Caretaker PM Gurov: Bulgaria Turns Innovation Into Opportunity

Kaloyan Kirilov

Caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov, at Hilton Hotel, Sofia, April 14, 2026 (BTA Photo/Nikola Uzunov)

Sofia,

14.04.2026 10:04

(BTA)

The opening of the JEREMIE Bulgaria: New Opportunities forum in Sofia will showcase the fund’s new investment strategy in Bulgaria, caretaker PM Andrey Gurov said on Tuesday.

Organized by the European Investment Fund (EIF), part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, in partnership with the Ministry of Innovation and Growth, the event is being held at the Hilton hotel in the capital, bringing together caretaker Innovation and Growth Minister Irena Mladenova, EIB Vice-President Marek Mora, EIF Chief Executive Marjut Falkstedt, deputy ministers, and representatives of the business and investment ecosystem.

Bulgaria’s top priority is to build a country where value is created, developed and harnessed to retain talent, and where innovation is translated into real opportunities, Gurov said at the forum’s opening.

Gurov said the new investment strategy reflects a decision to invest in ideas, innovation and the people shaping the future.

He said Bulgaria would back entrepreneurship and the high value-added economy over the next decade. Targeted financing for companies helps build an ecosystem and industries that matter not only to Bulgaria, but to Europe as well, Gurov added.

He said JEREMIE showed how public funds can be deployed effectively.

Gurov thanked the EIB and the EIF for their trust, partnership and shared vision. He also thanked the Ministry of Innovation and Growth for showing that the State can move at business speed.

The JEREMIE initiative is a European Commission programme developed jointly with the EIF. It enables member states to use structural funds to finance small businesses through loans, guarantees and equity investments. It operates through a revolving holding fund, with repaid funds reinvested in new financial instruments.

At the end of 2025, the government and EIF agreed to extend the JEREMIE initiative until 2035. Under the deal, EUR 160 million will be reinvested and channelled into the Bulgarian economy from this year to support deep-tech projects, technology transfer and artificial intelligence. In mid-February, Parliament passed in a single sitting, at first and second reading, the bill ratifying the agreements amending and supplementing the Framework Agreement and the Financial Agreement between the Bulgarian government and the European Investment Fund on the implementation of the initiative.

/КТ/