Minister Stoycheva: The cooperation of large companies with startups will increase the competitiveness of the country

The cooperation of large companies with start-ups is extremely important for increasing the competitiveness of the country and for economic growth. This was stated by the Minister of Innovation and Growth, Milena Stoicheva, during her visit to the German technology company SAP Bulgaria. Stoycheva held a working meeting with the managing director of SAP Bulgaria Zdravko Peshakov and the managing director of SAP Labs Radoslav Nikolov. It was also attended by the Deputy Minister of Innovation and Growth, Martin Gikov. Minister Stoycheva got acquainted with the work of the newly opened development center - SAP Labs, where innovations and artificial intelligence are developed. It is part of the company's latest investment of over BGN 100 million, with 300 new jobs created. The building unites all the company's activities and employees in one place.

"Investments in talents and students, in the capacity of universities and development centers, in education in general, are a mandatory step and a strategic move for bringing the country to a leading position in Europe in the development of innovations and new technologies," said Minister Stoicheva categorically.

The managing director of SAP Bulgaria emphasized that every year more than 70 people start an internship at the company, and half of the employees started working after an internship. More than 1,500 are currently employed, with plans to increase by 200 to 300 per year.

The company shared that among the main reasons for investing in Bulgaria are the Bulgarian IT specialists, who are at the world level. The managing director of SAP Labs stated that the development center in Sofia is the seventh largest of the 21 that the company has. "Bulgaria is developing as a technology hub for Southeast Europe," he added.

Minister Stoicheva emphasized that the transformation of our country into an innovation and technology hub for Southeast Europe is among the priorities of the Ministry of Innovation and Growth. "Our goal is to rebrand Bulgaria as a preferred place for high-tech investments and a good environment for the creation and development of innovations with high added value for our economy," she said categorically. Therefore, the Ministry of Innovation and Growth signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Ministry of Innovation in Romania. Stoycheva stated that she intends to sign such agreements with other countries in the region.

Later, the Minister of Innovation opened a forum to present the financing opportunities for businesses in Bulgaria under MIG. More than 70 technology companies participated in the event, jointly organized by the Ministry of Innovation and Growth and SAP Bulgaria. Experts from the Main Directorate "European Funds for Competitiveness" at MIG, Fund Manager of Financial Instruments in Bulgaria (Fund of Funds) and the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) presented their financial instruments for supporting micro, small, medium and large enterprises. entrepreneurs and startups.