08.06.2024 / Visit of the APACCCEEC team to Varna
On June 6 and 7, 2024, Dr. Momchil Stanishev, Director of APACCCEEC, and Mr. Zahari Zahariev, Expert, visited the city of Varna to promote the upcoming first edition of the Academy for Entrepreneurship in Agriculture, which will be held in the city from 25 to 28 June 2024.
During the visit Dr. Stanishev held a meeting with the academic staff of the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Economics – Varna. The meeting was attended by the lecturers from the department who will take part as mentors of the Academy for Entrepreneurship in Agriculture – Prof. Dr. Teodorina Turlakova, Head of the Department and professor of enterprise economics, with 32 years of experience at the University of Economics – Varna, actively participated in the implementation of many European projects in the higher education institution under funding programmes such as Horizon Europe and PHARE; Chief Assistant Dr. Radmil Nikolov – Deputy head of the Department of Agricultural Economics, specialized in the basics of agriculture and mechanization and theory of management of agricultural processes; Associate Professor Dr. Maria Stanimirova, who has a deep interest in the field of business consulting and quality management in agribusiness; Associate Professor Dr. Gergana Slavova, lecturer in macro- and microeconomics, entrepreneurship, management, world agriculture and non-traditional activities in agriculture; Chief Assistant Dr. Damyan Kirechev, who has experience and knowledge in the financing and investments of agribusiness, as well as in the specifics of modern agriculture; Associate Professor Tanya Georgieva, lecturer in innovation management in agribusiness and patents; Chief Assistant Dr. Pavlina Ivanova, specialist in human resource management and innovation management.
The Director of APACCCEEC presented to the faculty the successful project of the Association in 2023 – Accelerator Program for Startups in the field of Agriculture and explained that the mission of the Academy is to upgrade the Accelerator at a national level. Dr. Stanishev stressed the importance of such initiatives for the development of the entrepreneurial climate outside the capital Sofia, in other major Bulgarian cities such as Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas. Lecturers also noted the importance of the Academy, emphasizing the close relationship between its goals and the activities of the Department of Agricultural Economics. The organizational details of the Academy for Entrepreneurship in Agriculture were discussed. The academic staff reaffirmed their commitment to actively participate in the organization and implementation of the project in Varna.
On June 6, the APACCCEEC team visited the Varna Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), where they met with the Chairman of the VCCI Mr. Ivan Tabakov and the Executive Director Mr. Nedelcho Nedelchev. Opportunities were discussed for the participation of the VCCI partner network in the panel discussion with successful entrepreneurs, part of the Academy for Entrepreneurship in Agriculture, as well as future cooperation between the two organizations. Dr. Stanishev presented the current initiatives of the APACCCEEC that would be of interest to the VCCI network, including the ongoing Promotional campaign for sending samples to the new Permanent Pavilion of CEE countries in Ningbo, China, and the upcoming Bulgaria-China Business Forum on June 17 in Sofia.
The same day another meeting was held in at the University of Economics – Varna. Dr. Stanishev met with Chief Asst. Dr. Petar Petrov, coordinator of the Accelerator at UE-Varna and lecturer at the Faculty of Management and Administration. The Accelerator aims to foster the entrepreneurial spirit among the university students and to support the development of their entrepreneurial ideas by conducting various educational programs (such as the recently implemented sixth edition of Start for Future LEARN for innovative entrepreneurial ideas). Chief Asst. Dr. Petrov was interested in learning about the Academy for Entrepreneurship in Agriculture and found many similarities between the goals and mission of the APACCCEEC and the Accelerator’s initiatives, which is a prerequisite for cooperation and exchange of experiences and ideas. Prof. Dr. Valentina Makni, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Management and Administration, also participated in the meeting. She will be the lecturer of the seminar on “Risk Management” during the Academy for Entrepreneurship in Agriculture.
On June 7, Dr. Stanishev and Mr. Zahariev visited the office of the Regional Agency for Entrepreneurship and Innovations – Varna (RAPIV), where they had a discussion with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ralitsa Zhekova, Executive Director and European Projects Specialist. Dr. Zhekova spoke in detail about the current initiatives of RAPIV, a is a non-governmental non-for-profit organization established in 2002 aiming to stimulate regional economy through the development of entrepreneurship and innovations. Its members include representatives of 4 types of organizations: central and local government, academic and scientific institutions, NGOs and businessеs as well as individuals.
RAPIV is actively involved in joint projects and activities with CEE countries and Dr. Zhekova has expressed interest in the current projects of the APACCCEEC, such as the Promotional campaign for sending samples to the new Permanent Pavilion in Ningbo, China. Dr. Stanishev clarified the specifics of exporting goods to China and which are the high-demand Bulgarian products on the Chinese market. During the meeting the main challenges for the agricultural sector in Bulgaria and the ways to overcome them were discussed. The importance of the introduction of circular economy for business was noted. RAPIV has vast experience in coordinating and implementing projects and programmes under EU funding, including Interreg, EIT Food, RE-FEM, INNO-MOB.
We remind you that the application forms for the Academy for Entrepreneurship in Agriculture can be found on these links:
Application form for individuals: https://show.forms.app/apaccceec/academy-bg-individual
Application form for legal entities: https://show.forms.app/apaccceec/academy-bg-individual-1
