Promoting of the Internationalization of the Bulgarian Enterprises VESSELIN GORNISHKI Director of the SME Development and Internationalization Department BULGARIAN SMALL AND MEDIM ENTERPRISES PROMOTION AGENCY MINISTRY OF ECONOMY, ENERGY AND TOURISM

The Bulgarian Small and Medium The Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Agency Enterprises Agency

SME Promotion National Strategy г. Training and qualification Improvement of the business environment Improvement of of the access to financial resources Competitiven ess and innovations Development of cluster structures Improvement of the access to foreign markets Protection of property rights

Export Promotion Measures Policies for investment promotion, entrepreneurship, improved business environment and competitiveness - key for export performance Proactive export policy will be implemented focusing on: Promotional events and support for the SMEs participation in fairs, exhibitions and trade missions Information services and establishment of internet based services More adequate information to the companies for foreign markets Organization of information campaigns for the business Catalogue of the Bulgarian companies on products offered Optimizing tasks of the trade and economic services to our embassies abroad Development of export crediting and increase of the export insurance activities Source:MEET

Operational Programmes - EU Fonds

EU Structural- and Cohesion Funds in Bulgaria (in Bln. Euro) EU Structural- and Cohesion Funds in Bulgaria (in Bln. Euro) Quellen: Ministerium für Finanzen Operational Programme/FundEU FinancingNational Co-FinancingTotal Budget of OP OP Regional Development/ERDF1,3610,2401,601 OP Competitiveness of the Bulgarian Economy /ERDF 0,9880,1741,162 OP Transport / ERDF&CF1,6240,3792,003 OP Environment/ ERDF & CF1,4660,3341,800 OP Human Resources1,0320,1821,214 OP Administrative Capacity/ ESF0,1540,0270,181 OP Technical Assistance / ERDF0,0480,0090,057 Development of Rural Areas2,6090,6323,241 Fischery0,0800,0270,107 Total Budget9,3622,00411,366

Изпълнение на мерките от Годишната програма на ИАММСП за 2008 г. за изпълнение на Национална стратегия за насърчаване на малките и средните предприятия г. Priority Axis 1: Development of a knowledge-based economy and innovation activities is focused on assisting the development of R&D activities for and by enterprises, aiming at strengthening their innovation potential and establishing a suitable pro-innovative business infrastructure, which shall strengthen the science-business relationship. Priority Axis 2: Increasing efficiency of enterprises and promoting a supportive business environment is focused on the support of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises with a development potential, where the modernization of technologies and quality management will be assisted, as well as the improvement of the consultancy and information services offered to business, improving energy efficiency of enterprises and encouraging business co-operation and networking. A specific focus will be to promote investments in environmentally friendly, low-waste, energy saving production technologies and utilization of renewable energy source s OP Development of the Competitiveness of the Bulgarian Economy

Изпълнение на мерките от Годишната програма на ИАММСП за 2008 г. за изпълнение на Национална стратегия за насърчаване на малките и средните предприятия г. Priority Axis 3: Financial Resources for Developing Enterprises aims at improving the access to development capital for enterprises. Its objectives are to increase investment activity and promotion of entrepreneurship through the development of special financial instruments and financial engineering for SME funding. The envisaged interventions are intended to add new opportunities for access to risk capital to SMEs in financing niches where traditional bank finance is currently absent or deficient. The achievement of the majority of these objectives will be sought through implementation of the joint initiative JEREMIE (Joint European Resources for Micro to medium Enterprises). Priority Axis 4: Strengthening the international market positions of Bulgarian economy. The priority axis is aimed at facilitating the integration of the Bulgarian economy in the single European and world market through improving the environment for investments and export. It will support the promotion of foreign investments in Bulgaria, improve the export potential of the national economy, and provide support for the national quality infrastructure by upgrading the calibration and testing laboratories and conformity assessment bodies. OP Development of the Competitiveness of the Bulgarian Economy

Изпълнение на мерките от Годишната програма на ИАММСП за 2008 г. за изпълнение на Национална стратегия за насърчаване на малките и средните предприятия г. Priority Axis 5: "Technical Assistance" will provide support for the management, implementation, monitoring and control of OP Competitiveness activities as well as support for the work of the Monitoring Committee by funding researches and studies necessary for the implementation and the evaluation of the projects, information and publicity measures which are ensuring the transparency of the programme. The objective of the priority axis is to improve the quality of the interventions to be carried out and to increase the effectiveness of Structural funds absorption. Operational Programme Development of the Competitiveness of the Bulgarian Economy

OP Development of the Competitiveness of the Bulgarian Economy - Management Structure Beneficiary Priority1 Monitoring Committee Intermediate Body BSMEPA Beneficiary Managing Authority OP Competitiveness Priority2 Direct Implementation from MA Priority4Priority 3 Beneficiary Priority 5

OP Development of the Competitiveness of the Bulgarian Economy - Financial and Technical information () Priority AxisEU ContributionNational Public ContributionTotal Public Contribution Development of a knowledge-based economy and innovation activities Increasing efficiency of enterprises and promoting a supportive business environment Financial Resources for Developing Enterprises Strengthening the international market positions of Bulgarian economy Technical assistance Total

OP Development of the Competitiveness of the Bulgarian Economy Project name: Promoting of the internationalization of the Bulgarian Enterprises Project No: BG 61 PO003 – – No0001– C001 Managing Authority: Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism Budget: BGN ( Euro) Project period: 36 months (since ) Target group: Bulgarian exporters and ready for export competitive companies OP Development of the Competitiveness of the Bulgarian Economy Priority 4.2. Strengthening the international positions of Bulgarian economy

Main Objectives Effective use of the European market by the Bulgarian SMEs; Successful integration in the European and World economy through expanding the Bulgarian SMEs presence on foreign markets OP Development of the Competitiveness of the Bulgarian Economy Priority 4.2. Strengthening the international positions of Bulgarian economy

Project Activities Development of a National Export Internet Portal, providing Bulgarian companies with access to information and specialized services, funded by this project Financial support for creation of sector export strategies Identification and analysis of the competitive industrial sectors and product groups Trainings and seminars for capacity building Development of skills in foreign trade and specific qualifications. OP Development of the Competitiveness of the Bulgarian Economy Priority 4.2. Strengthening the international positions of Bulgarian economy

Project Activities 4. Information and consultancy services and foreign markets analysis in support of the Bulgarian exporters. 5. Organization of promotional events and B2B forums for presentation of competitive Bulgarian products and services in Bulgaria and abroad 6. Financial support for organization of national participation at international fairs and exhibitions. 7. Advertizing activities. Development and distribution of informational and advertising materials, brochures etc. OP Development of the Competitiveness of the Bulgarian Economy Priority 4.2. Strengthening the international positions of Bulgarian economy

The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on the Corporate Sector – a Firm-Level Survey by the WB The drop in demand was the most relevant impact of the crisis in all countries The impact of the crisis was extensive, regardless of sector, firm size, or location Yet some enterprises have already experienced significant growth The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on the Corporate Sector in Europe and Central Asia: Evidence from a Firm-Level Survey Paulo Correa and Mariana Iootty

The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on the Corporate Sector – a Firm-Level Survey by the WB The corporate sectors debt is moderate Firms reacted to the crisis by increasing the use of internal funds to finance working capital Enterprises are also delaying payments to tax authorities or suppliers The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on the Corporate Sector in Europe and Central Asia: Evidence from a Firm-Level Survey Paulo Correa and Mariana Iootty

The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on the Corporate Sector – a Firm-Level Survey by the WB As firms allocate more of their internal funds to finance working capital, fewer resources will be available for investments in new equipment, labor training, and R&D. Younger firms experienced a larger contraction in sales than older firms Innovative firms were more likely to report larger declines in sales The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on the Corporate Sector in Europe and Central Asia: Evidence from a Firm-Level Survey Paulo Correa and Mariana Iootty

WHAT CHALLENGES DO SMEs FACE?

A NEW STRATEGY FOR THE SINGLE MARKET DE MONTI´S REPORT TO THE PRESEIDENT OF THE EC JOSÉ MANUEL BAROSSO Initiatives to build a stronger single market - ensuring better functioning of the single market in the perspective of citizens, consumers and SMEs; - creating a digital single market; - exploiting the potential of the single market to support green growth and Europe's transition to a low-carbon, resource efficient economy; - reaping the full benefits of the single market for goods; - fully exploiting the potential of the single market for services; - ensuring geographical labour mobility in the single market. - establishing the "physical" infrastructure for the single market;

Thank you for Your attention! Bulgarian SME Promotion Agency Sofia , Sveta Nedelja Tel.: Fax: