installations. The national target is for the share of energy from RES sources in gross end-consumption to reach 27.09% by 2030. In 2020, the share was 23.03% despite lower forecasts.

United Bulgarian Bank board of directors member Desislava Simeonova: The pandemic showed us how quickly people's attitudes can change and how much behind we were from their expectations with regard to digitization. Among the hurdles in the early stage of the process were some technical ones caused by insufficient investment, as well as regulatory regarding personal data protection and data exchange.