• Bulgaria

Ruse Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI)

Background

Ruse Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) is located in Ruse, Bulgaria and its origin dates back all the way to 1890s, when the importance of the city was determined by its rapid industrial development and the traditional trade relations it maintained with the Danube countries thus paving the way for the creation of the first chamber of commerce in Bulgaria. Today the RCCI is an NGO for the public benefit, providing wide range of quality services to over 1500 member and nonmember companies to help develop and expand their businesses, both at home and internationally. It proactively contributes to the economic development of the Ruse region, provides support and representation of the business and entrepreneurs on a regional and national level (also through the national Network of Chambers of Commerce and Industries and European BIC Network).

Services

  • Business services (registration, certification, trade and custom services, GS1 services)
  • Project management
  • Business planning
  • Seminars and workshops
  • Research studies
  • Consultancy, training and coaching
  • Networking and Awareness raising events
  • Market analysis
  • Design, development and pilot testing of innovative methodologies and approaches
  • Other tailored services, depending on the specific needs of the business

Training and business events

The Chamber has expertise in organization of business trainings, workshops and seminars on various topics such as company environmental awareness tools and schemes, sustainable accounting, collaborative economy, business idea screening, business plan development; start-up investor readiness, responsible research and innovation process, industry 4.0 etc. RCCI also has experience in the organization of broad spectrum of business events – matchmaking B2B, meetings with foreign national authorities, fairs, delegations, consultation meeting and business representation meetings.

European Project management

Along with the business support activity, RCCI has an extensive experience in project management and implementation under various EU and other funding programmes (incl. LdV, FP7, Erasmus+, Programmes for territorial cooperation, USAID, COSME, H2020, etc.), all initiatives related with entrepreneurial support and promotion, sustainable business development, environmental awareness for business, favouring and support of innovation, etc. RCCI has operated for several years as one of the intermediary points under Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme facilitating exchange of experience, skills and practical knowledge between entrepreneurs from all over Europe.

International initiatives

Since 2014, the Chamber is part of the pan-European network of RRI Hubs, where RCCI is the focal point for Romania and Bulgaria actively participating in the spreading of the RRI concept.

RCCI is also an active member of the Digital Learning Network (D-Learn), a highly active network promoting digital literacy and acquisition, with more than 25 other organisations from across Europe.

Experience

Ruse Chamber of Commerce and Industry has experience in B2C practices for start-ups, SMEs and large companies. As one of the outputs from several projects the chamber elaborated journals of good practices with financial and non-financial content (e.g. Eco-mapping/Resource loss mapping, innovativeness) in addition the chamber has organised several events (conferences, forums, and exhibitions) in which representatives of the business community in Bulgaria were able to present the development of their companies. The chamber has a key role in the B2B and B2C communication and exchange of essential content (economic, ecological, social, innovative) on regional and national (as a member of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry) levels.

RCCI also developed and successfully led the FINMAN project (Personal Finance Management Program), which gave us the idea for the continuation of the concept and was the basis for the FINMAN+ project proposal.

RCCI invests its efforts towards the transfer of knowledge, building effective partnerships and transfer of international experience, which will contribute not only to the prosperity of the business and society, but to its staff as well.

Experts

Milen Dobrev

Mr. Dobrev has over 17 years of expertise in operative management, as well as management of projects with both national and international scope related to entrepreneurship, vocational training provided to the business, business support, cross-border cooperation, and environmental performance of SMEs. Mr. Dobrev is also a member of the Board of Directors of the European BIC Network, as well as the European Digital Learning Network. He also participates as an assessor and evaluator of business proposals at idea pitches & competitions. As of 2019, Mr. Dobrev is also part of the supervisory board of the Danube Chamber of Commerce Federation (DCCF).

Desislava Dimitrova-Borisova

Mrs. Dimitrova-Borisova has expertise and practical experience in conducting analysis, organization of events, promotional activities, collection of data for the project results and outcomes, monitoring the implementation, document maintenance, etc. She also has practical experience as a coordinator for many EU-level and territorial cooperation projects, especially in the field of social innovation incubation and apprenticeship. She has experience as a mentor in distance learning activities for high school students and takes a leading role in the organization of actions on a local level during the pan-European initiative European Vocational Skills Week and European Researchers’ Night. She was also involved in the development and implementation of the FINMAN project.

Nikolay Tsolev

Mr. Tsolev has 6+ years of experience in project management and 5+ years in journalism; he possesses extensive knowledge in digital communications, communication strategies, digitalization, non-formal education, civil society, political analysis, entrepreneurship and new technologies. His current work includes the development and implementation of training courses and methodologies, dissemination strategies, project management and research on EU-funded projects, along with media and public exposure of the organization. Mr. Tsolev was also involved in the development and implementation of the FINMAN project.