SOFIA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Bulgaria will foster stronger connections between science and business, with billions of leva to be invested in this direction, a government official said on Tuesday.
Krasimir Yakimov, deputy minister of Innovation and Growth, made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the fifth edition of the "Science for Business" forum. He noted that his ministry oversees two European programs with a combined budget of approximately 5 billion leva (2.9 billion U.S. dollars).
One of the programs, focused on competitiveness and innovation in enterprises, has a budget of nearly three billion leva, Yakimov said. The second, dedicated to promoting collaboration between universities, scientific organizations, and Bulgarian companies, has a budget of just over 2 billion leva.
In the remaining months of this year, significant funding from the science and business program will be unlocked. This includes 60 million leva earmarked for the development of digital and green technologies, and for testing and commercializing scientific projects, Yakimov explained.
Additionally, 172 million leva will be made available to support innovation and the transfer of knowledge and technology, aiming to establish long-term cooperation between industry, small and medium-sized enterprises, and the research community.
"For many years, Bulgarian scientists have worked hard with remarkable achievements in their respective fields, but somehow the connection with business has been missing," said Evelina Slavcheva, president of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS).
She emphasized that, alongside promoting foreign investment, the state must also ensure that Bulgarian businesses adopt domestic technologies, products, and scientific innovations.
The joint efforts of science, business, and the state could significantly accelerate the development of Bulgaria's industry, Slavcheva said.
Boyko Takov, executive director of the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency (BSMEPA), echoed this sentiment, stressing the need to commercialize more applied research.
He highlighted the importance of awareness and dialogue to fully develop collaborative projects. The event, organized by BSMEPA and BAS, showcased 14 scientific and applied projects from BAS institutes, all seeking business partners. (1 leva = 0.58 U.S. dollar) ■
