Collaboration will strengthen EIT Digital presence in Bulgaria, increase impact on Bulgarian innovation ecosystem, and help Bulgarian deep tech scaleups grow internationally.
Brussels, 30 October 2019 – EIT Digital and the Bulgarian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) signed a partnership agreement on joint support of the Bulgarian innovation ecosystem.
“The collaboration between EIT Digital and BVCA ensures that the Bulgarian tech scaleups are well connected to our pan-European ecosystem and have direct access to the needed support for expansion in Europe and the U.S.. The EIT Digital Accelerator is their next step after conquering the national or regional markets,” said EIT Digital’s Head of External Collaboration, Fabio Pianesi.
Following a national selection, BVCA was selected to connect EIT Digital with Bulgaria-based start-ups with high growth potential (scaleups). The collaboration will be coordinated by the ARISE Europe team, EIT Digital’s program designed to help innovation communities in Southern and South-Eastern Europe, CEE and the Baltics grow and benefit from the EIT Digital network.
BVCA director Maria Marinova commented that: “It is great that EIT Digital supports European scaleups to internationalize; a need we see in most European countries. Moreover, it is a good approach to have a pan-European partner helping companies grow through a variety of services and EIT Digital's network. We are looking forward to a beneficial partnership with common understanding of the ecosystem dynamics throughout Europe, presented by their local partners.”
BVCA already started to actively scout local tech companies, developing innovative products and services, included in one of the following verticals:
- Digital Infrastructure: Cybersecurity, Big data for manufacturing, Networking optimization, Customer segments / sales strategies
- Digital Industry: Smart manufacturing, Logistics, Retail, Customer segments / sales strategies
- Digital Wellbeing: Rehabilitation, Occupational health
- Digital Cities: City mobility, City resilience, City information, Customer segments / sales strategies
- Digital Finance: Cybersecurity, Big data, Future of Retail banking, Customer segments
EIT Digital already supports Bulgarian scaleup companies actively in their endeavour to grow and conquer new markets. In 2018, health monitoring scaleup Checkpoint Cardio joined the EIT Digital Accelerator. Checkpoint Cardio has developed patented wearables that allow constant streaming of cardiac and other significant biometric data, providing a whole system for online diagnostics, prevention and emergency reaction for cardiovascular diseases. It is one of the most avant-garde telemedicine systems for the transmission and monitoring of reliable medical data in real time. Checkpoint Cardio CEO Boris Dimitrov praised the collaboration: “The EIT Digital Accelerator’s Access to Market team helped us expand our business in Europe. And the first jointly accomplished contract with University Hospital Aachen with a volume of € 475 000 was a great start!”
Also in 2018, EIT Digital supported startup EasyDoc, a platform helping patients to select and make appointments with doctors, dentists or clinics, through its Venture Program. By now, EasyDoc already cooperates with six clinics.
