Minister Stoycheva and 20 technology startups present the Bulgarian ecosystem at SLUSH 2023

The Minister of Innovation and Growth Milena Stoycheva and nearly 20 technology start-up companies, led by the Executive Agency for the Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises (EAPSME) under the Ministry of Innovation and Growth (MIG), present this year the Bulgarian entrepreneurial and start-up ecosystem to one of the leading events for startups in the world SLUSH 2023 in Helsinki. The delegation was led by the Minister of Innovation and Growth, Milena Stoycheva. She participated in the opening of the international exhibition and was a speaker at the official event preceding the ceremony "The Future of European Entrepreneurship and Innovation" at the Hanken School of Economics in the capital of Finland.

"We are in the era of entrepreneurship, partnerships and collaboration. We need to unite efforts and knowledge, to look for common solutions to solve the global challenges we are facing", stressed Minister Stoicheva. According to her, innovation is a horizontal activity that covers a number of sectors. Working on the "open innovation" model, to include all stakeholders in the process, is absolutely mandatory when it comes to the development of new technologies and innovation in general.

At the Bulgarian stand, Minister Stoycheva, EAPSME and start-up companies present the entrepreneurial and start-up ecosystem in Bulgaria, the opportunities for investments in our country and ways to promote small and medium-sized enterprises. Bulgarian companies will meet potential investors, business partners and customers. SLUSH 2023 is attended by over 13,000 people, 5,000 startups and 3,000 investors.

Within the framework of the event, Minister Stoicheva held a working meeting with the Finnish Innovation Fund SITRA. The meeting was attended by the Deputy Minister of Innovation and Growth Martin Gikov, the Ambassador of Sofia in Helsinki Nina Simeonova, the head of the Trade and Economic Affairs Office in Stockholm Valentin Stoev and the Ambassador of Finland in Sofia Kristina Kuvaya.

The activity of the Finnish Innovation Fund in the field of digitization, data processing, circular economy, artificial intelligence, etc. was presented at the meeting. Possibilities for future cooperation between the two countries were discussed. Minister Stoicheva also met with the leadership of the Finnish Aalto University, where the implementation of innovations in the education sector was discussed.

During SLUSH 2023, Minister Stoycheva will hold more meetings with the Minister of Economy of Finland Vile Ridman and representatives of Finnish companies.