Addressing Monday’s forum on SMEs and the green transition in Sofia, Innovation and Growth Minister Alexander Pulev said that there is money for innovation and the green transition in small and medium-size enterprises. The resources will come from three channels.
The first channel is the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which is already open for applications. Enterprises can receive BGN 520 million for green projects, of which BGN 200 million will reach them by the year’s end. The focus is on projects for renewable energy sources of SMEs, namely photovoltaic plants with energy-storing batteries. The other BGN 320 million will be for financial guarantee instruments and circular economy projects.
The second channel is the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme with a total budget of BGN 3,000 million. That includes resources for solving challenges such as energy efficiency and the introduction of renewable energy sources and of circular economy.
The third channel is the Research, Innovation and Digitalisation for Smart Transformation Programme with a budget of BGN 2,000 million. “With it we will seek the enterprises’ cooperation with the scientific and research community,” the Minister explained.
The topic of Monday’s forum is “SMEs, Social Economy Enterprises, Crafts, Liberal Professions: Opportunities and Challenges of the Green Transition”. The high-level event is organized by the European Economic and Social Committee and the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association.
