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Bulgaria’s JEREMIE programme gets a new €210 million push for high-tech scale-ups

By French Tech Sofia, Wilfried DURAND

Bulgaria’s startup story is entering a longer cycle. The renewed JEREMIE Bulgaria strategy announced in Sofia on April 14, 2026 brings about EUR210 million in fresh financing capacity for high-tech businesses and extends the programme’s horizon through 2035. For founders, investors and ecosystem builders, that timeline matters almost as much as the headline number.

The announcement connects the Ministry of Innovation and Growth of Bulgaria, the European Investment Fund and the wider European Investment Bank Group around a shared objective: help Bulgarian companies grow with more depth in the local financing stack. The focus areas give a clear sense of direction for the market, from microelectronics, AI, quantum and space to green technologies, dual-use capabilities and strategic infrastructure.

• Table of Content
• What changed in Sofia on 14 April 2026
• How JEREMIE Bulgaria is widening the financing stack
• What the renewed programme means for Sofia founders
• Why the EIF, the Ministry and the EIB track record matter
• What this opens for European and France-Bulgaria connections
• A longer runway for Bulgaria’s next scale-up cycle

What changed in Sofia on 14 April 2026

At the centre of the announcement is a renewed JEREMIE Bulgaria investment strategy that will be managed by the EIF through 2035. The programme is designed to deploy around EUR210 million into Bulgarian high-tech businesses and related strategic sectors. In ecosystem terms, this is a scale-up signal: Bulgaria is creating more room for companies that need time, specialist capital and stronger financing continuity.

• About EUR210 million will be deployed under the renewed strategy.
• The EIF will manage the programme through 2035.
• The strategy covers deep-tech and high-tech priorities including AI, microelectronics, quantum, space and green technologies.
• The programme also includes dual-use and infrastructure-related windows.
• The public framing around the announcement points to Bulgaria’s transition from a startup ecosystem toward a scale-up ecosystem.

How JEREMIE Bulgaria is widening the financing stack

One of the most useful elements in this new phase is its structure. The official framework points to four deployment windows: technology transfer and deep tech, scale-up venture capital, defence equity, and infrastructure through the Three Seas Initiative Infrastructure Fund of Funds. That mix reflects how innovation economies mature. Early teams need first capital, deep-tech ventures need patient capital, and growth-stage companies need larger follow-on rounds. Infrastructure then helps the wider market absorb and scale those companies.

For Sofia and the broader Bulgarian market, this matters because many of the most promising sectors now combine software, hardware, research capability and longer commercial cycles. AI, microelectronics, quantum and space each benefit from financing tools that can stay active across several stages of company building.

What the renewed programme means for Sofia founders

Founders in Bulgaria have spent the past decade proving that globally relevant companies can emerge from Sofia. The next step is building a deeper pipeline behind the visible winners. A programme that runs through 2035 and explicitly supports scale-up and deep-tech activity can help more teams stay ambitious from day one while keeping more of their operational centre of gravity in Bulgaria.

That matters for companies with different profiles:

• software startups moving from product-market fit into growth financing,
• deep-tech teams working through research and commercialization cycles,
• dual-use ventures operating across civilian and strategic applications,
• companies that depend on stronger regional infrastructure to expand faster.

It also matters for the ecosystem around them: angel networks, venture funds, universities, accelerators, corporate partners and public institutions all work better when a market can support companies across more stages. Bulgaria already has high-visibility examples such as Payhawk in its scale-up conversation. A broader financing base can widen the path for the next generation of companies coming out of Sofia and the wider country.

Why the EIF, the Ministry and the EIB track record matter

Institutional continuity gives this announcement weight. The Ministry of Innovation and Growth of Bulgaria is overseeing the strategy, while the EIF is managing the programme. That pairing combines national policy direction with a European investment operator that is familiar with long-horizon financing tools.

The historical context is equally important. According to the event’s supporting coverage, JEREMIE Bulgaria has already channelled more than EUR1.5 billion through the market over time, supported around 10,000 companies and generated capital that could be recycled into new investment. That revolving logic is one of the strongest features of this model: public money can keep working across multiple company generations when programmes are designed with reinvestment in mind.

The result is a more credible growth environment for founders and a clearer market signal for investors watching Southeast Europe.

What this opens for European and France-Bulgaria connections

French Tech Sofia follows stories like this because cross-border ecosystems grow through financing capacity, trusted institutions and visible pipelines of ambitious companies. A stronger JEREMIE Bulgaria framework improves each of those conditions.

For the France-Bulgaria and wider European tech community, the relevance is practical:

• investors gain a stronger signal that Bulgaria is extending its scale-up financing infrastructure,
• founders gain more reasons to build regional partnerships while keeping Bulgaria central to their operations,
• corporates and innovation partners gain a clearer map of sectors where Bulgaria wants to deepen capability,
• ecosystem organizations gain a stronger basis for founder exchanges, investor introductions and applied innovation cooperation.

Even without a direct French institution in the announcement itself, the European dimension is clear. 

When Bulgaria expands the capital available for high-tech growth, the whole regional network becomes easier to navigate for founders, operators and funds moving between Sofia, Paris and other European hubs.

A longer runway for Bulgaria’s next scale-up cycle

The most durable takeaway from this announcement is the horizon. Through 2035, Bulgaria has an expanded framework for financing companies that sit between startup energy and industrial depth. That includes venture-backed scale-ups, research-led teams and businesses operating in sectors where strategic capability matters.

For French Tech Sofia’s audience, this is the kind of development worth tracking closely. It says something concrete about where Bulgaria’s innovation economy is heading: toward longer financing cycles, stronger European alignment and a more mature platform for founders who want to grow from Sofia into broader markets.

That is good news for entrepreneurs building here, for investors looking for quality deal flow, and for every ecosystem partner working to connect Bulgaria more deeply with the rest of Europe.

This article was published on April 16, 2026 and last updated on May 05, 2026.

Contributors

Editors

French Tech Sofia
Official French Tech hub connecting the French and Bulgarian startup worlds

Author

Wilfried DURAND
Entrepreneur, Business Angel, Startup Advisor.

Sources

1. [1] Близо €210 млн. за разработване на авангардни технологии в стратегически сектори (news.bnr.bg)
2. [2] Bulgarian businesses to get 210 mln euro under JEREMIE's new phase (seenews.com)
3. [3] Bulgarian high-tech businesses to get €210 million financing boost through EIF-run initiative (www.mig.government.bg)
4. [4] EU financing injects €210m into Bulgarian high-tech sector (www.brusselstimes.com)