On 30 November the Expert Council on Innovation at the Applied Research and Communications Fund discussed the draft of the annual Innovation.bg report. This year, it addresses the topic of Bulgaria’s place in global technology chains. The report will be officially presented at the Thirteenth National Innovation Forum on 15 December. The Expert Council on Innovation at the Applied Research and Communications Fund consists of researchers from the organisation, representatives of the research community, the non-governmental sector, the media and institutions. It makes recommendations on...

Todor Galev, senior analyst at the Applied Research and Communications Fund, said in an interview for the Economic.bg economic portal that innovative companies remain isolated examples rather than the rule for most sectors of the Bulgarian economy. “There has been a rise of Bulgarian innovative enterprises to higher levels in global value chains. This is true both for enterprises that are part of multinational companies or work as suppliers of services and products to such companies, as well as for independent players in comparison with their competitors. Authentic Bulgarian enterprises...

In an interview with Trud newspaper, Prof. Teodoro Georgieva talks about the role of the researcher. Georgieva commented that Bulgaria has the potential to become a hub for entrepreneurship and innovation in the Balkans and Southeast Europe. “An integrated national strategy with a focus on the science-education-innovation interaction with fewer priorities and concentrated funding is needed. Also a single administrative structure for managing and funding research and innovation.” She cited a 2017 study that found that, according to data from 2013-2016, firms’ innovation...

In the summer of 2017. Tickey Mobile Solutions, creator of an e-ticketed urban transit travel system, expanded its international presence by entering the market in Canada and Portugal. Tickey operates in Lisbon, in Sherbrooke, Canada. The company is now also operating in the public transport of Burgas, Varna, and the Sofia metro. The company’s business model is based on the service covering only the most used tickets and cards, simplifying them so that passengers use them more and are more satisfied. “A smart (intelligent) city is one in which they use the latest technologies to...

Experts from 8 European countries analyse the challenges of effective support for SMEs. In the framework of the project “Efficient Support Services Portfolios for SMEs” (ESSPO), representatives of NGOs, municipalities and institutions analyse the effectiveness and challenges of national and regional business development programmes for optimisation. In recent months, experts have reviewed and made recommendations on the performance of national instruments to their partners. The aim is to analyse good practices and weaknesses in their work. One of the conclusions is that there is...