The Regional Innovation Center “Ambitious Gabrovo”, in its capacity as the European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) for North Central Bulgaria, marks an important milestone in its 2026 Entrepreneurship Program — the training stage was successfully completed today, April 9, 2026.
The learning platform has 45 active participants registered, bringing ideas across four key sectors: e-Commerce and Digital Marketing, Social Entrepreneurship, Technology and Engineering, and Manufacturing and Logistics. The program targets individual entrepreneurs, early-stage teams, and startups developing their projects primarily within the North Central Region of Bulgaria.
Six Modules, Six Steps Toward a Successful Business
The training stage took place between March 31 and April 9, 2026, and was structured into six modules, led by established academic and industry experts:
Module 1 – The Entrepreneur as a Person (Assoc. Prof. Dr. Iskra Panteleeva, March 31) — participants explored the personal characteristics and functions of an entrepreneur, communication skills, teamwork, motivation, entrepreneurial risk, and the key factors behind success and failure.
Module 2 – Launching an Entrepreneurial Initiative and the Entrepreneurial Process (Assoc. Prof. Dr. Iskra Panteleeva, April 1) — the focus was on initiating entrepreneurial activity, understanding the entrepreneurial process and resources, and the formalization of a business.
Module 3 – Building a Business Model (Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ivan Byanov, April 2) — participants worked with tools such as the Business Model Canvas and Value Proposition Canvas, assessed their opportunities, and validated their ideas within a real market context.
Module 4 – Legal, Administrative and Financial Obligations of Newly Established Legal Entities (Stela Doseva, April 7) — the module covered the registration of legal entities, choosing the appropriate legal form, the legislative framework for operating a business, and obligations to tax and social security authorities.
Module 5 – Building a High-Performance Team (Prof. Dr. Veneta Hristova, April 3) — topics included roles within a startup team, choosing a co-founder, communication and dynamics in small teams, conflict management, and time management.
Module 6 – Funding (Prof. Dr. Maria Ilcheva, April 9) — the final module of the training stage covered various sources of financing — from grants and accelerators to business angels and venture capital — as well as financial forecasting and pitch deck preparation.
Mentorship and Demo Day Ahead
Following the successful completion of the training stage, the program continues with individual mentoring sessions with proven experts through June 15, culminating in the final Demo Day — a pitching event before real investors and partners, scheduled by the end of June 2026.
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.
