"Creating Competitive Start-up Enterprises" (Project 100) of the Ministry of Economy and Energy provides grant assistance in the range of BGN 10,000 - BGN 20,000 to people with viable business ideas. The initiative is implemented with the support of UNDP. The project has an overall budget of BGN 6.4 m for the period 2004 - 2008 provided by the Ministry of Economy and Energy.

NEW!!! Project 100 Launch in 2008
In 2008, Project 100 will provide grant assistance to start-up entrepreneurs from the regions of Pazardjik, Pleven, Smolyan and Yambol

Regional information meetings will be held from July 14 to July 24 according to the following schedule:

July 14 2008 - Straldja, 13 h., Pensioner's club, 2 Georgi Stanchev str.
July 14 2008 - Yambol, 16 h., hall of District Administration, 18 Jorj Papazov str.
July 15 2008 - Elhovo, 12 h., Ritual hall, 4 Targovska str.
July 16 2008 - Panagyurishte, 16 h., Business centre Panagyurishte, 2 Krastyo Geshanov str.
July 17 2008 - Pazardjik, 17 h., hall of District Administration, 2 Ekzarh Yosif str.
July 18 2008 - Velingrad, 12 h., Agency for regional development, 5 Vasil Aprilov str.
July 21 2008 - Pleven, 17 h., District Administration, 1 Obshtinski square, Pleven hall
July 22 2008 - Cherven bryag, 9:30 h., chitalishte "Nikola Vaptsarov", ritual hall
July 22 2008 - Belene, 14 h., Belene Municipality, 35 Bulgaria blvd, hall 26
July 22 2008 - Levski, 17 h., Levski Municipality, 58 Bulgaria blvd, hall 304
July 23 2008 - Devin, 17 h., SPA hotel Devin, 2А Drujba str.
July 24 2008 - Madan, 12:30 h., Madan Municipality, 14 Obedinenie str., hall 401
July 24 2008 - Smolyan, 17 h., District Administration, 14 Bulgaria blvd, hall 201

SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES IN THE FIRST PROJECT CYCLE

• Applying with a business ides: 1 August - 5 September
• Evaluation of applications: 8 - 19 September
• Training of the approved applicants and final test: 23 September - 10 October
• Development of business plans by the applicants: 13 October - 7 November
• Evaluation of the business plans: November - December
• Official announcement of the competition results: beginning of January 2009

Download the complete project application documentation here: Zaiavka za uchastie P100 oblast Pazardjik; Zaiavka za uchastie P100 oblast Pleven; Zaiavka za uchastie P100 oblast Smolyan; Zaiavka za uchastie P100 oblast Yambol

Download the guidelines for application under Project 100 for 2008 here: Nasoki za kandidatstvane P100_2008

Download the grant contract here: Dogovor za finansirane P100_2008
The applicants must fill out and submit 2 copies of the Application form for the respective district. The deadline for submission of the applications forms for the first project cycle is 5 September 2008. Applications for the respective district must be submitted during business hours to the below listed addresses but not necessarily in person, or sent via post (post stamp is valid).

Pazardjik district:

Business centre - Peshtera
4550 Peshtera
54 Mihail Takev str.

Business centre - Pazardjik
4400 Pazardjik
69 Prespa str.

Agency for regional develoment - Velingrad
Centre for business and information
4600 Velingrad
5 Vasil Aprilov str.

Business centre - Panagyurishte
4500 Panagyurishte
2 Krastyo Geshanov str.

Smolyan district:

Business centre - Devin
4800 Devin
Osvobojdenie str.
House of Culture, 1st floor

BC Devin, temporary office at District Administration Smolyan
4700 Smolyan
14 Bulgaria blvd.

Pleven district:

Regional Business Centre - Pleven
5800 Pleven
4 Ivan Vazov str., 4th floor

RBC - Pleven, window office Cherven bryag
5980 Cherven bryag
16 Vasil Levski str.
Lotus bldg., ТК Terra 2000

RBC - Pleven, window office Levski
5900 Levski
58 Bulgaria blvd., room 104

Yambol district:

Business centre - Elhovo
8700 Elhovo
2 Targovska str., 3rd floor

Business centre - Straldja
8680 Straldja
7 Hemus str.

Business centre, temporary office at the Agency for regional development and investments - Yambol
8600 Yambol
6А Tsar Ivan Asen str., 3rd floor
(in the yard of the Mathematics High School)

 

What is Project 100?
Requirements for participation
Important!
General Terms for Participation
The grant competition and award process
What will grant assistance cover?
Competition cycles and results in 2004
Competition cycles and results in 2005
Competition cycles and results in 2006

For additional information:
Press Centre, Ministry of Economy and Energy
tel.: (+ 359 2) 940 74 69, 940 72 97
e-mail: public@mее.government.bg

Project 100 is implemented by the JOBS Business Centers and Business Incubators in Dobrich, Shumen, Silistra, Vidin (2004), Montana, Peshtera, Sliven, Elhovo (2005), Polski Trambesh, Kazanlak, Targoviste (2006), Lovech, Haskovo and Montana (2007).

Regions financed in 2007

Montana district
Regional Development Agency / Business Center Montana, Business Incubator
2 Alexander Batenberg Street
tel. (+359 96) 300 760
fax (+359 96) 300 740
e-mail: office@arrbc-montana.org

Lovech district
Business Advisory and Information Center - Lovech
43 Targovska Street
tel. (068) 604 996
fax (068) 604 997
e-mail: edc@edc-lovech.org

Haskovo district
Business Advisory and Information Center - Haskovo
4 Tzar Osvoboditel Street
tel. (038) 665 021
fax (038) 664 869
e-mail: maritza@maritza.info

Regions financed in 2006

Veliko Tarnovo district
Business Centre - Polski Trambesh
76 Targovska Street, floor 2
tel. (359 6141) 29 05
fax (359 6141) 39 42
e-mail: agrobiznes@mail.abcptrambesh.org

Stara Zagora district
Business Centre - Kazanlak
12 Alexander Batenberg Blvd
tel. (0431) 63 793
fax (0431) 63 427
e-mail: office@bckazanluk.org

Targoviste district
Business Centre/ Business Incubator - Targovishte
10 Panagyurishte Street
tel. (0601) 62 620
fax (0601) 62 622
e-mail: office@bctargovishte.org

Regions financed in 2005

Montana District
Regional Development Agency / Business Center Montana
Business Incubator
2 Alexander Batenberg Street
tel. (+359 96) 300 760
fax (+359 96) 300 740
e-mail: office@arrbc-montana.org

Pazardjik District
Business Center Peshtera
54 Mikhail Takev Street
tel./ fax (+359 350) 62 30
e-mail: office@bcpeshtera.org

Sliven District
Business Center Sliven
17 Tsar Osvoboditel Street
tel. (+359 44) 66 26 53
fax (+359 44) 62 46 10
e-mail: bcsliven@bcsliven.org

Yambol District
Business Center Elhovo
2 Targovska Street, floor 3
tel. (+359 478) 88 252
tel./fax (+359 478) 88 253
e-mail: office@bcelhovo.org

Regions financed in 2004

Vidin District

Regional Development Agency Vidin
Business Center / Business Incubator
Saedinenie Complex, unit 8
tel./fax (+359 94) 60 11 80; 60 00 18
e-mail: arrbc@bcvidin.org

Silistra District
Business Center / Business Incubator Silistra
49 Simeon Veliki Street
tel. (+359 86) 82 16 65
fax (+359 86) 82 20 12
e-mail: abc@abc-silistra.org

Dobrich District
Business Center Dobrich
25, 25th September Blvd
tel. (+359 58) 60 36 74
fax (+359 58) 60 35 27
e-mail: office@bcdobrich.org

Shumen District
Business Center / Business Incubator Shumen
130 Tsar Osvoboditel Street
tel./ fax (+359 54) 80 06 29
e-mail: office@abcshumen.org

What is Project 100?

"Creating Competitive Start-up Enterprises" (Project 100) is a project of the Ministry of Economy and Energy providing grant assistance in the range of BGN 10,000-20,000 to people with viable business ideas.The project has an overall budget of BGN 4.4m for the period 2004 - 2007 provided by the Ministry of Economy and Energy. Project 100 was piloted in 2004 in Dobrich, Shumen, Silistra and Vidin. It is currently running in nine districts: Montana, Pazardjik, Sliven, Yambol, Veliko Tarnovo, Stara Zagora, Targoviste, Lovech and Haskovo. In 2007 the project will provide grant assistance to start-up entrepreneurs in Montana, Lovech and Haskovo.
In 2004 Project 100 was piloted by the JOBS Business Centers and Business Incubators in Dobrich, Shumen, Silistra and Vidin. Now it is implemented by the JOBS Business Centers and Business Incubators in Montana, Peshtera, Sliven, Elhovo, Polski Trambesh, Kazanlak, Targoviste, Lovech and Haskovo.

Project 100 provides comprehensive assistance to start-up entrepreneurs through:
- intensive pre-start training
- assistance for writing feasible business plans
- grant assistance in the range of BGN 10,000 - 20,000 to the best business plans awarded in a national competition
- professional support by the Business Centers before and after accessing the grant
- access to the JOBS financial leasing mechanism to buy equipment for the new business.

Requirements for participation

The applicants must be Bulgarian citizens who:
- have a business idea, want to start a micro or small business, and will be personally involved in the stages of the Project as well as in the development and implementation of the prospective business
- provide 20% of the required grant financing as their personal contribution to the new business

Other things equal, priority will be given to applicants whose business ideas involve application of new products/services, know-how, new and/or energy-saving technical solutions and production technologies, and use of renewable energy sources.
Not eligible for participation are persons who:
- have obligations outstanding to the National Revenue Agency
- are owners, partners and/or managers in a company operating in the same line of business as the new business idea proposed in the project application
- are subject to conflict of interest
- have presented incomplete and/or invalid information
- are under-age at the time of the application

Important!

THE PROJECT WILL NOT FINANCE THE FOLLOWING:
- Trade and distribution
- Production of agricultural products
- Transportation businesses
- Healthcare services
- Advertising, consulting, training and information firms
- Financial operations, brokerage and operations involving gambling
- Insurance businesses
- Production of beverages of high alcoholic content and spirits
- Production of tobacco products
- Production and distribution of weapons
- Production leading to environmental pollution

According to the project requirements, applicants will be approved in a national grant award contest for start-up enterprises. The grant application process involves two stages. First, the applicants must apply for participation and the approved participants get training at the BC. Only applicants that have successfully completed this training may apply for grant assistance for starting their own enterprise.

General Terms for Participation

The national contest does not have regional quotas limiting the numbers of participants or the amount of financing to be utilized in each district.
Each person may participate with one single business idea in each national competition cycle. Applicants are eligible to receive grant assistance only once.
Business ideas replicating actual activities of an existing company owned or managed by the applicant, will not be financed regardless of their line of business.
Applicants that have successfully completed the training course under the project are free to decide in which competition cycle to participate and to submit their business plan.
Applicants that have been rejected at any stage of the project are eligible to reapply only once and must submit a new business idea.
Applicants that were included in the standby list in the first cycle and have not passed the training due to lack of training slots, have the right to apply in the second cycle with the same business idea or with a new one.
Applicants with tax arrears will not be financed regardless of the proposed line of business.

The grant competition and award process

The grant competition and award process: a Step-by-Step Guide

• Submission of applications for participation in Project 100 with a clear business idea; selection of participants
• Training of the approved applicants (10 days) in two modules: Business planning and Using information technologies in business
• Final test for the trainees - only trainees that have successfully passed the test are eligible for further participation in the grant award contest
• Development of business plans by the successful trainees with assistance from the Business Centers
• National grant award contest for start-up enterprises: submission of business plans, expert evaluation and announcement of the approved applicants
• Presentation of grant award certificates
• Registration of start-up companies by the applicants and signing of grant award contracts
• Support to the new companies by the Business Centers through consulting assistance, business services and access to financial leasing
• Monitoring and reporting on the implementation of grant award contracts
  

What will grant assistance cover?

The project is financed from the state budget through the Ministry of Economy and Energy.

Grant assistance will cover the following categories of expenses:
- Refurbishment or adjustment of premises/buildings for the business
- Purchase of machinery, facilities and equipment as well as software and other intangible assets
- Pre-start purchase of materials and consumables - one-time purchase of initial stock
- Staff training and retraining
- Product and service development
- Purchase/transfer of know-how and use of information technology
- Marketing, business research and promotion - The grant may cover such expenses only for the first six months after start-up

Grant assistance will not cover:
- labor costs;
- purchase of cars;
- purchase of other transportation vehicles that will not be used directly in the start-up business;
- payments for travel;
- cost of making legal, changing the purpose of, or formalizing the status of premises.

The expenses that will not be covered by the grant assistance can be covered by the personal contribution of the applicant. All other ordinary and necessary expenses for the business will be covered by the applicant. The applicant must also provide financial and/or in-kind contribution equivalent to at least 20 per cent of the requested grant financing.
The project will provide grant financing from BGN 10,000 to BGN 20,000 for each business idea that has been approved in the national business plan contest.
The approved applicants may plan for additional financing to buy machinery and equipment under the JOBS project financial leasing scheme. Application for access to financial leasing is made under a separate procedure.

Competition cycles and results in 2004

Applications submitted: 1,691
Applicants trained: 326
Business plans approved to access grant assistance: 68
Registered companies: 64
Grants disbursed total BGN 992,156 (USD 661,437)

Competition cycles and results in 2005

Applications submitted: 959
Applicants trained: 307
Business plans approved to access grant assistance: 83
Registered companies: 81
Grants disbursed total BGN 1,197,909 (USD 798,606)

Competition cycles and results in 2006

Applications submitted: 593
Applicants trained: 200
Business plans approved to access grant assistance: 47
Registered companies: 47
Grants disbursed total BGN 938,095 (USD 938,110)