“The world is no longer just changing – it’s accelerating. Uncertainty is now the status quo.”
These words of Yordanka Chobanova, Head of the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria, marked the launch of ARC Fund’s Innovation.bg 2040 Dialogue, a national initiative kicked off on June 27, 2025, in the heart of the Trakia Economic Zone – Plovdiv, Europe’s oldest, and Bulgaria’s second biggest city.
The roundtable gathered key leaders from the central and local government, business, research institutions, and the financial sector who shared a clear message: innovation can no longer be a matter of chance – it must be the outcome of deliberate policy, bold investment, and strategic cooperation.
🟢 “We have the talent. We have the universities. We have ambition. We need focus, speed, and ease of execution,” noted Martin Danovski, Deputy Minister of Innovation and Growth, calling for a new industrial strategy and investment model.
🟢 “Innovation is not about patents – it’s about putting ideas into practice,” reminded Iliya Krastev of AIBEST, urging a rethink of how universities and tech transfer networks engage with the economy.
🟢 “Our ecosystem is fragmented, capital is dormant, and innovation pathways are unclear,” emphasized Liliana Pavlova, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (2019 – 2023) highlighting the urgent need for a unified financing platform to bring scale and impact.
The event made it clear: Bulgaria needs an integrated national network and fund for technology transfer that can support the full journey from lab to market – especially the so-called “valley of death” (the road through technology readiness levels – TRL 4–6), where many innovations die before reaching commercialization.
What’s Next?
The Innovation.bg 2040 Dialogue is an open process of national consensus-building around Bulgaria’s future as an innovation-driven economy. The initiative is grounded in:
- smart specialization and regional engagement
- public-private partnerships that deliver tangible outcomes
- targeted mobilization of funding and talent
- building trust between science, business, and public institutions
