10.06.2022 Tsanko Arabadzhiev: The BDB’s big goal is to play an impactful role in the acceleration of the transition to green energy

The big goal of the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) is to play a major role in the acceleration of the transition to green energy by helping Bulgarian enterprises achieve their economic potential. The first step that the financial institute will make towards that goal is increasing the knowledge of BDB’s experts with the help of the European Investment Bank, and that knowledge will be subsequently applied to the business sector. This was announced by the bank’s Executive Director, Tsanko Arabadzhiev, during the Green Transition 2022 conference: “The Green Deal - Innovation, Investment and Fair Transition.”

A study of the BDB that was carried out at the end of 2021 among over 500 small and medium-sized enterprises showed that the main problem of Bulgarian companies is the lack of knowledge about the regulations related to the Green Deal. This is also the most frequent reason for them to delay or completely fail to implement investment projects for the green transition and to delay the transformation of their business.

“The lack of knowledge is the most serious problem we are facing in the attempts to move forward with the Green Deal.” All other prerequisites are there - their projects are good enough and ready to implement, and there is a significant financial resource by the European institutions and the European Investment Bank,” added Tsanko Arabadzhiev.

According to him, the Bulgarian Development Bank has gathered substantial experience in the implementation of the National Energy Effectiveness Program and the program for recovery from the economic consequences of Covid-19, and the bank intends to reinvest this experience in the green transition of Bulgarian small and medium-sized businesses.