The week started with the event SEW22 Sofia – a key forum for entrepreneurial culture in Europe and Bulgaria, part of the global initiative Startup Europe Week – a family of 300+ cities across 50 countries. Invest Sofia became part of the SEW initiative with the participation of Victor Gussev, Head of Investment Analysis Department at the Agency, in the first panel of the event in Sofia – Government support programmes for startups. Experts from the Fund of Funds, the Bulgarian Investment Agency and the Digitalization and Innovation Unit of the Sofia Municipality “Innovative Sofia” also joined the conversation, moderated by Mariyana Hamanova, Executive director of Cleantech Bulgaria.
The discussion focused on good practices and opportunities to enhance entrepreneurship through various state instruments – local and national. Victor Gussev stressed the need for an individual approach to startups and the difference between larger companies, which have the opportunity for larger investments, and newly formed teams, that are still missing enough resources. He presented the Invest Sofia’s instrument in support of Sofia-based companies, among which are the Accelerator Startup Sofia and the Green Card for Administrative Services, which aims to make a bridge between legal and administrative procedures and business and thus facilitate companies’ operations. Gussev also presented the free services on expertise, data and mentoring to the teams that are taking their first steps in the development of new products and services in the city, and the efforts of the municipal administration to be a testbed for innovative solutions of the local companies.
This year, co-organizers of the local event are Health & Life Sciences Cluster Bulgaria and AI Cluster Bulgaria. SEW22 Sofia is supported by EU Commissioner Maria Gabriel, who officially opened the forum.
If you missed the live broadcast, you could still watch the event opening and the conversation from the Government Support Programmes for Startups panel (in English) in the video recording here. TThe SEW22 Sofia website also contains links to all other event sessions, dedicated to women entrepreneurship, universities and institutions that create startups, private fund programmes, and more.
