- Bulgaria
Ruse Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI)
Profile
Ruse Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) is located in Ruse, Bulgaria and its origin dates back all the way to 1890s, when the importance of the city was determined by its rapid industrial development and the traditional trade relations it maintained with the Danube countries thus paving the way for the creation of the first chamber of commerce in Bulgaria. Today the RCCI is an NGO for the public benefit, providing wide range of quality services to over 1500 member and non-member companies to help develop and expand their businesses, both at home and internationally. It proactively contributes to the economic development of the Ruse region, provides support and representation of the business and entrepreneurs on a regional and national level (also through the national Network of Chambers of Commerce and Industries and European BIC Network).
Services
- Business services (registration, certification, trade and custom services, GS1 services)
- Design, development and pilot testing of innovative methodologies and approaches
- Project management
- Market analysis
- Seminars and workshops
- Business planning
- Research studies
- Consultancy, training and coaching
- Networking and Awareness raising events
- Other tailored services, depending on the specific needs of the business
Projects
Along with the business support activity, RCCI has an extensive (15+ years) experience in project management and implementation under various EU and other funding programmes (incl. LdV, FP7, Erasmus+, Interreg, USAID, COSME, H2020, etc.), all initiatives related with entrepreneurial support and promotion, sustainable business development, environmental awareness for business, favouring and support of innovation. In particular, the chamber is very experienced in one of the most important aspects of EU project management i.e. dissemination and promotion. Our expertise in that regard have been built over the years as a specifically assigned task leader in projects to lead work packages related to dissemination and promotion. Hence, we have elaborated a comprehensive methodology, templates, quality assurance and reporting mechanisms to achieve high quality results and develop sustainable products as part of this task of paramount importance.
Expertise
The Chamber has expertise in organization of business trainings, workshops and seminars on various topics such as company environmental awareness tools and schemes, sustainable accounting, collaborative economy, business idea screening, business plan development; start-up investor readiness, responsible research and innovation process, industry 4.0 etc. RCCI also has experience in the organization of broad spectrum of business events – matchmaking B2B, meetings with foreign national authorities, fairs, delegations, consultation meeting and business representation meetings.
Key tasks
Contribution of enterprises and professionals’ perspective on the development of WP2 and in WP6 as facilitator for stakeholder engagement activities, with the responsibility to engage professionals.
Team
Milen Dobrev
Manager / Researcher
Milen Dobrev is Executive Director of the Ruse Chamber of Commerce and Industry and joins DIRECT as Bulgarian manager and dissemination lead. With 16 years’ experience guiding RCCI operations and EU projects in entrepreneurship, VET, cross-border cooperation and SME sustainability, he links national stakeholders to the consortium. Dobrev also sits on the EBN Board and the Danube Chamber Federation supervisory board, adding strong innovation-network leadership.
Ayri Memishev
Researcher
Ayri Memishev is Project Manager at the Ruse Chamber of Commerce and Industry and researcher within DIRECT. With over five years of EU-project work, he administers activities and crafts training methodologies, learning materials and visual products. His portfolio covers digitalisation, Industry 4.0, cybersecurity and the collaborative economy. Memishev drives digital content creation, dissemination and workshop delivery for the consortium.
Stela Dionisieva
Researcher
Stela Dionisieva is an EU project specialist at the Ruse Chamber of Commerce and Industry with over 15 years of experience in cross-border and transnational cooperation. She manages projects under Interreg, Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe, with a focus on sustainable business models and regional development. She coordinates and organizes both project-related events and independent business forums, reinforcing RCCI’s mission as a proactive business support organization.
Irena Ivanova
Researcher
Irena Ivanova is European programmes expert at RCCI with 6+ years in EU-project delivery. Specialised in Erasmus+ administration, CSR research and Industry 4.0, she prepares reports, surveys and multilingual training content. Ivanova moderates events, manages dissemination and ensures smooth compliance, underpinning DIRECT’s documentation, analysis and knowledge outputs.
