The Ministry of Innovation and Growth has supported 81 companies with over BGN 19 million in the region under both European programs and the National Resilience Plan
Over the years, investor certificates have been issued to 32 companies with Turkish capital with a total investment of 1.2 billion BGN and with jobs created and those that are about to be created – a total of over 4,300. In Shumen district alone, 19 investment projects have been certified with a total value of 1.3 billion BGN, with the creation of 1,500 jobs. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Innovation and Growth Krasimir Yakimov during a Bulgarian-Turkish business forum in Shumen.
He said that currently the Ministry of Innovation and Growth has concluded contracts with 81 companies in Shumen and the region for a total of BGN 19.3 million under the two European programs – “Competitiveness” and “Research and Innovation”, as well as under the Recovery and Sustainability Plan. According to him, most of these funds have already been paid out and have actually entered the region’s economy.
“Trade between Bulgaria and Turkey in 2024 marks a new record value of 7.7 billion euros. Turkey is traditionally one of the leading foreign economic partners of our country,” Yakimov also said.
He called on businesses to apply actively and take advantage of the support tools of the Ministry of Innovation and Growth. Two completely new procedures for over 200 million leva will be launched very soon – for digitalization and energy efficiency of companies. A resource worth 900 million leva will be unlocked within 2025.
In conclusion, Yakimov emphasized that creating new partnerships and developing existing ones is the most direct path to increasing competitiveness.
The event is organized with the support of the two agencies under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency and the Bulgarian Investment Agency, the Trade Section of the Embassy of Turkey in Bulgaria and the Turkish-Bulgarian Business Council under the Council for Foreign Economic Relations of Turkey. Also participating were Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry Nikolay Pavlov, Mayor of Shumen Prof. Hristo Hristov, Consul General of Bulgaria in Edirne Radostina Kafedjiyska, and a number of companies from different sectors from both countries.
