EIC Info Day in Sofia, Bulgaria

1. 29 Oct 2026, 10:30 - 11:00 (EET)

   Registrations and welcome coffee
2. 11:00 - 11:10 (EET)

   Opening

   Speakers:

   • Momchil Sabev, Director, European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA)
   • Ivan Vasilev, Minister of Innovation and Digital Transformation
3. 11:10 - 11:50 (EET)

   Panel discussion on the impact of the EIC

   Session moderated by: Momchil Sabev, Director, European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA)

   Speakers:

   • Svetoslava Georgieva, Chair of the EIC Fund Board, Invest EU Fund Investment Committee Member
   • Maria Stefanova Marinova, Director and Board Member at the Bulgarian Venture Capital Association 
   • Dr. Milla Marinova, Founder and CEO, R8ER, EIC Board Member
   • Vanya Buchova, Chief Program Officer, EnduroSat
4. 11:50 - 12:20 (EET)

   Fireside chat

   With:

   • Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation
   • Ivan Vasilev, Minister of Innovation & Digital Transformation

   Session moderated by Dr. Milla Marinova, Founder and CEO, R8ER, EIC Board Member

5. 12:20 - 13:00 (EET)

   A walk through the European Innovation Council (EIC) journey

   Presenters:

   • Isidro Laso, Senior EIC Policy Officer, Directorate-General Research and Innovation, European Commission
   • Boyan Zhekov, National Coordinator for Horizon Europe, Bulgaria
6. 13:00 - 14:00 (EET)

   Networking Lunch
7. 14:00 - 16:00 (EET)

   PARALLEL SESSION 1: EIC for deep tech start-ups and scale-ups

   Session moderated by Andrei Lintu, Deputy Head of Unit, European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA)

   14:00-14:45 Deep dive into the EIC Accelerator/EIC Fund/STEP

   Presenters:

   • Andrei Lintu, Deputy Head of Unit, European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA)
   • Jussi Hätönen, Head of the EIC Division, European Investment Bank

   Followed by Q&A session

   14:45-15:30 EIC Awardee Experience

   Presenter:

   • Angela Ivanova, CEO at Lam’on, EIC Ambassador/awardee
   • Svilen Rangelov, CEO and Co-founder of Dronamics, EIC Accelerator awardee
   • Milen Ivanov, Managing Partner at Sofia Angels Ventures, EIC Jury Member

   Followed by Q&A session

   15:30-16:00 Panel discussion - Scaling science-based start-ups: how to raise 'slow' capital in a fast-paced world

   Moderator: Dimitar Vasiliev, EIC Ambassador and co-founder and Board Member of Startup Europe Network 

   Speakers:

   • Momchil Vassilev, Managing Director of Endeavour Bulgaria
   • Anton Todorov, Chairman of the Executive Board, National Innovation Fund 
   • Milena Stoycheva, Managing Director, former Minister for startups, Precede S.á r.l. 
   • Dr. Leona Aslanova, CEO of Bulgarian innovation agency, Innovation Starter 

   Followed by Q&A session

8. 14:00 - 16:00 (EET)

   PARALLEL SESSION 2: EIC for deep tech researchers

   Session moderated by Agnes Monfret, Head of Unit for EIC Pathfinder, EISMEA

   14:00-14:45 The European Innovation Council: support for researchers

   Presenter:

   • Agnes Monfret, Head of Unit for EIC Pathfinder, EISMEA

   Followed by Q&A session

   14:45-15:30 EIC Pathfinder participant experiences

   Speaker:

   • Petia Koprinkova, Professor, Institute of Information and Communication Technologies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (NEMO-BMI project)

   Followed by Q&A session

   15:30-16:00 Panel discussion: Exploring technology transfer strategies and best practices

   Moderated by Agnes Monfret, Head of Unit for EIC Pathfinder, EISMEA

   Speaker:

   • Tsvetelina Yorgova, Research Assistant at Institute of Mechanics, Bulgarian academy of sciences, Project Manager, EEN Network
   • Milena Garthley, Senior Project Manager Innovation Programmes, Tech Tour (S4I2T project)

   Followed by Q&A session

9. Show 3 more items
10. 16:00 - 16:10 (EET)

    Closing remarks

    Speaker:

    • Momchil Sabev, Director, European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA)

Practical information