Innovation and Growth Minister Alexander Poulev said that funding for innovation is available. He opened the September 19-20 Robotics Strategy Forum 2022 at Sofia Tech Park .
The Innovation Minister assured the participants that although currently Bulgaria has a caretaker government, the State is working and is supporting small and medium-sized businesses, which are the backbone of the economy.
Poulev said BGN 280 million has been set aside in the Fund of Funds. The Bulgarian Development Bank has made available BGN 64 million from the Venture Capital Fund.
The Recovery and Resilience Fund is working, said Poulev. It is expected to channel total resources of BGN 600 million through four procedures by the year’s end. Three of them are relevant to SMEs engaged in research. BGN 400 million of those funds are oriented to such companies.
“We are working full steam to channel serious resources from the EU structural funds,” Pulev also said. As of January 2023, BGN 2 billion will become available under Operational Programme Research, Innovation and Digital Transformation. It will be submitted for approval to the European Commission on September 23.
