27.01.2021
For entrepreneurs
The Fund of Funds has signed a contract with the team that will manage the Mezzanine / Growth Fund - Silverline Partners
The Fund of Funds (FF) signed a contract with the selected financial intermediary for the implementation of the Mezzanine/Growth Fund. This is the last instrument from the FF portfolio for equity and quasi-equity investments, as such it is made for the first time in Bulgaria with public resources. The funds for it are provided under the Operational Program "Innovation and Competitiveness" 2014-2020, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.
The resource will be managed by Silverline Partners Ltd. This is the name under which the Bulgarian Mezzanine Partners Association DZZD, selected as a contractor in the procedure for selection of a financial intermediary, will operate. Its partners are: Evgeni Angelov, Diana Aladzhova, Ivan Hristanov, Loid Schultz and River Styx Capital EAD.
The key persons of the selected fund manager have gained significant experience in the management of alternative investment funds supporting companies in Bulgaria, Central, Eastern Europe and others. Along with the implementation of equity instruments, the team has expertise in providing mezzanine financing, which will be an essential part of the portfolio of the newly established fund.
The mezzanine is a form of hybrid investment that falls between capital and debt financing. In the general case, it enables companies to attract risky financing, without necessarily leading to the transfer of a significant share in their ownership to the new investor.
Silverline Partners will manage BGN 83.7 million, of which BGN 75.3 million are public funds provided by the main investor Fund of Funds. In addition, private capital will be attracted at the fund level, as well as in the implementation of each transaction.
The fund will support at least 10 small and medium enterprises with investments ranging between BGN 4.9 million to BGN 13.7 million, and at least half of the resource will be invested in the form of mezzanine financing.
The purpose of the instrument is to support the development of the competitiveness of Bulgarian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in a mature stage of development. It will provide access to alternative financing for those who have the potential for growth and are looking for opportunities to expand their activities by entering new markets or developing new products and services.
With the Mezzanine/Growth Fund, there are five working funds for alternative investments financed by the FF. Until now, such a tool has not been available on the market and its implementation will provide the necessary resources to cover the entire life cycle of a company's development - from the idea for it, during the initial stage to its mature phase.
After signing the contract, the intermediary is expected to make its first investments in the summer of this year.
On the occasion of the signing, Vladimir Danailov, Executive Director and Member of the Management Board of the Fund of Funds, expressed his joy at the professional work done and shared the following: "I am happy that Bulgarian business will now be able to take advantage of a financial instrument for growth. we need it. Through it and other financial instruments, we stimulate a new way for the Bulgarian economy to be competitive - mostly through globally oriented companies."
"In Bulgaria there are proven entrepreneurs with integrity and companies with regional and global potential. We want to work with them and contribute to their success," said Evgeni Angelov, managing partner of Silverline Partners.
25.01.2021
Are we always online when working from home
Since 10 years ago, the percentage of people working from home and working across platforms has doubled, and COVID-19 has simply further catalyzed conversations about teleworking and working hours.
This was explained to BNT by Todor Kapitanov, National Secretary, Department for Protection of Trade Union Rights and Labor Conflicts at CITUB.
He said that according to statistics, over 50% of working Bulgarians use online forms of communication in their work.
The expert on protection of employers' interests in the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce Zhasmina Saraivanova noted that in the last year many things have changed - both for employers and employees.
We all had to reshape our work habits for a few days in order to adjust to the new conditions. The new moments that have arisen are both purely technological and psychological. The change of one regime with another will inevitably affect the labor process, Saraivanova believes.
The matter of telework in our country is regulated in the Labor Law. The purely legal understanding of the working week and working hours has not changed in the last year.
"The question is to what extent this thing is observed," Kapitanov noted.
Research shows that more than 30% of people have recently reported that working from home causes the syndrome of being "always online".
After working hours, many people continue to work, continue to receive orders.
A European directive is currently being prepared to protect workers' health.
According to Saraivanova, employers do not deliberately abuse the time of their employees, and in this case it is a new regime.
25.01.2021
THE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT AS A WINNING STRATEGY
In the difficult 2020 year, the structural and investment funds of the European Union are one of the few sources of fresh money for business in Bulgaria. However, the grants they provide are far from the only way to finance with European money.
In recent years, operational and other EU programs have directed more and more of their resources to financial instruments - specialized schemes for facilitated debt or equity and quasi-equity financing with funds from Europe and the national budget, which attract additional funds from private and the public sector. In our country, the money for financial instruments for the current EU programming period with a total amount of BGN 1.2 billion is managed by the state company "Fund Manager of Financial Instruments in Bulgaria", which performs the functions of the so-called Fund of Funds (FF).
Financial instruments aim to use public resources more efficiently than grants. They provide financial support to final recipients with economically viable projects, but with little chance of accessing conventional bank lending or free market investments because they have no business history or are assessed as risky.
Bulgarian business prefers to fight for a grant instead of applying for funding through a financial instrument. In the long run, however, this is not always a winning strategy. Because in many cases the fate of the project does not depend only on money. Fund managers of the Fund of Funds, which offer equity and quasi-equity investments, provide much more than financial resources. They bring much greater added value to the final recipient, providing mentoring support and sharing know-how at every stage of the business idea.
Loans through financial instruments have two advantages at the same time - not only are they more affordable and more profitable than other loans on the market, but in certain areas they bring with them free technical assistance. Most importantly, however, unlike grants, borrowers teach sound financial discipline - strict accountability and cash flow control. Undoubtedly, this is crucial for the sustainability and future success of any enterprise, regardless of its size and field of activity.
Advantages of financial instruments
SEE ALL PROGRAMS IN TABLE FORM
Where to look for information?
The Project Information and Financing Department of the Fund of Funds is a single point of access to information - a partner of the European Investment Advisory Center for Bulgaria. It offers consultations to public and private companies and organizations for:
Experts from the Fund of Funds answer inquiries about project ideas, proposals and investment intentions at different stages of development or readiness, give advice on funding opportunities, including combined, for the public and private sector.
For projects in the field of urban development and innovation, additional assistance is provided by external experts.
Contact: bap@fmfib.bg
More information at: www.fmfib.bg
25.01.2021
ADOPTION OF DOCUMENTS UNDER THE EMPLOYMENT MEASURES 60/40 AND 80/20 FOR 2021 BEGINS
The Employment Agency has started in 2021 the acceptance of documents from employers wishing to receive financial support for measures to maintain employment, which have gained publicity such as "60/40" and "80/20".
Decree of the Council of Ministers № 416 of 30 December 2020 extends the period for providing financial support under measure 60/40, under the Decree of Council of Ministers № 151/2020. And for the new period, January - March 2021, the regulated support amounts to 60% of the insurance income of employees, but calculated on the basis of October 2020.
For employers and self-insured persons from the sectors "Hotels and restaurants" and "Travel agency and operator activities; other activities related to travel and reservations ”it is useful to know that the support can be 80/20 if, in addition to the funds provided under CMD № 151/2020 (or measure 60/40), they also apply for compensation under the order of the project “Short-term employment support in response to the COVID-19 pandemic” (Council of Ministers Decision № 429/2020). With Decision of the Council of Ministers № 982 of 31.12.2020 the period for payment of compensations under this project is extended as well. Thus, companies directly affected by the state of emergency will be able to maintain the employment of their employees, taking advantage of the new period for payment of compensation, which is already 01.07.2020 - 31.03.2021.
Under both measures, employers who have been approved to participate in the previous period will be able to extend the deadline for receiving the relevant financial support by applying with a simplified package of documents.
Employers who meet the eligibility criteria but have not yet taken advantage of the opportunities offered by the two measures will be able to submit documents under the new conditions under each of them.
By the order of Decision of the Council of Ministers № 429/26.06.2020, amended with Decree of the Council of Ministers № 982/2020 documents for the whole period 01.07.2020 - 31.03.2020 can be submitted.
Under measure 60/40, regulated in Decree of the Council of Ministers № 151/2020, amended with CMD № 416/2020, the period for which one can apply is 1 January - 31 March 2021.
Documents for participation in both measures can be found on the website of the Employment Agency in the section "Financial incentives to maintain employment here.
25.01.2021
DID YOU KNOW THAT…
A Bulgarian company holds over half of the world market for artificial climbing walls. Moreover, unlike other Bulgarian export products, these walls maintain prices significantly above the world average.
Bulgarian company is a world leader in the production of nano communication satellites. These are small satellites - usually 100x100x100 mm, light, high-tech and with patented data transfer systems. They are produced on a modular basis and are therefore cheap. Being small and light makes them cheap to launch. The end result is that satellite communications can be up to 100 times cheaper! The company is also developing an innovative sales model - online. Satellites are sold as t-shirts and cameras are sold!
Bulgaria is a leading exporter in the world of temporarily canned cherries. These are cherries that are placed in cans of sweetened alcohol immediately after picking them. The sealed cans go mainly to Italy, where they are cut for the needs of the confectionery industry, for catering and restaurants, and for retail sale in stores. It is very likely that the cherries that you bought to decorate a cake or pastry were picked in Bulgaria, regardless of the inscription on the label.
The case with fattened duck liver is similar - Bulgaria shares 2-3 place as an exporter in the world together with Hungary. Guess what: both countries supply almost all of their products to France, which processes the liver, cuts it and sells it. Yes, France is the largest consumer of duck and goose liver in the world, but also the largest exporter ... of liver from animals raised in Bulgaria and Hungary.
A unique niche is occupied by a small company producing amateur radio equipment. Although radio amateurs are an endangered species, they still exist. All over the world. So, the company exports to all countries, incl. China, India and Guinea.
A Bulgarian company is the only producer in the world of a variety of aluminum oxychloride through a unique technology based on the dissolution of metallic aluminum in hydrochloric acid under conditions of internal electrolysis. The result is a reagent for the removal of colloidal particles, bacteria, plankton, humic compounds, petroleum products and other organic and inorganic substances from industrial and domestic waters. There are no traces of aluminum or any of the reagent components in the water thus purified.
Our start-up has also developed a patent technology for remote monitoring of the health of bees in the hive by the buzzing of the swarm! Any deviation in the health of the bees or the optimal processes is registered, analyzed by artificial intelligence and transmitted online to the owner. The owner receives not only information about each problem, but also suggestions for solutions. The company received funding under Horizon 2020, the European Innovation Research Program, to commercialize its invention.
The production of some companies in the automotive industry is far more trivial. For example, it is almost unbelievable that the airbags of your car are activated by non-Bulgarian sensors. Or the brake hoses are manufactured elsewhere. The share of European cars with Bulgarian air conditioners, seats, wiring, windows, sensors, software, etc. is large. If a car has 10-12 thousand components on average, in Bulgaria are produced nearly half. The new trend is electric cars and Bulgarian companies are trying not to lag behind; rather, the construction of charging infrastructure is lagging behind due to cumbersome administration and regulations.
Some remember a "bad" Czech artist who made a reference between Bulgaria and a toilet squat. Well, the man turned out to be a prophet - Bulgaria is already the third largest producer of toilet lids in the world, and is number one on the Czech market!
Start-up has developed a unique tool for providing information and assessing the value of real estate. So far, it is applicable only for a few of the big Bulgarian cities, but the interest from outside is great and this may be the next market hit. After entering data about the property - address, construction, condition, the software tells you how much it costs to sell or rent, what transport communication is available by type of public transport, proximity to a supermarket, kindergarten, schools with their rating, medical care, banks , park, restaurants, how difficult it is to park, clean air, demographic data by age and education, criminal situation by types of crimes, electoral attitudes, etc.
Grandma's teeth (in Latin Tribulus terrestris) is a herbaceous annual plant. Improves health, heart and blood sugar, has a general strengthening and immune-boosting effect. It is found in many places in the Northern Hemisphere, but plants from sandy and stony soils in southern Bulgaria are especially valued. The difference is so great that in some countries such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the extracts from Bulgaria are labeled "Babin Zab" in Cyrillic and are much more expensive than those originating from other regions.
Last but not least, 70% of the dispensers for branded spirits in Europe are produced in Bulgaria.
22.01.2021
Announce today the companies approved for assistance by the National Revenue Agency
More than 8,100 traders have requested working capital support through the National Revenue Agency by 4.30 pm yesterday, when the application deadline expires. The total amount of the requested support is BGN 115 million.
Under this scheme, traders affected by anti-epidemic measures imposed by 4 orders of the Minister of Health receive 20% or 10% of their turnover for the respective periods of 2019 or 2020, reminded by the NRA.
The grant will be awarded within 7 days of the approval of the project proposal. The payment of the sums will start next week, and the revenue agency is expected to pay over BGN 30 million to the companies' accounts by January 28.
The approved candidates will be announced on the NRA website by the end of the day today, January 22, and the exact amount of the grant will be automatically loaded into the UMIS system, where the data can be seen by each candidate.
"Businesses affected by anti-epidemic measures need this support quickly. I expect to pay over BGN 30 million next week, which will at least make it a little easier for those affected by the anti-epidemic measures. The team of the National Revenue Agency made extraordinary efforts to make this happen, for which I sincerely thank them," said the executive director of the revenue agency Galya Dimitrova.
22.01.2021
Labor offices will work overtime for compensations
By the end of the month, Labor offices will work extra to pay all December compensation to workers in closed businesses. This was announced by the Minister of Labor and Social Policy Denitsa Sacheva on her Facebook account.
The employees of the Employment Agency will be involved not only in the processing of the documents received from them, but also of the ones officially reassigned by the labor offices with a higher workload.
The delay in payment is due to the large number of applications, as well as due to numerous omissions or errors in the documents submitted by employers and workers, including in the data on their bank accounts.
"We appeal to them to check carefully for the completeness and correctness of the documents they submit to the Employment Agency, in order to process and pay the amounts due faster," Minister Sacheva wrote.
So far, requests for compensation of BGN 24 per day have been received from 40,920 employees, and some of them have already been paid BGN 3,084,000.
The acceptance of documents for compensation of those on unpaid leave in January starts in February. They will now amount to 75 percent of the insurance income of the respective person, Mrs. Sacheva reminds.
The documents are considered by a commission within 10 working days after their submission, and the results are announced within 2 working days after the decision is made. This means that the first payments under the new design of the measure will start in mid-February, said the Minister of Labor and Social Policy.
The Minister reported that under the measure 60/40 nearly BGN 750 million have been paid so far.
Another BGN 600 million is planned for its continuation until September.
21.01.2021
Until February 1, the type of Self-insurance can be changed
Until February 1, self-insured persons can change the type of insurance, reminded by the National Revenue Agency. Self-insured persons are compulsorily insured in the State Social Insurance Pensions Fund (SSSI), and at their option they can also be insured in the General Sickness and Maternity Fund.
Self-insured persons who choose to pay social security contributions to the General Sickness and Maternity Fund can also benefit from all insured social risks (excluding accidents at work and occupational diseases and unemployment) of social security. The other option is to pay social security contributions at a lower rate only to the Pension Fund of the Social Security Fund (for disability due to general illness, old age and death). In this case, however, the NRA reminds, the self-insured are not entitled to cash benefits from social security in certain situations (for example, the so-called "maternity" in pregnancy and childbirth).
The type of insurance of the self-insured persons may be changed for each calendar year, if a declaration has been submitted according to an approved form by the executive director of the NRA. The deadline for submitting the document is January 31 of the respective year. This year, January 31 is Sunday, so the deadline for declaration and payment is extended to February 1.
Within 7 days from the start or resumption of employment, self-insured persons determine the type of insurance by submitting a declaration in an approved form to the competent territorial directorate of the NRA or through the e-services of the Revenue Agency with Personal Identification Code /PIC/ or electronic signature /QES/.
Upon interruption and resumption of the respective employment activity, as well as upon commencement of another employment activity during the calendar year, the already selected and declared type of insurance may not be changed.
You can get more information and consultations for filling in tax and insurance declarations by phone 0700 18 700 /at a price according to the tariff of the telephone operator/.
21.01.2021
The most important things you need to know about self-insurance
Usually, when we hear that someone is self-insured, we understand that he pays his own insurance. Unlike the employees under an employment contract, for whom the employer takes care to pay all taxes and insurances to the state.
These associations and understandings on the subject of "self-insurance" are correct, but according to the legislator the term self-insured persons refers in particular to the following categories:
- persons registered as exercising a free profession and/or craft activity;
- persons engaged in labor activity as sole traders, owners or partners in commercial companies and natural persons - members of impersonal companies;
- registered farmers and tobacco growers.
Unemployed persons who (a) are not registered with a labor office or (b) have already received the unemployment benefit to which they were entitled and no longer receive money from the bureau are also considered as self-insured persons for the purposes of health insurance. on labor. These people have to pay their monthly health contributions themselves, which is why they are considered self-insured.
The liberal professions "freelancers"
And if you have wondered exactly which professions are considered free, the answer is in item 29 of §1 of the Additional Provisions of the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA). According to the definition given there, "freelancers" are: chartered accountants; consultants; auditors; lawyers; notaries; private bailiffs; jurors; experts to the court and the prosecution; licensed appraisers; industrial property representatives; medical specialists; translators; architects; engineers; technical managers; figures of culture, education, art and science; insurance agents; other natural persons for whom the following conditions are simultaneously met:
(a) carry out a professional activity at their own expense;
(b) are not registered as sole traders;
Self-insured persons are not entitled to unemployment benefits, accidents at work and occupational diseases.
Basic obligations and features
- Registration as a self-insured person with the NRA
Within seven days from the start of an activity that qualifies the person as self-insured, he must submit a declaration of registration to the NRA. It informs the revenue agency about the risks for which it will be insured. In all cases, the person is insured for disability due to general illness, old age and death (i.e. pension) and can choose whether to be insured for general illness and maternity. In practice, this means that self-insured persons do not pay social security contributions and are therefore not entitled to unemployment benefits, accidents at work and occupational diseases. The choice of insurance risks may be changed until January 31 of the following calendar year.
Unemployed people must also declare that they have remained unemployed and will pay their own health contributions. This is again done with a declaration on an approved form, which is submitted to the NRA by the 25th of the month following the month in which the person has grounds to pay their own health contributions.
- Declaration to the payer of the income
Every self-insured person must declare to the persons from whom he receives income that he is a self-insured person in order not to be deducted from insurance and tax. Otherwise, if there is no such declaration, the person who pays any remuneration to the self-insured must deduct from this remuneration the due tax and insurances.
- Payment of insurances, insurance income
As already mentioned, all due social security contributions are at the expense of the person and he must pay them himself. The minimum and maximum insurance income on which the insurance contributions are calculated are determined in the State Social Insurance Budget Act for the respective year.
For 2021, the minimum monthly amount of the insurance income for the self-insured persons is BGN 650. The minimum monthly amount of the insurance income for the registered farmers and tobacco producers remains at BGN 420.
The maximum monthly amount of the insurance income is BGN 3,000.
- Advance tax, annual tax return and annual tax
Self-employed persons must pay an advance tax, as well as fill in and file an annual tax return. The way in which the tax base for calculating the tax is determined is regulated in the Personal Income Tax Act and depends on the specific activity performed and respectively on the type of income (whether it is in the form of royalties, whether it is a craft or a free profession and other).
- Documentation
Some of the categories of self-insured persons are obliged to register and report their sales of goods and services in a retail outlet by issuing a fiscal or system voucher in accordance with Ordinance №H-18 for registration and reporting of sales in retail outlets through fiscal devices.
Even self-employed persons exempted from the obligation to issue fiscal or systemic vouchers (for example, those exercising liberal professions or trades) must issue a document on their income (unless, for example, the payer has not issued them the so-called document "account for amounts paid"). The document must contain certain requisites provided for in the Accounting Act, and the non-issuance of a document with the necessary content may lead to the imposition of fines for each individual unissued document.
As can be seen, self-insured persons have much more obligations to take care of than employees, where the employer is obliged to perform all activities of declaring, withholding and paying social security contributions and taxes.
However, there are professions in which there is no choice whether to work in an employment relationship or to be a self-employed person. For example, due to the nature of their profession, lawyers, notaries, private bailiffs and many others are not allowed to work under an employment contract. Thus, in practice, the choice is predetermined for them, whether they like it or not.
Of course, on the other hand, self-insured persons do not depend on whether their employer has paid all due social security contributions and taxes or whether he has correctly declared the necessary information in order to subsequently receive the benefits or other rights that are due to them. Self-employed persons manage all these processes themselves and, accordingly, if they are well acquainted with the legal requirements and deadlines, they can rest assured that when they need them, they will get what they deserve.
20.01.2021
400,000 people have lost their jobs since the pandemic began
More than 400,000 people have lost their jobs since the beginning of the Covid pandemic in Bulgaria at the beginning of last year. This is shown by the latest data of the NSI and the Employment Agency.
In the week of January 11-17 alone, 7,600 people registered with the Labor Offices, and the number of people employed through the offices is almost twice as low - 3,600.
For the period from February 3, 2020 to January 17, 2021, the newly registered unemployed in the Labor Offices are a little over 404 thousand people. For the same period, 244 thousand people started working through the Labor Offices throughout the country.
Of all the registered unemployed, most are in Sofia district - over 46 thousand people. In second place is Plovdiv district with 34 thousand people, followed by Blagoevgrad, Burgas and Varna with unemployed in the range between 26 thousand and 28 thousand people.
