The Chamber of Commerce and Industry - Stara Zagora (CCI), was established in 1991 as an independent association of companies from the Stara Zagora Region. Its main goal is supporting the development of companies’ economic activity and representing and defending the employers’ interests. The Managing Board consists of the Chair – Oleg Stoilov and seven further members – Alexander Paleshutsky, Yovcho Yordanov, Krasimira Sokolova, Mitko Dinev, Mladen Stoyanov, Plamen Rusev, and Svetla Apostolova. The Supervisory Board consists of the Chair – George Syarov, and the members Encho Baramov and Krasimira Chahova.
The Chamber works inside a network with 28 other regional employers’ associations within the system of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It is the largest nationally-recognised employers’ organisation, incorporating more than 60 thousand companies.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry - Stara Zagora has a worldwide, long standing reputation for best practices in providing information and consulting services to entrepreneurs. The Chamber is much preferred by European organisations as a partner on joint projects in energy efficiency, ecology, business cooperation, and training activities and seminars, targeting entrepreneurs.
As part of a national representation of employers, CCI - Stara Zagora performs regular opinion surveys of companies in the region as regards business-related legislature. Thus CCI - Stara Zagora has been actively involved in the articulation of the legislative framework of Bulgaria’s economic life. Towards achieving its strategic objectives, the CCI’s leadership has developed a work programme, involving concrete activities and initiatives aimed at:
- improving the business environment in the region;
- attracting new investments;
- promoting export and helping Bulgarian companies in entering European and world markets;
- improving labour market conditions;
- enhancing company culture and competitiveness of the regional businesses.
CCI - Stara Zagora follows the policy of joint efforts for creating a better environment for entrepreneurship development. CCI - Stara Zagora actively works in partnership with regional and local government, other NGOs and with companies in the region.
In the framework of numerous national and international forums CCI - Stara Zagora is engaged in the promotion of the regional economy, history, culture, and tourism and of the investment opportunities that the region provides. The Chamber assists Bulgarian companies and organisations in their international business and project partners search. It also assists foreign companies starting to do business in Bulgaria. The Chamber maintains databases of EU and other international programmes and provides information to all interested parties.
SERVICES TO BUSINESSES
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES:
- Maintaining Company Register at BCCI;
- Issuing and certifying Certificates for Origin, references and other commercial documents;
- Issuing and certifying business invitations for representatives of foreign business;
- Registration of Company prefix GS1 and generation of barcodes;
- Publishing of companies’ annual reports;
- Translation and legalisation of documents.
BUSINESS INFORMATION SERVICES:
- Providing information about:
- European and national policies and legislation;
- Programmes for SME; EU Structural Funds; Framework Program 7 and other sources of financing;
- Business fairs, exhibitions and forums in Bulgaria and abroad;
- Energy efficiency measures and Renewable Energy Sources;
- Address information, statistics and marketing data; data from business information sources and limited access databases;
- Practices in product quality, standardisation and certification;
- Organising and conducting training courses and seminars;
- Publishing of Business Bulletins and assistance in business partners search; technology transfer and commercial agreements;
- Promoting companies in electronic media and newspapers, and other PR services.
CONSULTANCY SERVICES:
- Conducting marketing surveys;
- Developing project proposals and business plans;
- Project management;
- Legal and foreign trade consultancy;
- Business management consultancy;
- Registration of inventions, utility models, industrial design, trade marks, etc.;
- Assisting the technology transfer and market realisation of research works - search of technology and business partners;
- Organising business delegations and missions abroad;
- Consultancy in Energy Efficiency;
- Consultancy and intermediary services in real estate;
- Resolving disputes by commercial mediation and with the Arbitration Court at BCCI.
The Chamber established and operates:
The Energy Efficiency Centre supports enterprises in increasing their competitiveness by applying best criteria and standards in the area of energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy sources (RES).
The Energy Efficiency Centre:
- Assists in performing energy investigations and providing expertise;
- Assists in developing SME’s new EE and RES projects;
- Delivers expertise on technology transfers and know-how in EE and RES;
- Assists in EE and RES project co-financing under various national, EU and other international programmes;
- Organises training events and seminars on energy efficiency;
- Develops and maintains information databases on:
- related legislature and issues in Energy Efficiency and renewable energy sources;
- consultants in EE and RES;
- sources financing for EE and RES projects.
ECOCENTER
The Ecocenter was established in 2007 within the framework of the Partnership for Ecopolicy project, implemented with the financial support of the PHARE Program. It works as a focus point providing awareness-raising, coordination, and collaboration in all regional ecological problems. The Ecocenter performs the following activities:
Registers citizens’ calls signalling ecological problems or events and informs citizens and institutions about the environmental situation in the region;
Organises on-site visits to areas where environmental abnormalities have been detected by citizens and experts;
Collects, processes and analyses ecological data, provided by the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Waters, Regional Inspectorate for Public Health Protection and Control, municipalities and other sources, about the environmental situation in the region;
Initiates and organises public discussions and workshops on environmental impact analyses and assessment of particular sites of public interest;
Produces and distributes information bulletins;
Develops and assists in developing ecological projects.
NATIONAL VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRE AT BCCI, STARA ZAGORA BRANCH
The centre works under license No 200212019 /26.07.2002, issued by the National Vocational Education and Training Agency at the Council of Ministers.
The centre organises vocational training courses in 50 subjects in 39 professions and conducts specialised training courses for both unemployed and employed people.
The Centre manages its own e-learning training system.
The centre implements various national and international projects which aim to help entrepreneurs find a qualified labour force; to provide access to vocational training; to facilitate the adaptability of managers, staff, and workers to fast changing economic conditions and to stimulate employment.
QUALITY CENTRE
The Quality Centre provides information and advice in the field of quality management systems, companies and products certification, conformity assessment of technical products, CE marking, etc. The centre has rich national and international databases and brings companies together with consulting and certifying organisations. It organises specialised training courses in quality, certification, and standardisation matters.
COMMERCIAL MEDIATION CENTRE
This is the first ever commercial mediation centre in Bulgaria working for out-of-court resolution of commercial disputes. The Centre delivers mediation services for fast and effective resolution of commercial disputes preserving in this process the good business relations between the conflicting parties. The Centre promotes commercial mediation, exchanges experience and cooperates with other relevant regional, national, and international organisations. 12 mediators registered in the Bulgarian Unified Register of Mediators collaborate in the Mediation centre.
PUBLISHING AND MEDIA CENTRE
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry releases each year the Economic Yearbook of the Stara Zagora Region, as well as a number of brochures and books, aimed at providing up-to-date and useful information about the regional economy, Bulgaria’s EU integration and related legislation; business and new investment opportunities; vocational training, etc.
The CCI - Stara Zagora releases periodical Bulletins with information on programmes and projects; sources of financing; business events; business partnerships and regional business information. The CCI - Stara Zagora maintains the Regional Economic Internet Portal at www.chambersz.com updated on a daily basis with economic news from the Stara Zagora region and Bulgaria. The site provides a wide range of topics and links to useful specialised Internet sources.
The CCI - Stara Zagora produces the economic programme Initiative, broadcast on Stara Zagora TV, which discusses good business practices and initiatives of interest and use to regional business.
The CCI - Stara Zagora initiated the establishing of a Regional Club “Health and Safety”. It aims at assisting companies to ensure conformity with Health and Safety at Work requirements.
The CCI - Stara Zagora is among the initiators and founders of the Community Donor Fund - Stara Zagora which actively launches and participates in various donation campaigns, funding social initiatives of community significance. The Fund turned into an effective instrument in motivating the regional business sector to realise its corporative social responsibility in solving regional social problems.
PROJECTS 2008 – 2009
In 2008 and 2009 the Chamber of Commerce and Industry is working on projects financially supported by the EU and other international programmes. These projects are mainly aimed at fostering the activity and increasing the competitiveness of small and medium sized enterprises in the field of the environment and energy efficiency, enhancing the business environment and in the social sphere. 
CCI – Stara Zagora participates in the largest EU Network Enterprise Europe Network, in collaboration with 13 further Bulgarian business support organisations. The six-year project started in 2008. It is supposed to function as the main instrument of the European Commission to increase the competitiveness of the EU SMEs. The project is co-financed by the Directorate General Enterprise and Industry of the European Commission, with its main goal being to provide integrated business and innovation services to SMEs. (more information on page 54).
In 2008, in partnership with the French eco-organization Enviropea, the Association Civil Society – Stara Zagora, and the Community Donors Fund – Stara Zagora, the Chamber implemented the project European Ecobridges. It was co-financed by a EuropeAid Program of the Directorate General Environment of the European Commission. Within the project, several manuals have been developed to be used as managerial tools in running environment-related activities. The Bulgarian and French partners exchanged experience in this field, established new partnerships, and planned further action to build on the achievements.
The environmental problems and their solutions are among the priority areas to be discussed by the Chamber in 2009 as well. The Ecocenter and the Consultative Ecocouncil established in 2007 in the framework of the project Partnership for Ecopolicy, and involving experts of over 40 regional organizations and institutions, is sustainable and continues its activity.
In September 2008, the project Change was started with the financial support of the Intelligent Energy for Europe Program. As part of this project, the Chamber is partnering with the Eurochambers and the National Chambers of 12 EU member states in establishing a network of Chambers providing consulting services in the field of energy efficiency. The target is to advise 800 companies from all over the country in effective use of the conventional energy sources and for utilisation of renewables by the end of 2010.
In 2008 within both the projects CASE and IMPACT, co-financed by the Business Support Program, experts from the Chamber provided consultation for over 20 companies from the region in implementing the Acquis Communautaire in their specific field of activity and their products.
When Enel Operations Bulgaria AD laid off some of its workforce, it provided them with contractual grants from a social programme in order to start their own businesses. The Chamber‘s experts monitored the business activities of 15 such companies. In its social projects the Chamber is partnering with the National Vocational Training Center (NVTC) – Stara Zagora Branch. Training courses have been organised for unemployed people from Stara Zagora, Kazanlak, Chirpan, and Radnevo, who achieved vocational qualifications. Other people acquired skills and motivation to start their own businesses. Within projects co-financed by the PHARE program and the program BYOB (Be Your Own Boss), Chamber’s experts provided individual consulting to start-ups. The new entrepreneurs obtained a Practical Guide organised into 8 particular business topics. The guides, together with additional information, were published on the specialised Internet e-learning platform.
In 2009, the Chamber and the NVTC are continuing to work within partner projects with several companies aimed at re-qualification of employees and new staff hired. Some of the partners are Dinel OOD and Adax EOOD.
Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Stara Zagora
6000 Stara Zagora, G. S. Rakovski st., 66
Tel./fax 042 626297, 626033, 646194
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www.chambersz.com
