July 2 (BTA) - The Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) has formally notified the European Commission that it wants to tap extra funds for the recovery and development of small and medium-sized businesses under the InvestEU Programme, the Economy Ministry said on Friday. The bank will have up to 1.7 billion leva in available funding.

The final approval of the bank's joining the programme is expected in October.

At the end of May the Bank carried out a market study among possible financial intermediaries and branch organizations in order to develop the best suited to the Bulgarian market guarantee product under the EC Programme.

As a result of the additional EU funds, the new guarantee product will mobilize public and private resources for ensuring access to funding for small and medium sized businesses, which are considered high-risk by commercial banks. This will be a real chance to improve the competitiveness of businesses through boosting capacity in areas such as digitalization, innovation, internationalization and new sustainable technologies.

Over 3,260 small and medium-sized Bulgarian companies are expected to be supported, creating at least 8,000 jobs ad preserving over 18,000 jobs.

The InvestEU Programme will be implemented between 2021 and 2027 as EU's main investment instrument for the recovery of economies, environmental progress and employment in Europe. RI/PP/LN