“Innovative Week of Entrepreneurship – Financial Instruments to Promote Research and Innovation” was held on June 14 in Sofia Tech Park. The event presented the new 7-year European Commission Innovation Plan which was 100 billion euros. Bulgaria hosted a high level conference to raise awareness of financial instruments among EU Member States and European citizens.
“Innovative Week of Entrepreneurship – Financial Instruments to Promote Research and Innovation” was held on June 14 in Sofia Tech Park. The event presented the new 7-year European Commission Innovation Plan which was worth 100 billion euros. Bulgaria hosted a high level conference to raise awareness of financial instruments among EU Member States and European citizens.
The official guests of the event were Jean-Eric Pache, Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate for Research and Innovation; Roger Haviven, Deputy Executive Director of the European Investment Fund; Jean-David Malo, Director of Open Innovation and Open Science of the European Commission; Hermann Hauser, Chairman of the Independent European Innovation Council.
The Forum is part of the program of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and is organized by the Ministry of Education and Science with the assistance of the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund. The initiative is part of the Horizon 2020 Work Program for the period 2018-2020.
The € 100 billion financing plan is the most ambitious ever proposed by the Commission and represents a 50% increase over the previous period. The plan foresees EUR 97.6 billion for Horizon Europe – a follow-up to the Horizon 2020 multiannual cost initiative and EUR 2.4 billion for the Euratom nuclear research program.
The conference also discussed ways to improve the synergies between the financial instruments – Innovfin, the COSME Financial Instruments, ESIF, EFSI, the European Investment Council, as well as instruments at regional, national, and local level to help European innovative companies get easier financing.
“Horizon Europe is basically a political mission that ensures the effectiveness of funding for research and innovation and the achievement of clearly defined objectives of the program. The European Commission has committed high-level experts to research, case studies and reports on how the new program will work most effectively, “said Jean-Eric Pache.
Participation in the conference was attended by representatives of Sofia Tech Park, including scientists and start-up companies from the Science and Technology Park. Leaders of the various units at the Laboratory Complex were aware of the possibilities of financing projects from the new programming period at a meeting with Pache. He visited at the Incubator and the Laboratory Complex an exhibition of innovative goods and services developed by Bulgarian innovative and start-up companies. Pache examined the Laboratories for High Performance Computing Lab and 3D Creativity and New Products Rapid Prototyping Lab for the rapid prototyping of Sofia Tech Park and met with the work of the teams in them.
“Innovative Entrepreneurship Week – Financial Instruments to Promote Research and Innovation” presents an active platform for European entrepreneurs, innovative businesses, researchers, start-ups and investors, policy makers and financial experts who have the opportunity to communicate through it and discover new opportunities for a successful business.