National Cluster Conference will be held on 26 and 27 March in Sofia Tech Park. The event is under the patronage of the Ministry of Economy and is organized in partnership with Bulgarian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Promotion Agency, ARC Consulting at Enterprise Europe Network-Bulgaria and the Business Clusters Association in Bulgaria within the framework of European Cluster Weeks.
The purpose of the event is to create prerequisites not only for new opportunities for Bulgarian clusters and business, but also to initiate tradition of holding an annual cluster conference, similar to good practices known in countries such as Romania, Serbia, Hungary, Poland, Estonia , Norway and Denmark.
Sofia Tech Park, whose team is part of the organization of the event, will be chosen as a venue for the conference and will include a discussion panel, which will focus on the meaning, challenges, place in the country’s economy, successful models of work and interaction between the state and the tech parks.
Emphasis is placed on the industries of mechatronics and clean technologies, bio technologies, new technologies in the creative and recreational industries, ICT, automotive industry.
The program includes topics focused on:
- Startup Companies – Innovation, Financing, Barriers and Challenges, Success Stories
- Industry 4.0
- Digitization – digital and innovative hubs
- External markets in third countries outside the EU (China, Central Asian Republics)
- Innovative and Cluster Management
- Cluster and innovation policies
- Networking Models – A European Network of Cluster Associations initiated by the BCA
- Attracting and retaining talents
- Funding tools
The conference is business-to-business (B2B) organized with the idea of encouraging and supporting Bulgarian companies, entrepreneurship and innovation development, as well as uniting startups and business representatives in clusters for more successful internationalization and competitiveness.