It doesn’t happen everyday to have a fireside chat with a (former) European Commissioner and a (future) Prime Minister. She is Mariya Gabriel, currently Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria. She has been awarded as the” Startup Ecosystem Star for 2023” for her visionary work as European Commissioner that has sown the seeds of innovation across Europe. Specifically the commitment of Mariya Gabriel was instrumental in adopting the New European Innovation Agenda (NEIA) in July 2022 (the prior one was more than 10 years old) that is the EU blueprint of 25 concrete actions for harnessing innovation for economic and societal benefit. Out of these, the flagship initiative of the Regional innovation valleys is designed to uplift regions with lower innovation performance with a €170 million commitment.
“Talent, Innovation, Diversity are always at the centre of my actions. With partnerships and collaboration we can achieve much more than expected. Expected by others, not us. Because we are ambitious.”