Businesses Must Learn to Take More Risks, Trust Bulgarian Scientists, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Chair Says

Kristina Ivanova, Lilia Yordanova

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Chair Evelina Slavcheva speaking during the Science for Business forum, Sofia, June 16, 2026 (BTA Photo/Nikola Uzunov)

Sofia,

16.06.2026 13:28

(BTA)

If scientific discoveries are to become innovations, businesses need to take greater risks and place more trust in Bulgarian scientists, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) Chair Evelina Slavcheva said at the opening of the 6th Science for Business forum in Sofia on Tuesday.

The event, organized by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency (BSMEPA), focuses on bringing research results closer to the market and industry.

Slavcheva noted that the forum is one of the most important events in the BAS calendar, as it has become not only a tradition, but also a focus of the efforts of the Academy's scientists working in applied research to present their own products.

"The most difficult path that must be taken for a scientific discovery to become reality is the path from the laboratory to the market. This is an area that, unfortunately, is still difficult to overcome because it requires investment and because the State does not support this stage sufficiently," she said.

The BAS Chair added that only when business can touch, see, and become convinced of a product's qualities, does it become interested or willing to invest in its further development.

The forum was opened by President Iliana Iotova, who said that Bulgaria should not merely be a market for foreign technologies, but develop its own. The event was also attended by BSMEPA Executive Director Boyko Takov, Deputy Innovation Minister Atanas Maznev, and Deputy Education Minister Nikolay Vitanov.

/RY/