 OPIC is the basic programming document at national level outlining the aid from the European structural and investment funds for the period in innovations, entrepreneurship, growth capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), energy and resource efficiency of enterprises;  OPIC is initially approved by the European Commission on , amended by EC Decision (2015) 6759 on ;  The total budget of OPIC amounts to € 1,27 billion, with financing from the ERDF almost € 1,08 billion (85% of the budget ), and national co-financing € 191 million (15% of the budget).

Investment Priority 1.1. Technological development and innovation (TO 1) Priority Axis 1: Technological development and Innovation 23.25% (295.3 million EUR) from the OPIC budget Investment Priority 2.1: Access to finance for supporting entrepreneurship (TO 3 ) Investment Priority 2.2: Capacity for SMEs to grow (TO3) Priority Axis 2: Entrepreneurship and Capacity for growth of SMEs 45.47% (577.5 million EUR) from the OPIC budget

Priority Axis 3: Energy and Resource Efficiency 24.46% (310.7 million EUR) from the OPIC budget Investment Priority 3.2: Resource Efficiency (TO 6) Investment Priority 3.1: Energy technologies and energy efficiency (TO 4) Priority Axis 4: Removing bottlenecks in security of gas supplies 3.54% (45 million EUR) from the OPIC budget Investment Priority 4.1: Improving energy efficiency and security of supply through the development of smart energy transmission systems (TO 7)

Types of activities leading to the achievement of the specific objective Development of cooperation for innovation: Clustering, promotion of collaboration business – academia (TTOs, technological centres, vouchers). Support for in-house innovation: Support for in-house innovation: development and implementation of new products, processes and business models Development of research and innovation infrastructure: Development of research and innovation infrastructure: laboratories, Sofia Tech Park Institutions providing services for support of R&D and innovation in enterprises ( Institutions providing services for support of R&D and innovation in enterprises (Patent agency) Financial instruments: Financial instruments: technology transfer fund, debt instruments for innovation in enterprises Community-lead local development IP 1.1. „Technological development and innovation” Specific Objective 1.1: Increased innovation activity of enterprises Total budget of the PA: EUR

Overall Objective: Overall Objective: Encouraging innovation activities in enterprises in the thematic areas of RIS Budget: Budget: EUR (BGN ) Grant Scheme „Support for introducing innovations in enterprises“ Eligible applicants: SMEs and large enterprises – merchants acc.to the Bulgarian Commerce Act or the Cooperatives Act or equivalent entity in line with the legislation of EEA member state Eligible activities: Acquisition of tangible and intangible assets. Advisory and support services for innovation. Investment costs (T&I Assets) Costs for services Min grant amount : BGN Max grant amount : BGN Launch Date: November 2015 Eligible applicants/activitiesEligible costs

Overall Objective: Overall Objective: Increasing the share of start-up companies, developing innovations in the thematic areas of RIS Budget: Budget: EUR (BGN ) New Grant Scheme “Support for development of innovations by start-ups” Eligible applicants: SMEs and large enterprises – merchants acc. to the Bulgarian Commerce Act or the Cooperatives Act Eligible activities: Development of innovation in the thematic areas of RIS Applied scientific research in enterprises. Research, acquisition and application of R&D results, technologies, know-how, un-patent inventions, IPR. Creation and testing of prototypes and pilot lines. Testing, trials, measurements. Investment costs (tangible and intangible assets) Costs for services Operational costs Min grant amount: BGN Max grant amount: BGN Launch Date: December 2015 Eligible applicants/activitiesEligible costs

Overall Objective: Overall Objective: Increasing the share of enterprises that develop and disseminate innovation as well as enhancing the innovative capacity of enterprises Budget: Budget: EUR (BGN ) Grant Scheme „Development of product and production innovations“ Eligible applicants: SMEs and large enterprises Eligible activities: Development of innovation in the thematic areas of RIS Applied scientific research in enterprises. Research, acquisition and application of R&D results, technologies, know-how, un-patent inventions, IPR. Creation and testing of prototypes and pilot lines, testing, trials, measurements. Investment costs (tangible and intangible assets) Costs for services Operational costs Min grant amount: BGN Max grant amount : BGN Launch Date: December 2016 Eligible applicants/activities Eligible costs

Overall Objective: Overall Objective: Development of pro-innovative infrastructure and of science and technology park Budget: Budget: EUR (BGN ) Direct grant awarding “Sofia Tech Park” Eligible applicants: Sofia Tech Park JSC Eligible activities: Investment activities not financed under OP “Development of the Competitiveness of Bulgarian Economy” Investment costs not financed under OP “Development of the Competitiveness of Bulgarian Economy” Min grant amount: N/A Max grant amount: BGN Launch Date: March 2016 Eligible applicants/activitiesEligible costs

Types of activities leading to the achievement of the specific objectives Financial instruments in support of entrepreneurship: Financial instruments in support of entrepreneurship: instruments providing seed capital for start-ups; start-up capital and capital for enterprises in early stages of development Encouraging entrepreneurial ideas through grant schemes: Encouraging entrepreneurial ideas through grant schemes: support to enterprises operating in specific spheres (creative and cultural industries), social enterprises. Support for production capacity for growth of SMEs; Clusters; Specialized services for SMEs; Support for ICT and services. Institutional beneficiaries: Institutional beneficiaries: BSMEPA, IBA, Ministry of tourism, CCP, business support associations and organizations Financial instruments: Financial instruments: co-financing fund, debt instruments for microfinance Community-lead local development IP 2.1. „Access to finance for supporting entrepreneurship” Specific Objective 2.1: Improving the survival rate of SMEs incl. through stimulating entrepreneurship IP 2.2. „Capacity for SMEs to grow“ Specific Objective 2.2: Strenghthening productivity and export potential of Bulgarian SMEs Total budget of the PA: EUR

Overall Objective: Overall Objective: Provision of support for the creation and development of clusters in Bulgaria as a factor for increasing the competitiveness of Bulgarian enterprises Budget: Budget: EUR (BGN ) Grant Scheme „Development of clusters in Bulgaria“ Eligible applicants: newly created, developing and developed clusters consortia – legal entities or associations, which are not legal entities Eligible activities: Activities for administrative and organizational strengthening. Activities for cooperation and creation of partnerships throughout the value chain. Internationalisation activities and participation in European and international forms of cooperation. Activities for development of shared innovation infrastructure and know-how. Investment costs (T&I Assets) Costs for services Operational costs Min grant amount: BGN Max grant amount : BGN Launch Date: July 2016 Eligible applicants/activitiesEligible costs

Overall Objective: Overall Objective: Provision of support for development and strengthening the management capacity of SMEs in Bulgaria and promotion of the use of ICT and services Budget: Budget: EUR (BGN ) Grant Scheme „Development of management capacity of SMEs“ Eligible applicants: SMEs – merchants acc. to the Bulgarian Commerce Act or the Cooperatives Act or equivalent entity in line with the legislation of EEA member state Eligible activities: Development, introduction and certification of quality management systems. Development, transfer, introduction and certification of good manufacturing practices. Reengineering services of business processes in enterprises. Development and introduction of ICT-based systems and applications for business management. Investment costs (T&I Assets) Costs for services Min grant amount: BGN Max grant amount: BGN Launch Date: May 2016 Eligible applicants/activitiesEligible costs

Name of the procedureEligible applicants, activities and costsLaunch date Creating pre-requisites for sustainable development and successful integration of Bulgarian enterprises on the European and international markets by supporting the activity of BSMEPA Bulgarian SME Promotion Agency: Activities related to support of entrepreneurship and encouragement of the internationalization of Bulgarian enterprises; Investment costs, costs for services and operational costs. March 2016 Positioning Bulgaria as known and preferred investment destination Invest Bulgaria Agency: Activities related to attraction of foreign investments from targeted sectors and countries, incl. implementation of proactive investment marketing; Investment costs, costs for services and operational costs. March 2016 Increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the services provided by the Commission for Consumer Protection to Bulgarian enterprises CCP: Activities related to increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the services provided by CCP to Bulgarian enterprises; Investment costs, costs for services and operational costs. March 2016 Providing institutional support to the Ministry of Tourism for activities related to increase in SME capacity in the sphere of tourism Ministry of Tourism:Activities related to the establishment and functioning of organizations for management of tourist area. March 2016

Types of activities leading to the achievement of the specific objectives Support for increased EE in enterprises: Support for increased EE in enterprises: investment support for SMEs and large enterprises, energy management systems, ICT-based systems to manage EE, complementary support for construction and repair works of production premises. Institutional support for sustainable energy development: Institutional support for sustainable energy development: SEDA Support for pilot and demonstrational initiatives: Support for pilot and demonstrational initiatives: measures for improvement of the resource efficiency and sustainable utilization of raw materials in enterprises and/or groups of enterprises. Financial instruments: Financial instruments: Debt instrument for energy efficiency measures in enterprises IP 3.1. „Energy technologies and energy efficiency“ Specific Objective 3.1: Reducing energy intensity of the economy IP 3.2. „Resource efficiency“ Specific Objective 3.2: Increase the share of SMEs with introduced resource efficiency measures Total budget of the PA: EUR

Overall Objective: Overall Objective: Improvement of the energy efficiency in enterprises and use of energy from RES Budget: Budget: EUR (BGN ) Grant Scheme “Energy efficiency for SMEs” Eligible applicants: SMEs – merchants acc.to the Bulgarian Commerce Act or the Cooperatives Act or equivalent entity in line with the legislation of EEA member state Eligible activities: Acquisition of tangible and intangible assets contributing to EE improvement in enterprises. Implementation of construction and repair works leading to energy intensity reduction in existing building premises of enterprises. Acquisition of heating and cooling systems and/or production of electricity from RES for own needs/consumption. Implementation and certification of energy management systems. Consultancy services for energy audit. Investment costs (T&I Assets) Costs for construction and repair works Costs for services Min grant amount : BGN Max grant amount : BGN Launch Date: December 2015 Eligible applicants/activitiesEligible costs

Overall Objective: Overall Objective: Reducing the energy intensity by supporting large enterprises in Bulgaria to promote implementation of energy efficiency projects Budget: Budget: EUR (BGN ) Grant Scheme „Increasing energy efficiency in large enterprises“ Eligible applicants: large enterprises Eligible activities: Implementation of measures contributing to improvement of EE in enterprises. Activities for reuse of residual heat in industry. Introduction and certification of energy management systems. Implementation of construction and repair works leading to energy intensity reduction in existing building premises of enterprises. Acquisition of heating and cooling systems and/or production of electricity from RES for own needs/consumption. Investment costs (T&I Assets) Costs for materials and consumables Costs for services Min grant amount: BGN Max grant amount: BGN Launch Date: October 2016 Eligible applicants/activitiesEligible costs

Types of activities leading to the achievement of the specific objective Support for the construction of gas interconnector Bulgaria – Serbia: Support for the construction of gas interconnector Bulgaria – Serbia: Phase 2 of Project „Construction of Gas Interconnector Bulgaria – Serbia” IP 4.1. „Improving energy efficiency and security of supply through the development of smart energy transmission systems“ Specific Objective 4.1: Better interconnectivity with neighbouring gas transmission systems Total Budget of the PA: EUR

Overall Objective: Overall Objective: Improving connectivity with neighboring gas transmission systems Budget: Budget: EUR (BGN ) Direct grant awarding – Phase 2 of the Project „Construction of Gas Interconnector Bulgaria – Serbia” Eligible applicants: Ministry of Energy Activities on Phase 2 of the Project “Construction of Gas Interconnector Bulgaria – Serbia” Investment costs Costs for services Costs for materials Organization and management costs Costs for carrying out and participation in events Min grant amount: N/A Max grant amount : BGN Launch Date: June 2016 Eligible applicants/activitiesEligible costs