Chivas Venture Social Entrepreneur Competition to Give Away USD 1 Mln to Social Entrepreneurs
Startups with socially significant projects can apply for the Chivas Venture competition. The global contest is held for the fifth consecutive year, and has a total prize pool of USD 1 million. It aims to fund ideas that address social and environmental issues worldwide.
The application terms and the participation form are available on the website of the competition. The deadline for application is October 31. In order to participate, the company’s representative should be at least 25 years old, speak English, and the company’s annual revenue should not exceed USD 1.5 million.
According to the rules of the competition, local finals will be held first so that the project which will represent Bulgaria internationally could be selected. The team of the selected startup will participate in a 3-day acceleration program in the UK along with the participants from other countries. Then an online voting from the broader audience will follow, and the number of votes will determine the allocation of USD 100 000 from the total prize pool. At the international finals of the competition, the projects will be introduced to experts and the winner will receive the remaining USD 900 000.
You can learn more about the previous finalists from Bulgaria from the promotional video of the competition. The local campaign’s motto this year is “Grumblers against Entrepreneurs”.
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Private and Municipal Urban Development Projects to Gain BGN 600 Mln Support
The Fund of Funds has signed operational agreements with the Sustainable Cities Fund Association and the Regional Urban Development Fund, selected as financial intermediaries for three urban development funds. The intermediaries will manage BGN 353.3 million from the Operational Program “Regions in Growth” 2014-2020. A private investment in the amount of just over 40% of the funding will be provided as well. The amount for the final beneficiaries is expected to reach nearly BGN 600 million.
The funds will support 39 municipalities, including Sofia. For Southern Bulgaria, including the capital, the projects will be managed by the Sustainable Cities Fund Association. The funds for Sofia will amount to BGN 87 million. Final recipients of the funds can be municipalities and municipal enterprises, private companies, public-private partnerships, individuals, etc.
The urban development funds will support projects related to urban environment improvement, sports infrastructure, transport, energy efficiency, industrial zones. Projects can include not only urban development, but also tourism and cultural heritage.
The funding will be granted in the form of credits in addition to grants with a maximum amount of 85%. The grant under the operational program will have interest rates below the market share. For the part of the intermediaries, the interest rates will be the regular bank rates. The maximum repayment period will be 20 years and the maximum grace period – 3 years.
