In the middle of July there was a closing event held from the sequential edition of the Masterclass for Young Entrepreneurs from Kardzhali Region project, which United Bulgarian Bank realizes in partnership with the Faculty of Economics at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski. This project is part of the Bank’s sustainable development strategy in the field of promoting entrepreneurship in Bulgaria.

„To us at КВС Group it is extremely important to support and develop entrepreneurship in Bulgaria. This is a strategic goal that we follow consistently and each subsequent year we build upon what we have achieved. The choice to realize this project, jointly with the Faculty of Economics at Sofia University, is by no means coincidental. We are convinced in the potential of this region and our analyses show that there are substantial opportunities for development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, which is to trigger the sustainable development of the province, the launching of new, innovative enterprises and businesses, the maintenance of jobs and the viability of the town, the municipality and the regions, as well as the economic value chains, related to them. What we observe as activity, ideas and proposals on the part of the young participants in this project fills us with optimism and makes us continue investing in it“, shared Mr. Kiril Velichkov, Ph.D, Director of European Projects and Financial Instruments at UBB and UBB Interlease.

On his part Assoc. Prof. Yalamov, Ph.D, focused on the global trend of leading universities’ working with local communities and entrepreneurs, even though they might not be their own students or alumni. „The initiative was joined by 17 young people from Kardzhali Province, aged below 30. Finalists showed good balance between social and technological entrepreneurship. We do hope that our partnership with UBB will support the province in catching up with the average levels of entrepreneurial activity in Bulgaria “ shared Assoc. Prof. Yalamov. „We will continue working with all who are willing to within the next edition of the National Competition for Best Youth Startup, in which we and UBB are partners, too.“ he added.

The projects, proposed by the participants involved both ideas, related to innovations and digitalization - development of mobile apps for tourist purposes, creating an office for shared work and the first robotic school in Kardzhali and diversification through new services, and also more traditional businesses, such as, for example, making articles of various types of yarn. These were assessed by a jury of the following members: Ms. Hristina Todorova, UBB Branch Manager, Mr. Yumer Yusein, DZI Branch Manager and Assoc. Prof. Teodor Atanasov, Ph.D, from the Faculty of Economics at Sofia University.

The Masterclass for Small Entrepreneurs in Kardzhali project enables young and future entrepreneurs in the town to meet experts from the banking sector and university lecturers, from whom to gain knowledge and develop skills as to how to realize their ideas and turn them into a successful business. Within the project they could meet successful entrepreneurs and work under the mentorship of UBB and the Faculty of Economics representatives, by developing specific plans about how to obtain financing, how to create their goals, their organization structure, in order to turn their ideas into a working project. 

UBB and the Faculty of Economics collaborate with each other sustainably in support of entrepreneurship and responsible governance and in 2023-2024 they expanded the geographical scope of their cooperation. Being the largest bank in Bulgaria also in Kardzhali Province, UBB helps its business customers to kick-start, grow and protect their financial legacy for the generations to come.