The Bulgarian Development Bank has stated to the European Commission its desire to attract additional funds for the rehabilitation and development of small and medium-sized businesses. This will be done through the InvestEU program. The total resource that the bank will be able to have is up to BGN 1.7 billion. The final approval for the inclusion of BDB in InvestEU is expected to take place in October, the financial institution announced.
At the end of May, BDB conducted market research among potential financial intermediaries and branch organizations. The aim was to structure the most suitable for the Bulgarian market warranty product under the EC program. As a result of the approval of the new funds by the EC, the new guarantee product of the bank will mobilize public and private resources to provide access to finance for small and medium enterprises in areas that banks consider high risk, BDB reported. This will be a real opportunity to increase the competitiveness of companies by increasing the capacity of enterprises in areas such as: digitalization, innovation, internationalization, and new sustainable technologies.
It is expected that more than 3,260 small and medium-sized Bulgarian companies will be supported and at least 8,000 jobs will be created, and more than 18,000 will be retained.