site.btaEconomy Minister: Access to Finance for SMEs Is Crucial in Current Complicated Environment

In an address to the fifth edition of the international conference on financial and investment support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Sofia International Money Expo (SIMEXPO) 2024, caretaker Minister of Economy and Industry Petko Nikolov said that the series of shocks in the global economy over the last four years has had an impact on SMEs and it has also affected their access to finance. “Inflationary pressures have led to tighter lending conditions, and this is having a negative impact on investment intentions,” he added at the beginning of the forum, which started Tuesday in Sofia Hotel Balkan. Minister Nikolov believes that in the current complicated environment, access to finance for SMEs is crucial. 

In his address, he cited the National Strategy for Small and Medium Enterprises for the period 2021-2027, where the issue of access to finance for SMEs is highlighted as a priority topic. 

"Support to SMEs in Bulgaria encompasses improving access to traditional financial instruments such as bank lending, micro lending, lines of credit, overdrafts, etc., and also in providing appropriate guarantee schemes, pre-export and post-export financing, along with measures to promote the use of alternative forms of financing such as venture and equity financing," the caretaker economy minister said.

Petko Nikolov also paid special attention to the level of financial literacy and financial skills of Bulgarian entrepreneurs, in particular to their knowledge and use of digital financial transactions.

According to him, SMEs are the main engine of economic growth and source of innovative solutions, as 2023 data shows that small and medium-sized enterprises in Bulgaria contribute to 74.9% of employment and 61.8% of value added in the economy.

The organizers of the forum are the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), the BCCI Investment Council, the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency (BSMEPA). The conference is aimed at introducing the representatives of financing institutions, investment and guarantee funds and investors to the business community in the country.