21 innovation projects will receive nearly BGN 7 million from the National Innovation Fund

A monitoring system to prevent serious diseases, technology to produce fire-resistant, energy-saving and insulating building elements from glass waste, as well as an innovative approach for bioprinted cartilage implants are just some of the projects that will receive funding in the 13th session of the Fund

21 innovation projects will receive a total of BGN 6,470,749.61 within the 13th competitive session of the National Innovation Fund, managed by the Executive Agency for the Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises under the Ministry of Innovation and Growth.

The project financing contracts were awarded at a special event in the Agency building in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Innovation and Growth Stefan Savov, the Chief of the Cabinet of the Minister of Innovation and Growth Alexander Pulev – Krasimir Yakimov and the Executive Director of IANMSP Boyko Takov.

Among the proposals that find a place in the list of approved projects are a monitoring system to prevent serious diseases, a technology to produce fire-resistant, energy-saving and insulating building elements from glass waste, an innovative approach for bioprinted cartilage implants, a solution to the pollution of microplastics in the aquatic environment, a solution for assessing microplastics contamination in water, as well as an innovative educational application. 

All of them are part of the four priority axes that the Fund supports, namely "Informatics and Information and Communication Technologies", "Mechatronics and Clean Technologies", "Healthy Living Industry and Biotechnologies" and "New Technologies in Creative and Leisure Industries". The projects in the current session were selected from a total of 127 proposals, and 17 of them will be implemented in partnership with research and knowledge dissemination organizations.

The Deputy Minister of Innovation and Growth, Stefan Savov, pointed out that without support for innovation, sustainable growth in the Bulgarian economy cannot be expected. He emphasized that the main goal of the NIF is to promote research and development.

The Innovation Fund provides financing in the amount of up to BGN 500,000 per project, and this year the Agency for Small and Medium Enterprises introduced a number of changes aimed at reducing the administrative burden for businesses that want to receive funds for their innovative ideas - applicants applied through new system, the application form was also optimized, as well as the Fund's management rules themselves offered a lighter procedure, commented the executive director of IANMSP Boyko Takov. In its 12 previous sessions, the Fund financed over 500 projects with over BGN 100 million.