site.btaInnovation Minister Stoycheva Opens First Bulgarian Stand at WEB SUMMIT 2023

Innovation and Growth Minister Milena Stoycheva opened the first Bulgarian stand at the world's largest technology conference - the Web Summit 2023 exhibition in Lisbon, her ministry said in a press release on Wednesday. More than 40 Bulgarian technology companies and startups took part in the exhibition and met potential investors, business partners and customers, presenting them their products and services. The Bulgarian participants also presented successful examples in innovation, technological developments and the development of the investment environment during a panel titled "BreakingGrounds: Bulgaria's Secret Rise as an Innovation Hub in Europe".

Addressing the conference, Stoycheva said that the Bulgarian Innovation and Growth Ministry intends to rebrand Bulgaria, transforming it into a place that gives priority to its entrepreneurial and startup ecosystem, human capital and intellectual capacity, as well as transforming it into an attractive location for high-tech investments. In her words, all stakeholders - government, business, investors, entrepreneurs, startups, scientific organizations - should work together on the open innovation model to create a competitive environment in which innovation and economic growth are developed and promoted.

"Bulgaria has long been more than just an outsourcing destination, our country provides services and products with high added economic value. We have a very well-developed academic environment, research capacity, development centres and high-tech talent", Stoycheva added.

In addition to various technology companies and startups, experts from local venture capital funds and entrepreneurs took part in the presentations during the panel, presenting Bulgaria's investment advantages.