EUREKA MEMBER COUNTRY > Bulgaria

FUNDING SCHEME

The Instruments of the National Innovation Fund

The financial instrument in Bulgaria that corresponds to the activities carried out within the frames of the EUREKA Initiative and Eurostars Programme is the National Innovation Fund. The overall objective of the Fund is to promote the scientific and research and development activities by providing support for the implementation of scientific and research and developments projects and projects for technical feasibility with the aim of acquiring new or improved products, processes or services designed to increase the economic efficiency, improving the innovative potential and techniological level of the entreprises, and increase the dynamics of the innovative processes. The National Innovation Fund provides funding to projects of entreprises whose economic activity falls into one of the following sectors, sections or groups of the National Classificator of Economic Activity in Bulgaria: mining industry, processing industry, manufacture and distribution of electrical and heat energy and gas fuels,water supply, sewerage services, waste management and renewal, construction, transport, storage and post-offices, information creation and distribution and creative products, telecommunications professional activities and scientific research. In the implementation of joint collaborative projects between entreprises or between entreprise and research research organisation, neither of the entreprises should be responsible for more than 70% of the total eligible project expenditure and the research organisation should be responsible for at least 10% of the total eligible project exependiture. It is interesting to note that the maximum amount of the grant allocated with the rules for managment of the funds provided by the National Innovation Fund is doubled for projects implmented under the EUREKA Initiative.

>  Industrial research projects

The National Innovation Fund provides funding for industrial research focused on the technological development of new products, processes and services or on considerable improvement of already existing products, processes or services. The maximum amount of the grant provided on individual project is 500 000 BGN (255 623 Euro) with project duration from 12 to 36 months. The intensity of the grant depends on the category of applicants and the availability of collaboration within the project implementation. The intensity of the grant allocated to industrial research projects' participants is in the following range: 70% for small entreprises, 60% for medium-sized entreprises and 50% for large entreprises and in the case of collaboration in the project implementation (either between entreprises or collaboration between an entreprise and a research organisation/institute) additional percents are provided and the respective intensity becomes: 80% for small entreprises, 75% for medium-sized entreprises and 65% for large entreprises.

Funding contact

Bulgarian Small and Medium-sized Entreprises Promotional Agency
+359 2 80 75 395

Ms. Vania Boneva
vania@sme.government.bg

> more information

Type of funding

grant

Funding by type of organisation

Type of organisation Funding % of
elligible costs 		Maximum costs
(in EUR) 		Additional
information
SME
Large Company
University
Research Organisation
Other

>  Eurostars

Funding contact

Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency
+359 2 80 75 368

Gergana Opanova
g.chukova@sme.government.bg

> more information

Type of funding

grant

Funding by type of organisation

Type of organisation Funding % of
elligible costs 		Maximum costs
(in EUR) 		Additional
information
SME
Large Company
University
Research Organisation
Other

>  Experimental development projects

The National Innovation Fund provides funding for experimental development focused on the technological development of new products, processes and services or on considerable improvement of already existing products, processes or services. The maximum amount of the grant provided on individual project is 500 000 BGN (255 623 Euro) with project duration from 12 to 36 months. The intensity of the grant depends on the category of applicants and the availability of collaboration within the project implementation. The intensity of the grant allocated to experimental development projects' participants is in the following range: 45% for small entreprises, 35% for medium-sized entreprises and 25% for large entreprises and in case of collaboration in the project implementation (either between entreprises or collaboration between entreprise and research organisation/institute) additional percents are provided and the respective intensity becomes: 60% for small entreprises, 50% for medium-sized entreprises and 40% for large entreprises.

Funding contact

Bulgarian Small and Medium-sized Entreprises Promotional Agency
+359 2 80 75 395

Ms. Vania Boneva
vania@sme.government.bg

> more information

Type of funding

grant

Funding by type of organisation

Type of organisation Funding % of
elligible costs 		Maximum costs
(in EUR) 		Additional
information
SME
Large Company
University
Research Organisation
Other

>  Technical feasibility projects

Technical feasibility projects study the possibility of implementation of a certain scientific and research and development project by carrying out activities in the sphere of industrial scientific research and/or experimental developmetn. The objective of these types of projects is to study the economic viability and to assess the technical and economic feasibility of scientific and research and development projects. The maximum amount of the grant provided is up to 50 000 BGN (25 562 Euro) with project duration up to 1 year. The intensity of the grant provided for technical feasibility projects depending on the category of the aplicants is within the following range:
- For SMEs - 75% for research preparing activities in the sphere of industrial scientific research and 50% for research for the preparation of activities in the sphere of pre-market development activity;
- For large entreprises - 65% for research in preparation for activities in the sphere of industrial scientific research and 40% for research for the preparation of activities in the sphere of experimental development.

Funding contact

Bulgarian Small and Medium-sized Entreprises Promotional Agency
+359 2 80 75 395

Ms. Vania Boneva
vania@sme.government.bg

> more information

Type of funding

grant

Funding by type of organisation

Type of organisation Funding % of
elligible costs 		Maximum costs
(in EUR) 		Additional
information
SME75% to 80%project duration up to 1 year
Large Company65%project duration up to 1 year
Universityproject duration up to 1 year
Research Organisationproject duration up to 1 year
Otherproject duration up to 1 year