site.btaInvestment Promotion Act Revisions Allow Faster Implementation of Business Initiatives, Says Deputy Innovation Minister

Bulgaria’s Deputy Minister of Innovation and Growth Krasimir Yakimov told the Fourth Balkan Business Forum in Bansko on Saturday that amendments to the Investment Promotion Act have considerably relaxed investment application and certification procedures in this country, with application timeframes reduced by half. “In this way, investment projects can be implemented in a timely manner and investors’ initiatives can start and unfold far more rapidly,” Yakimov said.

“The Ministry of Innovation and Growth is your natural partner,” he said, addressing businesspeople from seven Balkan countries at the opening of the forum. He noted that the ministry uses a wide range of incentives and considerable financial resources, structured as grants and financial instruments, in support of businesses and investors. The ministry manages EU resources under two EU programmes: Competitiveness and Innovation, and Research and Innovation. This year alone, about BGN 1 billion in funding will be unlocked from these sources in the form of grant procedures and financial instruments.

Yakimov said that the Sofia Tech Park is home to the first supercomputer in Southeastern Europe, which was upgraded recently. The Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology (INSAIT), in collaboration with the Sofia Tech Park, has won funding to build one of six EU artificial intelligence factories. “All these computing capacities, all this infrastructure is at the disposal of the business community,” he emphasized.

The Fourth Balkan Business Forum is held under the slogan “The Balkans: An economic bridge between East and West”. Representatives from Bulgaria, Turkiye, Romania, Greece, Albania, the Republic of North Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia are taking part in it. The Forum is organized in partnership with the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey – DEIK / Turkey-Bulgaria Business Council, Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency, InvestBulgaria Agency, Commercial Section of the Turkish Embassy in Sofia, Bulgarian-Romanian Chamber of Commerce, Bulgarian-Albanian Chamber of Commerce, Bulgarian-Macedonian Chamber of Commerce.