Sofia is paying special attention to entrepreneurs. In 2019, an Accelerator pilot was initiated by Invest Sofia, The Municipal Guarantee Fund for SMEs and “Europe” Program by Sofia Municipality.
Accelerator Startup Sofia
The Accelerator Startup Sofia pilot started in January 2019. Over 40 innovative young companies and projects applied for it. 13 of them will get grants up to 10 000 leva and will take part in the Mentoring program in September 2019.
Aims of the Accelerator
- Supporting projects that develop innovative products, services or processes
- Target group: innovative, social and starting firms
- Priority: youth, female and senior entrepreneurship
How we support the participants
- Grant: 5 000 – 10 000 BGN per project
- Mentoring program by Invest Sofia and external professional startup mentors
- Communication and institutional support
- Benefit from Invest Sofia’s extensive business network
More about the Program
- Accelerator Startup Sofia is a collaborative project by Invest Sofia, Municipal Guarantee Fund for SMEs and “Europe” Programme by Sofia Municipality. The Accelerator follows the third priority of “Europe” Programme:– promote innovative and digital public sector initiatives implemented in cooperation between citizens, public organizations and local authorities– implement activities in support of entrepreneurship, innovation and digital technologies
- The pilot round of the Accelerator ends in Fall 2019. For info on future rounds subscribe to our newsletter
Organizations behind the project
The Municipal Guarantee Fund (MGF) has the mission to raise the competitiveness and success rate of SMEs in Sofia. Loan guarantees are provided to SMEs which have an economically sound project but cannot secure sufficient bankable collateral. As of July 2019, the Fund has supported over 620 SMEs. The total volume of guarantees exceeds BGN 31 mil. In 2018 the Fund launched FISP – Financing Innovative Start-ups Program, a new guarantee scheme in addition to the successful General Guarantee Scheme which has been existing in the last 10 years.
“Europe” Program by Sofia Municipality supports the collaboration of civil society and local authorities. The program applies best European practices in the public sector, one of which is the project-oriented financing of civil ideas and initiatives. In recent years, supporting innovative activities became a major priority of “Europe” Program.
Invest Sofia supports the development of Sofia as a place for starting a business by both Bulgarian and international companies and entrepreneurs. Invest Sofia aims to transform Sofia into a hub for scientists, entrepreneurs and professionals, who can develop the knowledge industries in the city.
