Fostering youth entrepreneurship in Bulgaria: Programmes and initiatives

Abstract

Many international and national programmes and initiatives are focused on fostering of the youth entrepreneurship in Bulgaria. The reason for this is the fact that the European Union underlines a significant role of the entrepreneurship—the role of a mechanism to limit the negative effects of the financial crisis. In this regard the European Commission examines youth entrepreneurship as a ‘necessary and successful tool for reducing unemployment’ and it finds its place in the ‘Europe 2020’ strategy through the ‘Youth on the Move’ flagship initiative. The purpose of this study is to present an overview of some national and international programmes and initiatives, fostering the youth entrepreneurship in Bulgaria and to reveal what is the effect of their implementation. In this regard the author aims to examine the mechanism of their distribution among young people, as well as the reasons for the discrepancy between the expected and the achieved results. In the paper some good international practices are discussed in relation to the fostering entrepreneurship that would be adaptable in the Bulgarian conditions.