Microsoft Bulgaria on October 31 presented in Bulgaria’s Black Sea city of Varna its European Union Grants Advisor (EUGA) programme, aimed at informing small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) of the opportunities to apply for EU funding, Dnevnik daily said.
Under the programme, entrepreneurs, local authorities and non-governmental organisations would be able to obtain information and easier access to nine EU funding schemes inside the country, as well as to opportunities for direct financing from Brussels. Candidates would also be supported and consulted by Microsoft in preparing their applications for grants, Dnevnik said.
EUGA was mainly focused on investment in innovations, information and communication technologies, development and introduction of new technologies, starting new businesses and encouraging employment. The programme was launched in Europe in 2003, after pilot projects in Spain and Poland proved to be successful. Later, EUGA was introduced in 17 more EU states. Currently, it was being activated in the remaining eight member countries, including Bulgaria.
Research conducted within the EU showed that the access to funds for business development, introducing innovations and skills was among the critical factors for the development of SME. For the 2007–2013 period, the EU would provide, directly or through the member states’ governments, more than 200 billion euro for funding projects in innovations, information and communication technologies, development and introduction of new technologies, starting new businesses and encouraging employment, Dnevnik said.
EUGA was a Microsoft initiative and was launched in Bulgaria in partnership with DSK Bank, Bulgarian Telecommunication Company, Bulgarian Industrial Association, Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, State Agency for Information technologies and Communications, Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria, the Ministry of Administration and Administrative Reform and other companies, governmental and non-governmental organisations.
