Gencho Kerezov to Webit: Europe Will Finance Projects Only for a Proven and Measurable Result

21 December, 2021

The Deputy Mayor for Digitalization of Sofia took part in the Powers Summit – Power, Listen!, organized by the Webit Foundation and the Atlantic Club in Bulgaria. In the panel “Entrepreneurship” he discussed specific practices and commitments to the entrepreneurial environment in Bulgaria with Asen Vassilev – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Daniel Lorer – Minister of Growth and Innovation, Stamen Yanev – Executive Director of the Bulgarian Investment Agency, Lachezar Borisov – PP GERB, Plamen Danailov – PP ITN, Stanislav Anastasov – PP DPS.

“Not a month passes, often not even a week, without meeting with most of the entrepreneurial and business associations. We are constantly discussing what is being done and what we can do in Sofia so that the environment for entrepreneurs improves. The truth is that most of the necessary changes are within the government and they will happen gradually. It is not just a question of tax policies and fiscal conditions, but it is a matter of innovative solutions in the regulations, “Kerezov said.

At a meeting in Brussels with EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, he himself pointed out that there are many resources for cities in the Recovery and Sustainability Plan for environmental transformation and high quality of life, which, however, must be earned with measurable results. “Which means better projects and ideas, quality execution and a convincing and measurable result. This is the new paradigm of Europe – a convincing and measurable result, “said the Deputy Mayor for Digitalization.

Kerezov added that the term “regulatory opportunism” has been applied in his direction – to consider the regulations that will come from Europe in the upcoming years and be able to position the city so that it can benefit from these regulations, and not have to catch up. “We are the first city to develop a taxonomic analysis, with which we examine investment projects aiming to change the appearance of the city, namely through the prism of ESG and urban taxonomy – how to optimize environmental factors, social factors and introduce better governance. We are already in contact with the European Investment Bank to help us sign up for these projects with free technical assistance. We are already taking action in real time to test different technologies with the entrepreneurial ecosystem – BESCO, PARA, business associations, “he added.

The deputy mayor said that staffing and the proper capture of human potential are a particularly high priority for the progress of the urban environment. “When you go to work in a city, you have to live well in it. It is not just a matter of economic conditions, but of quality of life. We are highly aware of this as part of the vast network of European cities. That is why the development of a good environment is a topic of main focus for me – how to make the environment adequate and beneficial for those young people who are developing and returning to Bulgaria.”