The Executive Director, Pavel Lisev, participated in the closing panel of the Green Transition Forum 4.0, the most significant event in Central and Eastern Europe dedicated to the European Green Deal. The three-day forum was organized by 3Enews and the information portal Dir.bg, and the media published a review and highlights of our Executive Director's participation in the discussion "Leadership in Innovation: The Ethical Dimension of Artificial Intelligence."

"The Fund of Funds plays a fundamental role in supporting ideas and projects for industrial and digital transformation," said Pavel Lisev during the forum. He shared that the Fund has supported more than 3,500 projects across various sectors through its instruments, including 320 startups via its five equity funds.

“We channel resources toward various priority areas of the economy, including digitalization, circular economy, urban development, and social entrepreneurship. We are observing a trend of software companies that are more and more developing applications in deep tech such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, augmented reality, digital twins, and more,” Lisev stated, emphasizing the Fund's efforts to support Bulgarian companies with the potential to succeed in European and global markets. Approximately 30 million BGN have been invested through Fund of Funds’ instruments in AI companies, and overall, there is a growing number of innovative solutions in sectors like biotechnology, healthcare, and others.

Regarding the resources available during the 2021-2027 programming period, Lisev highlighted the growing focus on the transition to a green and digital economy model. The Fund of Funds is actively working on structuring new venture capital instruments, with a total value exceeding 320 million euros. He also spoke about the Innovation in enterprises Fund through which 32 million euros will be invested in implementing innovations in small and medium-sized enterprises. “We are also developing two venture capital instruments for the development and implementation of digital technologies and solutions in Industry 4.0, with a focus on companies that can use data from their production processes for further automation.” the Executive Director explained.

The discussion also covered the available resources under the Technology Transfer Fund, where 56 million euros will be directed toward projects and companies from academia and research organizations for the transfer, commercialization, and internationalization of scientific developments. In addition, Programme “Education” will support entrepreneurship among students and PhD candidates, with participation of university professors, creating self-employment and a rapid, focused transition from higher education to employment.

It was emphasized that during the 2021-2027 program period, the resources managed by the Fund of Funds will be doubled, and they will be available to final recipients until 2029. "Explore the opportunities provided by our financial instruments and take advantage of the available resources," was the message Pavel Lisev shared at the end of the discussion, reminding that in the coming years, the focus will be on the less-developed regions of the country.

The discussion in panel "Leadership in Innovation: The Ethical Dimension of Artificial Intelligence" also featured John Havens, Director of IEEE and Planet Positive 2030, Mila Aleina, Chief Expert and Strategic Advisor at Planet Positive 2030, Marisa Zalabak, AI Ethics Specialist and Educational Psychologist, Professor Andres Leon-Geyer from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, Associate Professor Radoslav Milchev from the Technical University of Sofia, and Georgi Kirov, CEO and Founder of Crisp Labs.

The Green Transition Forum 4.0 was held for the fourth consecutive year, with an extensive conference program bringing together over 165 speakers from 19 countries.

For more key highlights from our participation in the Green Transition Forum 4.0 and the overall event you can consult the event's co-organizers article here.