11.10.2023 Iliya Karanikolov: BDB is planning new guarantee products in the field of green investments and infrastructure

The Chairman of the Management Board and Executive Director of the Bulgarian Development Bank, Iliya Karanikolov, took part in the discussion "Guarantee and financial instruments to support business" during the SIM Expo 2023 international conference. The two-day forum is organized by the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency and the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Financing institutions, investment and guarantee funds and investors who present their products in support of business joined the programme.

"The focus of our support as an implementing partner under the InvestEU programme will be on sustainable and green finance, innovation, digitalization, cultural and creative industries. With BDB's participation in the European resources, we will support small and medium-sized businesses to overcome market discrepancies in these key areas," Iliya Karanikolov said.

With the assistance of the European Investment Bank, BDB is focusing on strengthening the bank's capacity to implement green policies, added he.

The risks that the bank is ready to take in the guarantees given the benefit of green investments for the national economy and the EU were also presented.

In line with policies to prevent climate change, BDB is also preparing three guarantee products in the field of green investments and sustainable infrastructure - for projects in the field of waste management, water and air protection, for projects in the field of multimodal transport and a product for the water sector, aimed at reducing energy costs and providing opportunities for investment in green energy.

As a result of its active work in the key directions for Europe in 2022, BDB has achieved encouraging progress: 13% of the granted loans are for green projects and 18 MW of RES capacities have been installed.