Small and medium-sized enterprises

The Ministry of Economy has announced new measures to support companies amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including for the first time since the crisis began a working capital procedure for small and medium-sized businesses, reported Dnevnik.

Turkey and Italy's economies will bounce in the manufacturing and tourism sectors when the wheels restart to turn amid the pandemic, the head of Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said on June 8.

All countries plan to reactivate their economies to revive the global trade after the COVID-19 outbreak, Livio Manzini stressed in a press release.

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and Türk Eximbank signed a syndicated murabaha (interest-free) deal of $100 million to finance small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and middle capitalization companies (MidCaps) in Turkey.

· The average SME insurance claim exceeds the monthly net profit of 45 per cent of the UK's SMEs

· The most common claims by SMEs are for accidental damage, theft and escape of water

· Nearly half of small businesses affected by disruption over the past five years

The IMM Invest platform for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will become operational early next week, Tuesday or Wednesday, Public Finance Minister Florin Citu said on Sunday. "The platform will be operational early next week, Tuesday or Wednesday, but rather on Tuesday. I will announce tomorrow [Monday] the exact time when it starts. It is ready, it is tested, I have seen it myself.

The European Commission has approved a €150 million (approx. BGN 294 million) Bulgarian scheme to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Framework adopted by the Commission on 19 March 2020, as amended on 3 April 2020.

In practice, one business should not go bankrupt for three weeks.

As of Thursday, most businesses can submit applications to receive state loans through the new support mechanism for enterprises, known as "deposits to be returned," that will distribute funds of 1 billion euros.

Posssibilities for cooperation in the area of innovation are discussed on January 27 by representatives from the Western Balkans. The meeting was organized by the Agency for the Promotion of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and was attended by Bulgaria's EU Commisoner Mariya Gabriel.

Executive Agency for Promotion of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and INSME International Network for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises will launch a series of online training seminars with foreign companies' speakers who will present international business experience.