Икономически годишник - Стара Загора

А Stara Zagora Regional Economic Development Agency (REDA) is a non-government organisation working for the public benefit.
Our aims are to:

• Assist and support entrepreneurship and small and medium-sized businesses;
• Support local governments in their efforts to achieve sustainable development and create a favourable business environment;
• Promote the region and attract national and foreign investment.

The Stara Zagora Regional Economic Development Agency is the oldest regional development agency in the country and stands out among the other regional economic development agencies in Bulgaria as the most respected and well-known by donors and partners in Europe.  Established in 1995, today the Stara Zagora Regional Economic Development Agency unites the regional development efforts of 6 municipalities, Trakia University, the Stara Zagora Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Bulgarian-German Vocational Training Centre.  Since its inception, SZ REDA has implemented over 55 highly successful projects funded by various European and other international programmes.  REDA supports the economic development efforts of local governments, SMEs and start-ups, unemployed and disadvantaged individuals, and other NGOs.
REDA is one of the leading NGOs in the Stara Zagora region, acknowledged by its effectiveness and expertise in project design and management. The REDA team supports businesses and local governments from the Stara Zagora Region with successfully identifying and accessing appropriate EU funding sources for their development. The partnership approach in working with organisations and institutions and the team spirit are the main reasons for the Agency‘s success.
In recognition of its unique capability as a training provider, following a competitive procedure,  Stara Zagora REDA was selected to provide training for representatives of ten Albanian municipalities, funded by the USAID mission in Tirana, Albania, under the FORECAST Programme.  The study tour was dedicated to Local Economic Growth and Development and took place from 15 to 22 June 2008. It involved a number of seminars and meetings in Sofia, Rakovski, Stara Zagora, Zlatograd and Panagyurishte.
The Regional Investment Promotion Centre (www.investsz.net), created within a partnership project involving ten municipalities from the Stara Zagora Region, continues to promote the investment potential of the Stara Zagora Region and offers the full package of investment-related services to local, national and foreign investors.
At the end of October 2008 the Regional Investment Promotion Centre took part in the 30th International Fair in Bergamo, Italy, where it presented the investment, tourist and cultural potential of the Stara Zagora Region and its 11 municipalities.
In November 2008, REDA started the implementation of the STRATEGY-TRAIN project, funded under the Leonardo da Vinci Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Commission, partnering with organisations from four other European countries. This project is a continuation of the TrainSМЕ project, successfully completed in March 2008. The new project intends to develop a learning programme about enterprise strategy and strategic management for decision makers in small enterprises.  For trainers, tutors, coaches and consultants the project will provide guidelines on how to implement the training programme to meet the target group’s needs.
At the end of 2008 REDA was approved as a host organisation and started building an Information Centre for the Stara Zagora Region within the EUROPE DIRECT network. This project, with a duration of 12 months, is funded by DG Communication of the European Commission. It is supported by the local governments from the Stara Zagora Region and is co-funded by the Stara Zagora municipality. A branch office of the Information Centre will be opened in Kazanlak. The aim of this project is to facilitate the access for students, entrepreneurs, farmers and ordinary citizens to information and advice about the European Union‘s policies and to actively promote local and regional debate about the European Union.
REDA provides active support to small and medium enterprises from the region in order to increase their competitiveness and growth through investment, innovation and human resources development. The Agency has the capacity to offer advice in developing project proposals for funding under the Operational Programmes “Human Resources Development and Employment Promotion”, “Competitiveness” and the Rural Regions Development Programme, as well as other funding sources. The qualified team also offers technical assistance for the implementation and management of funded projects. Two projects by local SMEs (Dezintegrator AD and Kremak OOD) are being implemented with REDA’s assistance at the moment. They will result in the creation of new jobs, including jobs for disadvantaged people.
Stara Zagora REDA works closely with municipal governments to provide assistance in strategic and operational planning, the preparation and implementation of projects aiming at fostering regional development, enhancing public-private partnership, promoting regional investment, and increasing the competitiveness of the enterprises in the region.