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The Instruments of the National Innovation Fund

The financial instrument in Bulgaria that corresponds to the activities carried out within the frames of Eurostars Programme and the EUREKA Initiative is the National Innovation Fund (NIF). NIF is the National Funding Body in support of innovative companies. The National Innovation Fund is administered by the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency (BSMEPA) based on the approved Operational Rules for the Management of the NIF Resources and the Internal Procedures setting up the organization, principles, management and activity of the Fund. There is no restriction as regards the industrial sector or technological domain of the projects and the enterprises. In the implementation of joint collaborative projects between enterprises or between enterprise(s) and research organisation(s), neither of the enterprises should be responsible for more than 75% of the total eligible project expenditures (only for Eurostars) and the research organisation should bear at least 10% of the total eligible costs. The National Innovation Fund doesn't provide funding for projects in the sphere of agriculture, forestry, fish industry, projects funded by other donor programmes (Bulgarian, international or EU Programmes) and for investment projects, as well. Participation of Bulgarian organizations in EUREKA scientific research and development projects is funded by the National Innovation Fund's budget. The maximum amount of the grant provided on individual project with a project duration from 12 to 36 months is €500.000 andt up to 80 % of all the eligible costs. The intensity of the grant provided depends on the category of the activities envisaged in the projects; these can be industrial scientific research or experimental development.