World Bank Offers Help to Boost SMEs, Innovation in Bulgaria

Meeting with World Bank Country Manager for Bulgaria Tony Thompson on Monday, Economy Minister Bozhidar Loukarski said that one of the priorities of the 

Bulgarian government is to provide an efficient legal framework and support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to expand into new markets, the Economy Ministry reported. Loukarski noted that the Ministry's potential cooperation with the World Bank can speed up targeted national reforms.

He said it is his personal priority to reduce the administrative burden on SMEs and help them come out into non-EU markets by establishing business clusters. This will boost the Bulgarian economy and make it more competitive, he reasoned.

Loukarski and Thompson discussed three areas of potential cooperation between Bulgaria and the World Bank in order to improve the business environment in the country: streamlining business-related legislation, planning measures to promote innovation, and ensuring fair competition.