For the first time Bulgaria participates in the jury that determines the winners of the European Enterprise Promotion Awards – the most prestigious awards for small and medium enterprises in Europe. The Deputy Minister of Economy Alexander Manolev was invited to join the work of the competition council, which determined the finalists and was an official guest at the award ceremony. He also presented one of the six awards at an official ceremony in the Austrian city of Graz in front of more than 500 guests – entrepreneurs, politicians, scientists from all over Europe.

“For us – the jury, it was very difficult to determine the winner in this category, because the participants had many interesting and good proposals,” said the Deputy Minister of Economy. According to him, the sustainable growth of the economy as a whole and of individual companies in the EU must be based on partnership and the exchange of experience.

Deputy Minister Manolev, as a member of the jury and ambassador of small and medium enterprises in Bulgaria, presented the award in the category “Support for business internationalization”. The winner was the Finnish candidate with a project to support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises. Among the three finalists was a Bulgarian participant – “Support for digitalization of small and medium enterprises in Bulgaria and Europe” of United Business Clubs.

The European Enterprise Promotion Awards are organized by the European Commission. This is the most important event within the EU in the field, and its meetings discuss the future development of policies tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as measures to support them. The awards are given for the best initiatives that support entrepreneurs and shape the future of small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe.

The jury includes representatives of the European Commission and the Committee of the Regions, leading professors and scientists in the field of entrepreneurship and others.

The Prime Minister Boyko Borissov together with the State Minister of Economy, Energy and Technology of the Bavarian Province Franz-Josef Pschierer and the Deputy Minister of Economy Alexander Manolev opened a new investment of over BGN 36 million in the Sofia-Bozhurishte Economic Zone. The production company that officially opens today is the company “Multivac Bulgaria Production” Ltd., which is a subsidiary of the world leader in packaging solutions – the German “Multivac”.

During the event, Alexander Manolev stressed that only 6 months ago he had a meeting with Minister Pschierer in Germany, where they agreed to attend the opening of the company in Bulgaria. “I am glad that we have kept this commitment and together we are officially launching this landmark investment,” said the Deputy Minister.

Multivac is one of the world’s largest suppliers of packaging solutions: the company is a world leader in the market for thermoforming packaging machines and manufactures a wide range of tracers, chamber vacuum machines, chamber conveyor machines, labeling devices, control systems, automation solutions and finished production lines. The company’s group employs over 4,700 people worldwide. The company has a network of more than 75 subsidiaries and is present in more than 140 countries, but it is the first plant to be opened east of Germany.

A business forum with the participation of the London Stock Exchange will be organized in Bulgaria. This was agreed during a meeting between Deputy Minister Alexander Manolev and Nikhil Rathi, Executive Director of the financial organization. The two participated in a discussion with the management of the stock exchange, during which investment opportunities in Bulgaria were presented. This is the first visit of an official representative of Bulgaria to the headquarters of the stock exchange in Great Britain.

“We are currently preparing a voucher scheme with grant funding to support companies to go public on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange,” explained the Deputy Minister of Economy. He stressed that the expert assistance of the London Stock Exchange will be very valuable in these efforts. For its part, its management pointed out that they can participate in this process and expressed hope that more Bulgarian companies will be listed on its markets.

Alexander Manolev also presented the opportunities for investment in Bulgaria in front of the specialized television channel of the London Stock Exchange, which reaches over 200,000 companies and employees.

The Bulgarian flag was projected on the stock exchange in honor of welcoming the Bulgarian delegation.

Last year we exported products from the defense industry for over 1.2 billion euros. This was announced by the Deputy Minister of Economy Alexander Manolev during the opening of the largest exhibition in the sector – “Hemus” 2018, which is being held in Plovdiv. The ceremony was attended by the President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Krassimir Karakachanov, Plovdiv Regional Governor Zdravko Dimitrov, Mayor Ivan Totev, deputies from the Defense Committee and others.

“About 15 thousand people work in this sector, and the companies in it allocate significant resources for the implementation of innovations and modernization of production,” said Alexander Manolev. He gave an example with the new company for the production of armored vehicles, which opened its doors a few days ago in the town of Samokov. “This is one of the many examples of Bulgarian entrepreneurs in this sector who are achieving increasing success. That is why, above all, they should be congratulated, “said the Deputy Minister of Economy. Proof of the quality with which Bulgarian companies work is the fact that we are known and operate in a number of foreign markets for decades, he said.

“An important topic we are working on with the Ministry of Defense is the active participation of the Bulgarian defense industry in the upcoming projects for the renewal of the Bulgarian Army,” he added.

The forum will last until June 2 and is under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Defense. It is held every two years and the goal is to stimulate the military industry of the country by providing an opportunity for a joint meeting of manufacturers and traders of weapons and military equipment from Bulgaria and abroad. This edition features 17 countries and over 70 exhibitors, most of them Bulgarian. Among the foreign partners and delegations are representatives of NATO and the European Defense Agency.

The share of online trade in Bulgaria is estimated at about BGN 700 million, and this industry has grown steadily over the years. This was said by the Deputy Minister of Economy Alexander Manolev during the opening of the “eBay European Seller Summit 2017”. For the first time, the technology giant’s annual event is being organized in an Eastern European country. For its opening in Sofia was the vice president of the company Kris Beyens, and among the participants were guests from Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Czech Republic, Estonia and others.

“The latest Eurostat data from the report” Digital Economy and Society in the EU “show that about 9% of companies in Bulgaria sell online, and about 27% of consumers have shopped online in the last year,” said Deputy Minister Manolev. According to him, data from various studies show that the growth of online trade in our country is ahead of the average for the European Union, but we are still at the stage of catching up with Western countries on this indicator.

In his speech, attention was paid to the “Concept for Digital Transformation of Bulgarian Industry (Industry 4.0)” developed by business and the state, as a basis for developing a Strategy for Bulgaria’s participation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. “Bulgaria has its strengths – quality Internet, strong IT sector, strong electronics, electrical engineering and mechatronics, which we must effectively use to digitize our economy,” said Alexander Manolev.