ec.europa.eu/invest-eu | #investEU OPPORTUNITIES START HERE.#investEU

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE.BULGARIA

#investEU

OPPORTUNITIES START HERE.2ec.europa.eu/invest-eu | #investEU

EXPLORE THE STORIES BEHIND EU INVESTMENT

To revive investments and growth, the European Union supports people, ideas and visions across EuropeThe European Union (EU) supported the initiative of a Bulgarian couple who decided to engage in rose oil production in the city of Panagyurishte. Thanks to investment in the project, this high-value, traditional industry, which had disappeared in the region one hundred years ago, is now back. Already 60 families, including Roma, have started to grow their own rose gardens.

To revive investments and growth, the EU supports people, ideas and visions across Europe.

The EU is all about opportunities that deliver real benefits and make a difference at a local level. The promotion of growth, employment and well-being across Europe is one of its main priorities. By investing in people’s ideas and visions, the EU is removing obstacles and creating favourable conditions for development and modernisation across the continent. In support of the pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit of Europeans, the EU opens doors and empowers people to pursue their own innovative projects.

Europeans have already come up with original ideas for better education, modernised healthcare and greener transport infrastructure, to cite but a few examples, and the EU has provided the means to get tailored projects off the ground. Where valuable projects struggle to win investment due to the reluctance of investors to take risks, the EU steps in by backing loans or providing funding for projects that have the potential to succeed.

EU funding not only offers people financial support for their projects, but project beneficiaries can also access hands-on coaching and expertise to ensure their projects provide real added value for the people and communities around them. Results are visible thanks to knowledge-sharing and research facilities, energy efficient buildings or smart mobility solutions, which, in turn, lead to a more sustainable future for Europe’s cities and regions.

Whether it’s helping local authorities to build a modern landfill site, renovating a city’s sewage system, or building a state-of-the-art skate park that is attracting young people from the local community and is gaining a reputation as a centre for international competitions, EU funding gives a boost to projects that make a difference at the local level.

Only some of these stories feature in this brochure. But look around in your community and you will see that behind European investments there is a wealth of people’s stories to discover.

SKATE PARK “IZGREV”‘INA’ ROSE OIL DISTILLERY

PLAYGROUND ENERGY

RISK CAPITAL INVESTMENT FUNDS

SOFIA METROMODERN INTEGRATED

WATER INFRASTRUCTURE

EVALA

ERASMUS+

MODERNIZED WASTE MANAGEMENT

HUVEPHARMA

HUVEPHARMA

Rose-growing tradition revived in Panagyurishte

‘INA’ ROSE OIL DISTILLERY PANAGYURISHTE

5

With help from European Union (EU) funds, an enterprising family in the Bulgarian town of Panagyurishte has revived rose cultivation, a practice that had completely disappeared in the area after the First World War. Following their example, many other local families have started to grow their own roses.

Kazanlak is the Bulgarian region most famous for its roses. However it is 100 kilometres further east, in Panagyurishte, that cultivation of the oil-rich flowers is being revived by a family of entrepreneurs.

In 2002, Veselina Ralcheva and her husband Nikolay were wondering what to do with the land they had been given back after the fall of the communist regime in Bulgaria that had confiscated their ancestors’ property back in 1945. Neither of them knew anything about agriculture, but they decided to start growing roses.

Veselina and Nikolay initially planted Damask and a few Alba rose bushes. They also bought second-hand equipment to create a rose

oil distillery, founding their essential oil company Ina Ltd. It turned out that roses from Panagyurishte were in no way inferior to those from Kazanlak, and with their distinctive hint of honey, they have one of the best aromas of any Bulgarian rose. As the couple’s rose production grew, the distillery was unable to keep pace. Today, they have around 8 hectares of roses but continue to expand their gardens and help some 60 other families to grow the flowers.

The family also focuses on organic production. With funding from the EU’s European Network for Rural Development, they set up another distillery to produce organic rose oil, which is around 20 % more expensive than its non-organic equivalent.

Thanks to its growth, Ina Ltd employs an increasing number of seasonal workers, with 30-40 people hired for 9-month stints. It takes 3 000-3 500 kilograms of rose petals to make a kilogram of rose oil. “It is still worth it. This is the perfect family business,” says Veselina convincingly. The rose petals are bought for €1.50-€1.80 (3-3.50 Lev) a kilogramme, 50 cents (1 Lev) of which goes to the pickers. The couple claim that the last harvest was so good that they collected 400 kilogrammes of petals from 1 000 m2 of land.

Referred to in Bulgaria as ‘liquid gold’, rose oil “does not need to be advertised anywhere,”

says Nikolay, adding that, on the international market, Bulgarian rose oil is seen as the perfect product. Prices fluctuate between €7000 to €11 000 a kilogram every year.

Ina Ltd’s products are increasingly highly regarded across Europe and the company’s clients include cosmetics manufacturers in France, Germany and Switzerland. Consumers appreciate the fact that the products bring environmental and social benefits. “It is nice to work in harmony with public expectations, rather than to simply make money,” concludes Veselina.

7

Bulgarian venture capital funds support good ideasPlayground Energy is a Bulgarian company with the aim and prospects of becoming a global leader in the design and development of interactive playgrounds. Founder Hristo Aleksiev explains that the good ideas behind the company would not have stood a chance without the involvement of an EU-backed risk capital fund. Hristo Aleksiev, who calls himself a serial

entrepreneur, is one of the founders of Walltopia, a world leader in climbing wall design and construction which has received European Union (EU) funding. But in 2012, Hristo had another interesting idea. His business partner, industrial designer Ilian Milinov needed to charge his mobile phone while sitting on a rocking chair in a café. “If only it were possible to use the energy generated by the rocking chair,” said Ilian, to which Hristo replied, “You might be onto something there.”

“That was the eureka moment. But one of the main reasons was the increasingly sedentary lifestyles of European and American children.

Captivated by computer games, they spend much less time being physically active and playing outside,” says Hristo.

Inspired by the rocking chair idea, Hristo and Ilian created Playground Energy, Hristo’s sixth company. One of its most famous products is an illuminated spring rider and its equipment is currently sold across five continents: Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America.

As Hristo explains, “We make playground products and other park equipment, such as outdoor exercise devices. What they all have in common is that they produce energy from people’s movements, which is used to generate light and sound. With our mobile applications, the equipment can measure how much energy was used or create a game element and a virtual reality from what is otherwise a monotonous physical activity.”

With regard to how he obtained funding, Hristo says, “We did not apply directly to the EU. Instead, we reached out to a Bulgarian risk capital fund – Eleven – which has EU funds at its disposal. I think we are talking about €12 million (31 million lev), which the fund uses to finance start-ups. And we are one of those companies. We were, in fact, in the first group of 11 companies to receive funding.

Actually, funding is the wrong word. We are talking about an investment.” He goes on to say that when Eleven saw the company’s potential, it provided €220 000 in return for a 32-33 % stake.

“Thanks to this investment and finance from a smaller investor, if everything continues to run smoothly, we will break even, making us financially stable,” Hristo notes. He believes Bulgaria is a perfect place for innovation and business because it would not be possible to achieve as much with the same amount of start-up capital in Western Europe or the USA.

Asked how he sees his relationship with Eleven, Hristo replies “Extremely positively. I am not saying this to curry favour with them. They have helped us not just with money but also with contacts, ideas and advice. They are a loyal partner.”

Eleven is just one EU-backed Bulgarian venture capital fund which invests in local start-ups. NEVEQ, LaunchHub Ventures, Black Peak Capital and Empower Capital also promote innovation and stimulate the economy with support from EU funds.

SOFIAPLAYGROUND ENERGY

Venture capital funds support bold ideas and stimulate economic growth in BulgariaEU-backed venture capital funds have helped many promising Bulgarian start-ups to grow. This has created an attractive environment for entrepreneurs and investors.

Bank loans are not always the best way of financing start-ups, as a young company’s cash flow is often difficult to predict. Investments in start-ups carry a high degree of risk and mostly take the form of the buying of shares, or equity. Equity investments in start-up technology projects have typically been rare in Bulgaria, and this has become even more pronounced since the financial crisis of 2008.

To plug this gap, the European Union (EU) supports venture capital funds such as NEVEQ, Eleven, LauncHub, Black Peak Capital and Em-power Capital. EU investment in these funds is significant, providing 95 % of the capital in Black Peak and Empower, and 70 % of that in Eleven.

Finance from these funds is invested in shares in promising companies. One example is Bee Smart Technologies, which has created a remote beehive monitoring system. NEVEQ provided €210 000 of the €380 000 invested in the company in its start-up phase. This enabled it to further develop its technology and enter international markets.

Investment from another of the venture capital funds, Eleven, has helped develop the start-up Playground Energy, a company which creates innovative playgrounds that transform energy from children’s movements into sound and light. Eleven has also supported other start-ups such as Escreo, which develops paint that turns walls into a canvas for drawing, and the online food-shopping platform, farmhopping, which connects small farms directly with consumers. In each case, EU support came at a crucial time.

The funds also provide project management advice, as well as access to mentors, partners and end users. Investment in a start-up by a venture capital fund thus plays an important role in attracting further investors and customers.

Numbers of Bulgarians returning from abroad and foreigners starting businesses in the country are increasing, and an international community of entrepreneurs who share experience and help each other is developing. The environment created by EU-backed venture capital funds plays a part in this by showing investors that Bulgaria offers attractive business opportunities.

NATION WIDERISK CAPITAL INVESTMENT FUNDS, SUPPORTED BY THE EU

9

Bulgaria’s Huvepharma to become global pharmaceutical leader thanks to EU supportBulgarian pharmaceutical company Huvepharma has received a €100 million loan under the Investment Plan for Europe. The loan supports microbiological R&D, the development of new medicinal products and the creation of 210 jobs in Bulgaria.

Focusing on medication for humans and animals, Huvepharma is a fast-growing Bulgarian pharmaceutical company which has successfully marketed its products in more than 90 countries worldwide. Expansion and increased competitiveness on global markets require substantial financial investment, which is hard to get on favourable terms. Fortunately, the company’s management found a solution in the form of a €100 million loan under the Investment Plan for Europe.

The Investment Plan for Europe, the so-called Juncker Plan, aims to promote investment in job creation and growth through more intelligent use of new and existing financial resources. The loan to Huvepharma is guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments, which is the central pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe.

Investment in the business unit at Biovet, a subsidiary of Huvepharma, will enable the company to increase its microbiological R&D and develop new vaccines and enzymes, as well as optimising its manufacturing processes for medicinal products.

The project also covers the design, construction and management of two new production sites: a pharmaceutical and feed additive factory in Peshtera, where active substances, food additives, enzymes, probiotics and finished pharmaceuticals will be manufactured for the purpose of improving animal and human health; and an animal vaccine factory in Razgrad.

As a result, 210 jobs will be created and Huvepharma will continue grow. Moreover, as a European company operating on global markets, it will also look to fulfil its potential by establishing itself as a world leader in the pharmaceutical industry.

PESHTERA, RAZGRADHUVEPHARMA

SOFIA METRO SOFIA

Metro development improves lives of Sofia’s residentsFirst opened in 1998, the Sofia Metro has developed rapidly in recent years. The construction of lines 2 and 3 has been made possible by EU funds.

The Sofia Metro is Bulgaria’s first and only rapid transit system. The idea of building it dates back to the 1960s, but it didn’t start running until 1998. It is currently 40 km long and has 35 stations.

Line 1 runs through the city centre and links two residential districts at opposite ends of Sofia: Lyulin in the west and Mladost in the east. Line 2 links the Obelya and Lyulin districts with Lozenets, the centre, Druzhba and Sofia International Airport.

Sofia’s residents associate the metro with Bulgaria’s EU membership. Line 2, which opened in 2012, was co-funded by the European Union (EU) to the tune of €476 million.

Svetla Miteva, 55, from Mladost, uses the metro every day to get to and from her workplace near Orlov Most in the centre. Compared with the trolleybus, which she used before the metro opened, she saves time and feels more comfortable. “I prefer to hide in the metro rather than standing at the trolleybus stop come rain, cold or shine,” she said.

Construction of line 3 began in 2016. Crossing the centre, it will link the city’s north-east and south-west, running from Botevgradsko Shose to Ovcha Kupel and Gorna Banya at the foot of Vitosha Mountain. There will initially be 16 stations, but there are also plans to build a section branching off southwards towards the district of Borovo.

When completed in 2019, the metro will be able to transport more than 500 000 people a day, significantly reducing traffic volumes and harmful emissions in Sofia. In all, 2 100 people are working on the construction of line 3. When it opens, it will create 600 permanent jobs.

Gabrovo’s water supply infrastructure improvedResidents of Gabrovo in Bulgaria can now boast a cleaner and more modern city. European Union (EU) funding has enabled the municipal authorities to renovate most of the urban area’s water infrastructure and resurface many of its streets.

Facing the challenge of replacing a 120-kilometre-long water supply network running through rough terrain in a relatively short time, the city of Gabrovo was granted financing from the EU’s Cohesion Fund, which aims to reduce economic and social disparities between regions. Subsequently, in just three years, the municipality built modern, environmentally friendly and reliable supply infrastructure and completely rebuilt two water treatment plants: one for drinking water and the other for waste water.

Petar Rashev, a 72-year-old resident of the Stefanovtsi district, is happy to finally have access to an efficient sewerage system. Thanks to the project, waste water from his district is now cleaned at a treatment plant. “Nothing beats that. Everything was done in four months,” he said, adding that local people had been waiting for the system for 60 years.

The investment was combined with other large-scale public works, including the resurfacing of more than 100 of the city’s streets. Daniela Peeva, who works at a radio station and has lived in the Golo Bardo district for 30 years, said people were satisfied with the outcome. “Many things have been accomplished in Gabrovo using EU funding: water pipes, streets and pavements. Before, there were always service disruptions and water rationing. Disruptions still occur but only in areas where the piping has not yet been replaced,” she added.

A family from the district of Badzhar also approved of the change. “The water project is very good. Our district has become nice and the water pressure is finally normal,” they said.

The project is extremely important for Gabrovo’s residents, who now have the water supply they deserve. It also sets a good example for future urban development initiatives.

GABROVOINTEGRATED WATER CYCLE

11

ERASMUS+ BARCELONA (FROM BULGARIA)

ERASMUS+ helps Boris become a nuclear engineerBoris Kuzmanov, a young Bulgarian from Kozloduy, has achieved his dream of becoming a highly qualified nuclear engineer thanks to a loan granted as part of an European Union (EU) master’s degree programme. The loan was a big help in enabling him to meet his living expenses while studying.

Raised in Kozloduy, home to Bulgaria’s first nuclear power station, Boris Kuzmanov showed an interest in nuclear technology from a young age. He graduated from the Technical University of Sofia with a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering, before considering a post-graduate qualification in the same field. He looked around and decided on a master’s degree in nuclear energy.

Boris managed to get a scholarship to cover his tuition fees. His course involved him spending the first year at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, the second year in France and finally doing a six-month traineeship at one of the energy companies supporting his studies. “I really feel I am learning a lot. I also had the opportunity to meet many students from different countries and that has definitely broadened my horizons,” he said.

Boris added that he still found it difficult to meet his living expenses. However, a loan from Microbank backed by the European Investment Fund under the EU’s Erasmus+ programme was a big help in this regard. Under the Microbank loan programme, students receive up to €12 000 a year for a master’s degree and up to €18 000 for a two-year course. No collateral is required from students or their parents, and the loans are offered at a favourable interest rate and with the option of deferred repayment. “This facility had a hugely positive impact on my life,” said Boris.

The EU has been funding the Erasmus programme since 1987. The programme has enabled more than 3 million European students to spend part of their course of study at another higher education institution elsewhere in Europe.

13

A perfect example of integrated waste managementPeople in the Bulgarian city of Dobrich have not forgotten the environmental nightmare caused by poor waste disposal. Bins were often overflowing and security guards or metal collectors would frequently burn rubbish at the old tip near the village of Bogdan. Today, with its new EU-funded landfill site, Dobrich is an example to other cities of how to achieve efficient integrated waste management.

In late March 2015, a landfill site was opened near the village of Stozher. It will serve the needs of 190 000 people from 225 settlements in nine municipalities of the Bulgarian provinces of Dobrich and Shumen for 30 years. The facility is part of a project entitled “Creation of a regional waste management system in the region of Dobrich”. The total budget for this project is around €20 million (39 million Lev), 85 % or some €16 million (31.4 million Lev) of which was provided by the EU’s European Regional Development Fund.

When the residents of Stozher and the nearby villages of Draganovo and Donchevo first found out about the landfill project, they staged protests. None of them imagined that a modern

landfill site could exist in harmony with the environment. Today, however, they are happy.

Teodora Petkova, manager of the Stozher landfill site, confirms that the controversy has already been forgotten. “There are no conflicts. To the people of Stozher, we are just another local employer,” she says. “Out of a total of 40 people employed at the landfill site, half come from Stozher. There is almost no staff turnover. Most employees have been there from the very beginning, and they are very well trained.”

Petkova adds that the waste is first sorted and pre-processed. Subsequently, recyclable waste is baled, biodegradable waste is composted and construction waste is crushed and then used for purposes such as building roads within the facility.

Thanks to the project, Dobrich is one of the first areas in Bulgaria to have a landfill site that meets EU environmental standards.

DOBRICHMODERNIZED WASTE MANAGEMENT

EVALA

Objective assessment of opinion makers’ media influenceAn EU-funded software platform provisionally named EVALA will enable media outlets and analysts to monitor the influence of opinion formers in real time using objective criteria. This will make it possible to distinguish between people of real influence and those who merely appear influential.

The 36-month EVALA project is funded by the European Commission’s Eurostars programme, which helps small and medium-sized enterprises to develop innovative products. EVALA’s total budget comes to €1.4 million.

Bulgarian semantic technology company Ontotext is working on the project together with Videntifier, an Icelandic developer of solutions for identifying objects in images and videos, and Bulgaria’s Semantic Interactive, a company specialising in knowledge extraction and content aggregation.

The platform will cover various types of online media, including news websites and social networks. It will show results in table form using new, easy-to-use web tools. This will allow the software platform to display associative semantic graphs on a map of objects through

a process similar to how the human brain creates visuals.

Ontotext’s Georgi Georgiev, manager of the EVALA project, explained that the platform will be deployed experimentally in several media outlets, PR agencies and companies in the field of media monitoring and analysis. A wide circle of business organisations will also be able to use it to access high-quality, real-time analyses of content in Bulgarian and international media.

Georgiev said that, until now, assessment of the extent of peoples’ influence has mainly been related to the media noise they manage to make. Thanks to the platform, it will be possible to assess influence on the basis of the actual impact of peoples’ statements and opinions.

Ilian Uzunov, sales director at Ontotext, explained that the research would enable the detection of hidden trends, factors and models, resulting in the identification of people of real influence. These would not necessarily be the same people who appear in the news most frequently, he added.

NATION WIDE

Bulgaria’s coolest skate park becomes a street culture centreRoller skaters, skateboarders and bike riders in Burgas, Bulgaria are now able to enjoy a modern skate park thanks to European Union (EU) funding. After its opening in the summer of 2015, the skate park quickly became known as the coolest skating destination in Bulgaria.

Skate park regulars like Ivaylo talk about bumps, spins, rail transfers and a host of other things incomprehensible to the uninitiated who are just there to watch. Many of the skaters are virtuosos, performing manoeuvres that defy the laws of physics in something resembling a lunar landscape.

The space is designed to let newcomers develop their skills quickly and to let experts show off their tricks, but it’s often difficult to tell the two groups apart.

The park has been deemed fit to host regional and international competitions. On 11-12 August 2017, the third edition of the Burgas Skate Open – known internationally as ‘Sunrise’ – was held there. More than just a competition, the event was also a festival of youth street culture with a stage, music and a party atmosphere. Leading skateboarders

from Bulgaria and abroad were attracted by big prizes, the beauty of Burgas and the Bulgarian Black Sea coast as well as the top-quality facilities the city offers for their sport.

Dimitar Velinov, a member of the Burgas roller skating club, said that before the skate park opened, the only options for skaters in Burgas were a small area in front of the Pantheon (one of the city’s historical monuments) and a single ramp in the new part of the Izgrev district, where the skate park is now located. He added that the specialists behind Bulgaria’s biggest skate park in Dobrich had been involved in designing the facility.

Backed by the EU’s European Regional Development Fund, the skate park is part of a wider regeneration plan for Izgrev. It also provides the launch pad for Burgas’ ambitions of establishing itself as a centre of street culture.

15

SKATE PARK “IZGREV” BURGAS

NA

-06-17-029-EN-C N

A-06-17-029-EN

-N

Printed by the Publications Office in Luxembourg

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2018

© European Union, 2018Reuse is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. The reuse policy of European Commission documents is regulated by Decision 2011/833/EU (OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39).

For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not under the EU copyright, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holders.

Print ISBN 978-92-79-72309-4 doi: 10.2775/0004 NA-06-17-029-EN-CPDF ISBN 978-92-79-72310-0 doi: 10.2775/84209 NA-06-17-029-EN-N

WHERE TO FIND MORE INFORMATION:

General information about the Investment Plan for Europe:ec.europa.eu/invest-eu

Representation of the European Commission in Bulgaria:Georgi Sava Rakovski 1241000 SofiaBULGARIA

Tel. +359 (0)2 933 52 52Email: comm-rep-sof@ec.europa.eu Internet: ec.europa.eu/bulgaria

Find a Europe Direct centre near you for information:europa.eu/european-union/contact_en