On 17 June 2026, the SustainX Sofia Workshop brought together small and medium-sized enterprises, innovation intermediaries, researchers, public institutions and project partners from Bulgaria, Romania, Latvia, Greece and the Canary Islands at Sofia Tech Park.
The workshop created a practical space for companies and ecosystem actors to exchange experience, present innovative solutions, explore common challenges and identify concrete opportunities for interregional cooperation. The event formed part of the SustainX project’s broader effort to strengthen sustainable and digital innovation investment by connecting regional innovation ecosystems and supporting SMEs in accessing expertise, infrastructure, finance, partners and markets.
Making innovation support more accessible to SMEs
The day opened with reflections on the importance of making innovation support easier to understand and more responsive to the real needs of companies. A central message throughout the workshop was that SMEs need more than information about available programmes or funding schemes. They need clear guidance, practical connections and support tailored to their stage of development, technology maturity and growth ambitions.
Mihail Iliev of Sofia Tech Park presented the role of innovation infrastructure in supporting companies throughout their development journey. He highlighted how specialised laboratories, testing facilities, technical expertise and collaboration with research organisations can help SMEs validate ideas, develop prototypes, test solutions and prepare for market entry or scale-up.
Maya Deneva from Fund of Funds Bulgaria provided a practical overview of the financing opportunities available to innovative SMEs. Her presentation explored how different financial instruments correspond to different stages of business development and investment readiness. Participants discussed the role of grants, loans, guarantees, equity financing and blended instruments, as well as the importance of selecting the most appropriate type of support according to a company’s risk profile, innovation maturity and investment needs.
Interregional cooperation around real SME needs
The workshop also featured the panel discussion, “Innovation Synergies for Innovation and Interregional Collaboration,” moderated by Georgi Dobrev from the Applied Research and Communications Fund.
The panel brought together Cristina Vărvăruc from Digital Innovation Zone, Romania; Ints Viksna from the Latvian Technology Center; Svetlana Ormanova from AgroHub.BG / AgroDigiRise; and Plamen Ivanov from Sofia University.
The discussion focused on how innovation support organisations can work more effectively across regions and sectors to serve SMEs. Speakers emphasised that support services should be organised around the practical pathways of companies rather than around individual programmes or institutional boundaries.
The exchange addressed how digital innovation hubs, universities, research organisations, public institutions, business networks and innovation intermediaries can combine their strengths to support SMEs with access to technical expertise, testbeds, finance, skills, international partners and new market opportunities.
A recurring message was the need to communicate in the language of SMEs: listening to their needs, understanding their business realities and translating complex funding, policy and technology opportunities into practical next steps.
From presentations to matchmaking
The afternoon programme focused directly on the participating companies. Fifteen SMEs from the SustainX partner regions presented their solutions, technologies and cooperation interests to an international audience.
The companies represented a diverse set of innovation areas, including health technologies, laboratory solutions, artificial intelligence, smart industry, agri-innovation, bioeconomy, circular economy, sustainable tourism, digital education and skills development.
The pitching session was followed by five thematic matchmaking discussions:
- Health & Labs
- AI & Industry
- Agri & Bioeconomy
- Circular & Tourism
- EdTech & Skills
The sessions enabled participants to move beyond introductory exchanges and discuss concrete opportunities for cooperation. Topics included potential pilot activities, technology integration, access to laboratories and testing infrastructure, internationalisation, joint project development, access to finance and participation in emerging interregional value chains.
Exploring Sofia Tech Park’s innovation infrastructure
A key practical element of the workshop was the guided visit organised by Sofia Tech Park JSC. Participants visited several specialised laboratories and received an introduction to the capabilities of the Discoverer supercomputer.
The visit provided valuable insight into the scientific, technological and high-performance computing infrastructure available in Bulgaria. It also demonstrated how companies can benefit from access to advanced facilities for testing, data analysis, prototype development, research collaboration and technology validation.
Next steps: turning contacts into cooperation
The SustainX partnership is now collecting feedback from participating SMEs and partners in order to identify the strongest cooperation leads and define targeted follow-up actions.
The next phase will focus on facilitating direct introductions between relevant companies and organisations, organising bilateral follow-up meetings where appropriate, supporting thematic discussions and preparing a SustainX SME Collaboration Catalogue. The catalogue will present participating companies, their innovative solutions and cooperation interests, and will be shared through innovation, business-support and stakeholder networks across the SustainX regions.
On 18 June 2026, the SustainX consortium met at the offices of the Applied Research and Communications Fund in Sofia to review project progress and agree priorities for the next implementation period. The consortium meeting focused on follow-up support for SMEs, the further development of interregional links, communication activities and the transformation of workshop contacts into practical cooperation opportunities.
The Sofia Workshop demonstrated the value of bringing companies, innovation support organisations, research actors and public institutions together around concrete themes and shared challenges. By combining visibility, matchmaking, infrastructure access and targeted follow-up, SustainX aims to help SMEs turn initial contacts into meaningful partnerships, new projects and stronger routes to sustainable growth.
The SustainX project is funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No. 101180410.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
