Bulgaria to Set Up 25 Mln Euro Risk Capital Fund for SMEs
Bulgaria's ministry of economy said on Thursday that it will set up a new risk capital fund, which will provide up to 25 million euro ($29.6 million) in support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) under the EU's JEREMIE initiative. The fund's aim is to support early-stage SMEs, focused on artificial intelligence, big data, augmented and virtual reality, cloud services, blockchain and others, the economy ministry said in a statement. Out of the total, up to 20 million euro will be national funds, while up to 5 million euro will be private equity, Some 3 million euro will be invested in acceleration, with initial investments of up to 50,000 euro with an option for a follow-up investment of up to 200,000 euro. JEREMIE is a joint initiative set up in 2007 by the European Commission, the European Investment Bank Group and other financial institutions aimed at enhancing cohesion across the EU through new risk finance initiatives for SMEs.($ = 0.8457 euro)