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 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 organizations and institutions and the team spirit are the main reason for the Agency‘s success.
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.
The Regional Investment Promotion Centre (http://invest-stara-zagora.szeda.eu/), created within a partnership project involving ten municipalities from Stara Zagora Region, continues to promote the investment potential of Stara Zagora Region and offers the full package of investment-related services to local, national and foreign investors.
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”, the Rural Regions Development Programme, as well as other funding sources. The qualified team offers also technical assistance for the implementation and management of funded projects.
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 organizations from four other European countries. This project is a continuation of the TrainSМЕ project, successfully completed in March 2008 and deals with an issue identified during its implementation. 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 how to implement the training programme to meet the target groups needs. The final project,s conference will take place in Stara Zagora in September 2010.
In the beginning of 2009 REDA signed a Framework Agreement as a host organization of Information Centre for Stara Zagora Region within the EUROPE DIRECT network. The Agreement is for the period 2009-2012 and is funded by DG Communication of the European Commission. It is supported by the local governments from Stara Zagora Region and is co-funded by Stara Zagora municipaly. A branch office of the Information Centre was opened in Kazanlak. The aim of this project is to facilitate the access of students, entrepreneurs, farmers, ordinary citizens to information and advice about the European Union‘s policies and actively promote local and regional debate about the European Union.
Part of the key activities of Eyrope Direct Centre in 2009 were connected with problems related to climate as the Climate Action campaign, held in Stara Zagora and Kazanlak within the pan-European campaign to raise the awareness of EU citizens about the challenge of global warming, and the action to be taken to overcome it, under the slogan “You Control Climate Change!”. As a result 40 seedlings were planted in Kazanlak by young people, 15 - 29 years of age.
Stara Zagora Regional Development Agency
127, General Stoletov Str., Stara Zagora 6000, Bulgaria, tel. (+359 42) 605007, tel./fax (+359 42) 638075
e-mail:
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, web site: www.szeda.eu
