site.bta "Economic Facebook" to Be Created for SMEs

"Economic Facebook" to Be Created for SMEs

Sofia, March 24 (BTA) - "An economic Facebook" for Bulgaria's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be created within a year from now, Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency (BSMEPA) Executive Director Marieta Zaharieva said on Thursday, speaking at a discussion during Stroiko 2000, a construction exhibition in Sofia.

Zaharieva said the project is aimed to help SMEs connect with foreign partners. Funding for it will be sought from Operational Programme "Innovation and Competitiveness" and directly from Brussels.

The BSMEPA is making a map of Bulgaria's operational SMEs, which is also intended to help them connect with business partners around the world and to provide them with firsthand information about business interest expressed during government talks with other countries.

At the discussion, small construction companies asked the BSMEPA to assist their participation in public procurement procedures. Small construction businesses rely on public procurement contracts for 70 per cent of their revenues but they have trouble accessing the procedures, owners complained. According to them, the new Public Procurement Act and the rules for its implementation are better than the old ones but the problems still stand.