The National Assembly ratified the Fifth Amendment to the Agreements with the European Investment Fund (EIF) under the European JEREMIE initiative .
When does it start and what is the schedule?
September 2026 (Current status): Ratification by parliament officially launches the procedure.
Structuring stage: The European Investment Fund (EIF) has started the selection of financial intermediaries — fund managers and commercial banks.
Start of investments: The capital will start to flow into the market after the signing of the agreements with the selected intermediaries. The investment period of the program is planned with a horizon until 2035.
Where does the capital come from?
The financial package does not burden the state budget . It uses entirely revolving capital from successful previous investments since 2009:
- EUR 48.4 million — funds recovered from the OP “SME Initiative”
- over 130 million euros — recycled capital from closed equity positions, dividends and repaid JEREMIE loans
Priority areas:
- Deep Tech & Science Transfer: AI, Biotechnology and High-Tech Developments
- Growth Funds: Scaling and Entering International Markets
- Defense and Dual-use: Dual-use technologies (civilian and security)
- Regional Connectivity: Projects under the Three Seas Initiative
Financing opportunities:
Equity Financing (Venture Capital & Growth):
| Who is it suitable for? | Criteria |
| Innovative startups and growing companies. | Strong team, scalable business model, innovation/technology, willingness to cede a minority stake (10–30%). |
Debt and guarantee financing:
| Who is it suitable for? | Advantage |
| SMEs seeking bank loans for working capital or new assets | The EIF guarantee covers up to 50–80% of the risk, which drastically reduces bank collateral requirements. |
How to prepare?
While the EIF selects fund managers and partner banks, now is the time to prepare:
| For equity capital | Finalizing the presentation ( Pitch Deck ) and the financial model. |
| For loans | Preparation of the business plan and financial statements. |
This news item has been created with the financial support of the Research, Innovation and Digitalization for Smart Transformation Program 2021-2027, co-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund under project BG16RFPR002-1.002-0001 -C01 “Accelerated digitalization for SMEs in the Central Region through the creation and development of EDIH.” The Regional Innovation Center “Ambitious Gabrovo” bears full responsibility for the content of the document and under no circumstances can it be assumed that this document reflects the official position of the European Union and the managing authority.
