INVEST

INVOLVE

INSPIRE

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CONTENTS

Words from Milena

Words from Stefan

Gratitude to Sasha Bezuhanova

Our Leadership

Our Partners

Calendar of events 2013/2014

Milena Stoycheva – Where education meets business

Successful Collaboration between Business and Education: the Partnership with Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria

AmGen: Supporting innovative Students’ Ideas in the Biotechnology Field

Our impact through the impressions of our teachers

Our impact through the impressions of our students

JAB Business Volunteer program

Succes story – Ivaylo Hristov

Succes story – Georgi Kadrev

Winning essay from the „Manager for a Day” essay competition

Letter from the Auditor

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WORDSFROMMILENA

Because entrepreneurs are made not bornWhy do we bring economic education and entrepreneurship to the world of young people? Because we believe that business education is not only about financial success but it is a mixture of entrepreneurial attitudes and skills, which make the young generation more responsible and increase their sense of the world’s social, economic and environmental challenges.In 2013 and 2014, we continued spreading our ideas by means of our programs and initiatives and we attracted new partners and contributors. This year we started a strategic partnership with the bio-tech company AmGen that will cover medical universities and biology faculties across the country. We also launched the program “My first company” jointly with Coca Cola HBC Bulgaria. Business understands the need for practical education for the students and gladly responds to the introduction of novel mentorship programs, traineeships, or company on-site visits and workshops. Uniting our efforts, we are trying to diversify the forms of cooperation with the business community in order to prepare self-confident students who are willing to tackle all sorts of challenges and be leaders within their organizations. Business volunteers (both corporate and individual) welcome the cause of JA because they also believe that entrepreneurial skills and qualities like team work, consensus-building, problem-solving, resilience, leadership, project development and many others are not taught at the university and they can only be mastered in an environment which ensures a working link with real business.In 2013, we started a new initiative called “Financial innovation camp”, which is the culmination of our financial literacy program. It is a competition

realized with the contribution of Citibank in which all students from high schools in Bulgaria can take part. Working in teams, the students have to present an innovative solution to a challenge from the field of personal or public finance. This initiative gives young people an opportunity to show their financial acumen responding to a challenge that has a direct impact in the real world, to learn more about good practices and economic instruments in the financial management sphere, and to gain knowledge from leading financial experts.We are firm believers in the power of cross-cutting partnerships. That is why we make efforts to involve all possible stakeholders to invest not only their money, but more importantly their hearts and souls for the sake of the young generation’s future. More than 3000 teachers, who are rightful innovators and leaders in their communities, make sure that our programs reach as many students as possible around the country. In the last academic year, more than 600 business volunteer mentors and more than 350 companies and government institutions got involved in passing on their experience to young people. The mentorship program for the Company Program and the Startup Program is an especially incredible achievement because in it professionals from all walks of life commit to a long-term contribution that develops the entrepreneurial mindset and business management skills of thousands of teenagers in the country, shaping our future business class.

MILENA STOYCHEVACEO Junior Achievement Bulgaria

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We believe in the boundless potential of young peopleThe way we live and work has changed profoundly – and so has the set of skills we need to participate fully in and benefit from our hyper-connected societies and increasingly knowledge-based economies.Junior Achievement offers experience-based learning programs that are designed to influence the life of young people so that they feel confident to welcome every challenge in real life. Business is a whole area of knowledge which we carefully adapt to the world of children so that they can be inspired to continue their education and to seek opportunities in every problem and every issue. We put heart in what we do because we believe in the boundless potential of young people and in the power of partnership and collaboration.120 high-school student companies and 45 university startups have entered the race for the best student-run mini company in Bulgaria in 2014 – the Youth Business Forum Rising Stars.Thanks to the consistent work of organizations like Junior Achievement, the European Commission has put entrepreneurship education at the heart of its commitment to innovation, sustainable job creation and response to the high youth unemployment rates.Throughout its history, Junior Achievement has developed meaningful and effective relationships with its partners, including schools, administrators, teachers, parents and business.The hallmark of the organization is the inclusion of volunteers from local businesses and civic organizations in the educational process. The dynamic interaction between students and volunteers with practical business experience promotes active

learning while bringing theory to life. More than 350 corporations, companies and government institutions volunteer to host students in “Manager for a Day” and over 40 businesses and government entities support JAB operations through financial or in-kind contribution each year.With the support of business, we believe we give a big impulse to the future leaders of the world. By this cooperation, we are trying not only to improve the financial and economic literacy of the students but also to give them an opportunity to create contacts with business, which may help them in the future.Social contacts are very important in order to succeed in a rapidly changing, highly competitive and increasingly global marketplace.We would like to extend the most heartfelt gratitude to our contributors, sponsors and partners and we believe that together we can improve the life of the young generation.

STEFAN FELSTEINCHAIRPERSON

Junior Achievement Bulgaria

WORDSFROM

STEFAN

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Sasha Bezuhanova is now an Honorary life member of JA Bulgaria

Sasha Bezuhanova – an extraordinary business woman – stepped down as a Board Chairperson for JA Bulgaria in the past year. During her more than 10-year tenure, Sasha helped the organization grow from strength to strength and establish itself as the leading provider of entrepreneurship education in Bulgaria. Thanks to her personal efforts, dedication and commitment, the JA name and brand became recognizable not only in Hewlett Packard, managed by her with sweeping professionalism, but among the Bulgarian business elite as a whole, which led to the forging of many new partnerships in support of our organization’s activities that last until today.We know that this is not “goodbye”, as Sasha continues to support JA and the educational ecosystem in Bulgaria through her current projects. She established the award for young women entrepreneurs “Entrepregirl”, which will be a lasting legacy in the development of a more equitable approach to entrepreneurship in Bulgaria.Sasha, we are extremely grateful for your amazing yearlong contribution – a contribution that truly came from your heart and soul! You are more than a friend of JA – you shaped the organization to be the entrepreneurial leader it is today and inspired so many young people!

Thank You

GRATITUDEto SashaBezuhanova forher contributionto JA

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OUR LEADERSHIPJunior Achievement Bulgaria Board of Directors

STEFAN FELSTEINChairpersonCitibankCiti Country Officer

IRAVAN HIRAMemberHP BulgariaGeneral Manager

NIKOLAY NEDELCHEVMemberPublicis Consultants MSLGROUPCEO

THOMAS BRUNSMemberEmbassy of the United States of AmericaSenior Commercial Officer

RALITSA AGAIN-GURIMemberFinancial Supervisory CommissionVice-president

SASHA BEZUHANOVAHonorary memberBulgarian Center of Women in TechnologiesChairperson

MILENA STOYCHEVAMemberJunior Achievement BulgariaCEO

NADIA VASSILEVAMemberManpower BulgariaCountry Managing Director Bulgaria, Serbia & Croatia

KRASIMIRA CHEMISHANSKAMemberAmgen BulgariaCEO

ANDON ICHEVMemberGeneral ElectricNational Advisor for Bulgaria

DIMI PANITZAHonorary Member

YVONNE PANITZAHonorary Member

GEORGE RANDELOVMemberMicrosoft Central & Eastern EuropeCEE Multi Country Public Sector Lead

BONI BONEVMemberNestle Bulgaria AD,member Board of DirectorsVAPTECH, Chairman Supervisory BoardAnglo-American School of Sofia,member Board of DirectorsBulgarian-Swiss Chamber of Commerce, Chairman Managing Board

Thank You

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OUR PARTNERS

America for Bulgaria FoundationA great “thank you” to America for Bulgaria Foundation for supporting Junior Achievement Bulgaria’s programs “Company Program” and “Business Ethics”, the events “Innovation Camp” and “Creativity Camp”, as well as teacher trainings and seminars for school principals.

CitibankMany thanks to our partner Citibank for supporting the “StartUp Program” in AUBG and UNWE and the “Banks in Action” program nationwide. In 2013, we started together a new initiative called “Financial innovation camp”, which is the culmination of our financial literacy program.

IntelIntel Business Challenge Europe is a competition for innovative products, smart technologies and interactive web and mobile applications. Junior Achievement Bulgaria is the host of the competition in Bulgaria thanks to Intel.

SAP LabsWe give our thanks to SAP Labs for supporting the “Company Program” and the Youth Business Forum “Rising Stars”.

HyundaiHuyndai supports the Brilliant Young Entrepreneurs Award and Junior Achievement Bulgaria is the local partner. In 2014, the start-up company “Parking Sector” received the ¤15,000 award to develop their business idea into a real business.

AmGenIn 2013, Junior Achievement Bulgaria started a strategic partnership with the bio-tech company AmGen that covers medical universities and biology faculties across the country. Big “thank you”!

Coca – Cola HBC BulgariaJunior Achievement Bulgaria launched the program “My first company” jointly with Coca Cola HBC Bulgaria and we are grateful for the support.

NestleWe give our warm thanks to Nestle Bulgaria. The company is supporting financially the “StartUp Program” and in-kind our initiatives “Manager for a Day” and Youth Business Forum “Raising Stars”.

HPWorking with global partner HP, Junior Achievement-Young Enterprise has developed the Social Innovation Relay. Locally together with HP Bulgaria we encourage students aged 15-18 to develop concepts that could have a significant positive social impact.

SamsungThe first Smart Classroom was opened with an official ceremony in September 2013 in 23 High School “Frederic Joliot-Curie” in Sofia. It is a joint project of Samsung and Junior Achievement Bulgaria. We also give our thanks to Samsung Bulgaria for the support of Youth Business Forum “Rising stars” 2014.

NemetschekA warm “thank you” to Nemetschek Bulgaria for the support of Youth Business Forum “Rising stars” 2014!

Sofia Tech ParkSofia Tech Park was a helpful partner in organizing the Youth Business Forum “Rising stars” 2014. Big thanks!

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WalltopiaA warm “thank you” to Walltopia for the support of Youth Business Forum “Rising stars” 2014 and their signature “Entrepreneurial spirit” award both for high-school and university companies.

HRDCThe Human Recourses Development Center in Bulgaria (HRDC) is a partner of ours and we are thankful for the support of “Manager for a Day” 2014 and Youth Business Forum “Rising stars” 2014.

Ministry of Education in BulgariaJunior Achievement Bulgaria’s programs are approved by the Ministry of Education. A cooperation agreement between Junior Achievement Bulgaria and the Ministry of Education was concluded in 2012.

Ministry of Economy and EnergyThe Ministry of Economy and Energy is the initiator of the StARTs project, which aims to introduce the practice of training firms in arts schools (2013-2014). The Ministry selected Junior Achievement Bulgaria to implement the project. We express heartfelt gratitude for the wonderful partnership!

President of BulgariaThe President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Mr. Rossen Plevneliev, was Patron of the Youth Business Forum “Rising Stars” 2013 and 2014 and he kindly admires all of our entrepreneurial initiatives for the young people in Bulgaria.

Sofia MunicipalitySofia Municipality Mayor Mrs. Yordanka Fandakova was an official guest at our events in 2013 and 2014 and delivered inspirational speeches to the audiences at “Manager for a Day” initiative and “Rising stars” forum. Mrs. Fandakova also bestowed the prize to the Teacher of the year of Junior Achievement and Sofia Municipality, Mrs. Stefka Manolilova, from 137 High School “Angel Kanchev”.

SubwaySubway supported Youth Business Forum “Rising stars” in-kind and gladdened the participants with sandwiches for lunch.

YatotoA warm “thank you” to the new social network Yatoto for supporting the Youth Business Forum “Rising stars” 2014!

PorscheA big “thank you” to our Gold partner of “Manager for a Day” 2014, Porsche Bulgaria!

Dundee Precious MetalsDundee Precious Metals Inc. supported “Manager for a Day” 2014 and Junior Achievement Bulgaria says “Thanks”!

U.S. Embassy“U.S.-Bulgaria Entrepreneurship Partnership: Mentoring to Develop the Architecture for Innovation” is a project that Junior Achievement Bulgaria started with the U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria. In four mentoring weeks, the project encouraged cooperation among business, academia and government in promoting innovation. The U.S. Embassy also supported the pilot JA project “Social cohesion through teaching entrepreneurship and employability skills for young people at risk”.

General ElectricGeneral Electric is a global partner of Junior Achievement Worldwide and locally GE supports our programs for ages 6-12 – “Ourselves”, “Our Families”, “Our Community”, “Our City”, “Europe and Me”.

Publicis Consultants MSLGROUPJunior Achievement Bulgaria owes its professional PR and Media presence to our partner Publicis Consultants MSLGROUP, big “thank you”!

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September 18: The opening of the first smart classroom in Bulgaria was at 23 High School in Sofia

November 18-24: Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW), hosted for the 6th year in a row in Bulgaria by Junior Achievement Bulgaria, with over 150 initiatives. Part of GEW were:

• November 21-22: Ice House Entrepreneurship Program Facilitator Training – a program designed to inspire and engage students in the fundamental aspects of an entrepreneurial mindset.

• November 20: The “New vision” forum at Radisson hotel, Sofia

December 7-8: 15 teachers have been trained within the framework of the project “My life, my finances – financial literacy for the youth“, which took place in 10 Bulgarian cities.

2013

OUR CALENDARof events 2013/2014school and academic year

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February 1: Junior Achievement Bulgaria launched the “Green entrepreneurship for sustainable development” project, its major elements being a 3-month online educational course and a one-week Eco-camp in the autumn of 2014.

February 8: 60 high-school students participated in the National competition “Innovation camp”

February 10: the “Business ethics” competition encouraged socially responsible business behavior of high-school students from around the country

March 12: Over 1000 high-school and university students took part in the career orientation initiative “Manager for a Day”

2014

Students100% of the participants would recommend the event100% of the asked would participate againOnly 3% of the attendants had some problems with the communication with JAB team

Companies44% of the interviewed companies would hire their “manager for a day”91% of the companies are satisfied with the “manager” and only 9% claim that there is more to be asked or done. None of them finds the “managers for a day” not serious enough.50% of the companies took part in the event with the purpose to make the company they represent more popular.21% of the corporations and organizations joined the event in search of young trainees (future employees).

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April 12-13: Bulgaria participated for the second year in a row in the NASA International Space Apps Challenge. Junior Achievement Bulgaria was a main logistics and administration partner of the event.

April 12: TITAN Virtual Enterprise Competition final – part of the annual educational competitions calendar of the Ministry of Education

April 27-29: For first time in 2014, we organized regional trade fairs within the Company Program in 4 regions: Varna, Pleven, Blagoevgrad and Plovdiv.

May 11-12: 150 young economists from 30 cities participated in the second national competition in financial literacy “Financial innovation camp”.

May 15: National competition “Best Social Enterprise”, in which student companies presented their social and environmental activities on-line.

2014

June 6: The Youth Business Forum “Rising Stars” awarded the most perspective student companies among 120 schools and 16 universities.

June 20-22: A specialized course for trainers of entrepreneurship programs in secondary schools took place with the financial support of the Ministry of Education. The trainers are experienced teachers who have implemented JA programs successfully in their schools in the course of several years.

July 2-4: JA-YE Europe Enterprise Challenge took place in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The winning university start-up company from Bulgaria, KSEN Cosmetics from the Sofia University, took part in the competition.

July 3-4: Information seminar for principals of high schools. Over 65 principals of different types of secondary schools learned more about JA programs and initiatives and how they can be integrated in the school curricula. + survey results

July 22-24: 25th JA-YE Company of the Year Competition in Tallinn, Estonia. The student company BeeHive from Rakitovo took part as a Bulgarian national winner, sparkling a lot of interest with its innovative bee hive made out of recycled paper.

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JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENTBULGARIA – wherethe Education meets Business

Interview by Aleksandra Dzhandeva, Karieri, Economedia

Ms. Stoycheva, let’s start with something positive – you communicate with young and ambitious people daily, what do they inspire you with?I get inspired when I find that they have a very strong desire and willingness to believe in themselves and seek their own paths to presonal development. I notice more commitment and responsibility. Another thing is their desire to govern their fate and future.Moreover, I believe that they have much more optimism, which comes perhaps from the fact that they have greater access to information and opportunities. I even have the feeling that it is set in their DNA to be more curious and to search for solutions.Therefore, I think education should be rather an environment where they can develop their curiosity and abilities, to supply them with the necessary skills and tools, but also to promote their free thinking.

You mentioned the easy access to information – what do young people most frequently lack?I think that they lack a set of skills that are related to general economic literacy, a common business culture, a common behavior - to perceive opportunities as economic expressions to find the exact form of the things that could be developed and to pack it in the right format.These gaps are still due to the fact that our educational system lacks the integral approach in which education is the environment where young people can develop. Still prevails studying by heart, the type of materials that are not so much related to analytical thinking and teamwork, which actually are the things that happen to be utterly required for a person to find his/hers way and to do well.Generally speaking - the young people should focus on their behavioral culture, soft skills, how to present their idea, communication skills, the ability to talk about what you know or what you did.

You develop many programs aimed at young people. Describe a generalized model of knowledge you offer?Our model is progressive – i.e. upgrading skills and knowledge from an early age to a higher course. Gradually completing, expanding of this culture and behavior.The idea is that the children should learn from very small that they should be well oriented in their environment, to think economically about everyday life and about how they fit in this environment and how they can contribute to its development. For example, they learn from an early age about the family budget and what are the roles in it and consequently this helps them to shape their personality.Another key element in our programs is that they are associated with the practice. This is done with the participation of practitioners and real cases.

Let’s talk about the role of the teachers - how it has changed over the years, what are your observations?It is very difficult, but of great significance to explain the huge importance of the personal development of the teacher and how important it is to work with him/her.In our work we try to put teachers in the same conditions in which the students work, i.e. they pass through the programs in a similar way and this changes their behavior and thinking. They begin to see themselves in the role of mentors and advisors, not the people who directly say something which should be memorized and reproduced necessarily the same. When their role has also changed, they become more flexible in the environment in which they work, and this consequently changes the school.We have schools, we have worked from the start with – we observe that over the years they become more modern, they naturally have begun to work with the parents, business representatives, they attract ideas and people. They have started to turn

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the school into a center, where all members of the society gather and the behavior of children and their future are shaped.

And how has the business changed – has it learned to believe in the power of youthful enthusiasm?Certainly there are processes of opening, of desire by the business world and companies to participate in the educational process. They see that this interaction is a two-way one and leads to development of staff. It’s not so common and not so trivial for an employee to face a group of teenagers or to be in a university, and be able to present what he/she does in a way that engages the audience.This helps the business people as well – to realize their real position and role, to develop their communication skills, presentation skills, teamwork, to show that they deserve to be at this position and that they can impart knowledge.In the whole world the business work model and behavioral model towards the customers has changed and the companies become more entrepreneurial. In other words – they become more open and demand their staff to be more engaged with what they do, to be more innovative, to think outside the box and to feel owners of what they produce or do.Recently we notice that there is more engagement in the educational sphere even in the Bulgarian companies. Something that was more difficult before. Nowadays we have many consultants, including the representatives of the state administration and of the small business, who work not only in the big cities. They all understand the importance of being engaged in this change.

Why do we avoid using the cliché that the education prepares people who are not ready for the business world? What is the reality through your eyes?It really hurts me that the educational law was not accepted. It is very old. There should be changes in the curricula and these changes should be in a way that reflects the future trends, not the present.It should be based on something that in 20 years’ time will lead to good results. There should be more focus on economic literacy, general education, entrepreneurial and communication skills, digital culture in the syllabus.

Do you work with universities or colleges – what changes are needed in this sphere?It is more than clear that our universities are not competitive enough. It is difficult to represent the actual market trends; they are not orientated towards imparting skills to the students that could help them when they go into the business world in order to start something on their own.We work with 16-17 universities at the current moment on our startup project, which helps students create their own business. However, this is not because we want everybody to become a businessman/ businesswoman, we simply want

to engage their mind so they could see their professional realization in the economic field.This is also a reason why there should be a reform in the universities. The environment should change, it should be something more, a place to face problems and challenges. These people are mature in their way of thinking, they come up with solutions and in the university these things could happen – there could be a conversation, to solve cases and problems, not to study by heart.Young people should learn how to draw a conclusion and have results.

You mentioned the startups – are they the key to the future independence of every ambitious young man?For me it is very curious how this trend became even a part of the education. When we started working in Bulgaria 17 years ago, entrepreneurship was at first an incomprehensible word, after that a bad world, it was even interpreted narrowly only as someone who invests in construction activities. Afterwards it was a word, which was related only to the business, it had nothing to do with common knowledge.The society needed a lot of time to accept the fact that this is a way to show that a person is economically orientated in one’s field and to think how to develop oneself. Now the situation is similar with the startups.Our university program has existed for 8 years, but in the last 3-4 years it became popular – everybody now talks about startups, even at times they do not know the meaning of the word. Startup is the opportunity and realization that you can develop an idea into an economic opportunity.It is nice to know that students and businesspeople start to see in entrepreneurship another opportunity for career development. I am very pleased to see that this is happening – the startups have changed the behavior and the understanding in our field, they made it more dynamic.

How do you teach the business world to believe in the startups?The business world believes when it sees results.When the companies started recognizing the people with whom we have worked, they became aware that it is necessary to make an investment and to work with us. Business learns from results.Another thing it learns even better from is when the company’s staff participate in any of our competitions, initiatives, even in the teaching process. Then they see the advantages in the communication and in the practice. The staff is one of the best ways to engage afterwards the whole company.

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Successful Collaboration

between Business

and Education:

the Partnership with

Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria

1. Which are the most valuable practical dimensions of the collaboration between business and education, which you can identify as a partner of a JAB’s program?

This year we are starting a strategic partnership with Junior Achievement for the development of young people and with huge desire we are starting the program “My first company”. Its aim is to combine in an innovative way the efforts of the academic world and business and to show how they can collaborate effectively in the benefit of students. Business is the place where you demonstrate the knowledge accumulated in the process of education. The earlier the link between business and education starts, the more useful it will be for the young people. For us their growth/development is our main priority – they are the next generation which will take decisions for the development of the business and will rule the company. For this reason it is important to develop their entrepreneur spirit from an early stage, as well as to stimulate their thinking as owners of the business. Theoretical knowledge accumulated during the education process is significantly important but it can increase easily in the practice field and in the real entrepreneurial environment. With this aim an innovation camp was organized in the Coca Cola office, during which the students had the opportunity to work on real business cases and to give effective solutions. During their work they were consulted by the company team and teachers from the represented universities. The results were evaluated by Coca Cola managers and young entrepreneurs who have already taken part in Junior Achievement initiatives. With the accumulated knowledge the students develop their own business plan which is close to the real activity of a company. That is how interesting ideas for new products and activation of the market were born which gives a fresh and non-traditional point of view, which for sure is useful for the business.

2. Is there something else which can be done so that education is connected with business even more effectively within the program “Start UP program” (“My first company” with Coca-Cola) of which you are a partner?

During the innovation camp in Coca-Cola, the students shared that they are not familiar enough with the real business cases in which they can enforce the learnt theory and they need an experience in business environment which is beyond the theory. A huge part of the abilities of the successful entrepreneur are not covered in depth in academic preparation but are accumulated with a real experience: leadership abilities, negotiation abilities, time management, presentation skills, team working. They are as important as theoretical knowledge and only when they are combined effectively they can lead to real results which are in the long-term benefit for the business and the young people. In this direction we believe that frequent meetings between representatives of the business and students are of a crucial importance. The initiative “My first company” includes working with mentors of Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria who share their experience voluntarily in order to decrease the distance between the real business world and universities. This approach started with the first edition of the initiative and within it 5 student companies worked with business mentors who helped them with useful practical advice. The mentorship program turned out to be very effective in the preparation of the students for the national competition for the best student company and for sure it will be developed in the future years.

Kristiana Chakarova,Corporate communications

manager at Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria

Coca Cola:

Supporting innovative

Students’ Ideas

in the Biotechnology Field

1. What are the most valuable practical dimensions of the collaboration between business and education that you can identify as a partner of a JAB’s program?

The most significant advantage of the connection between education and business is that they are helping each other to become more useful for each other. Or in other words, business identifies its practical needs and education adapts its programs to ensure a prepared staff. Each employer prefers hiring well prepared employees which answer the current requirements and can become effective very fast.On the other hand, young people get an opportunity even during their education to gain a clear vision about certain professions and to build their desires for a future professional realization which will best fit to their abilities and ambitions.

2. Is there something else which can be done so that education is connected with business even more effectively within the “Start UP program” of which you are a partner?

I think the program is very good and it helps develop the spirit of entrepreneurship, which is by default not very well represented in the educational programs in Bulgaria. Since the progress of the innovative technologies and profiles is growing faster than the actualization of the educational programs, the conduction of such projects will give enormous impulse for the knowledge. I will give an example with the biotechnologies which are the most innovative field in the medicine and they are already used in the treatment of a number of diseases. However there is almost nothing mentioned about them in the educational curricula of doctors, pharmacists and biologists. In this direction I think it is appropriate to expand the collaboration and to diversify the forms of cooperation with the business, especially in the field of innovations.

Ph.D. Krasimira Chemishanska,M.D., MBA, CEO of AMGEN Bulgaria

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OUR IMPACTthrough our Teachers

Which JAB programs do you teach?I am familiar with all JA programs, I have worked with the programs for primary and secondary grades. In the last year I worked on “Europe and me” in 4th grade and project “Success”. I have worked with colleagues on “Economics for success” – 8th grade and the organization of an event in the elective course “Entrepreneurship and Business”.

What do the JAB projects give to your students?Precious economic knowledge – for professions, society, resources, the business world, financials, leadership skills… and a comprehensive expansion of the content in all subjects. The children learn from an early age about the world of career choices and are career oriented afterwards. Last but not least, they are taught how to work in a team and are given amazing opportunities for contribution.

What do the JAB programs give to you?An enormous willingness to work and improve myself (regardless of my experience), many opportunities to apply the innovations in the education as well as the opportunity to see that my students have succeeded.If you had to describe JA as an emotion, which one would it be?I love these programs. They are a positive charge, aspirations, success.

Emilia Palamarkova,teaches JA Programsat 119 High School, Sofia

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Which JAB programs do you teach?In high school in 11th grade – Student Company, 12th grade – entrepreneurship, IT specialized education 9th-11th grade on the JAB syllabus, project “Success” secondary school – “It’s my business” and “Economics for success”.

What do the JAB projects give to your students?“Georgi Benkovski“ High School, Pazardzhik, puts emphasis on the results from the major specialization, which the youngsters follow after they graduate their primary education. “Entrepreneurship and business” – participation in different initiatives such as “Manager for a day”, “Creativity camp”, “Student company”, open-air integrated lessons, which are the base of the entrepreneurial way of thinking, studying the basis of small and middle-sized business development. These things motivate them to continue their education in Bulgaria where they can study economics-related subjects after they graduate. For the past 6 years, my students have applied at these universities and after they graduate, they manage to become successful at the labor market. That is why I argue that JAB is a foundation whose main purpose is to motivate and to guide young people to find themselves in their professional orientation.

What do the JAB programs give to you?Many new contacts, partnerships, as a secondary and high school teacher – motivation for my new colleagues to work on the JAB projects. Thanks to JAB programs, my participation in different initiatives and being a teacher of their programs, I have been nominated twice for “Teacher of the year” from the pedagogical council of the school and I have defended first professional degree in 2013 as I was developing “Using ICT” in the concentration “Entrepreneurship - Student Company”. Thanks to JAB programs, I proved myself to be a teacher with willingness for integrated lessons, entrepreneurial and creative thinking. I am thankful to the whole JAB team for showing us how to work in a team, to be united, how to present our results and how to respect our competitors and the work of others.If you had to describe JA as an emotion, which one would it be?A fluffy cloud in which everybody who gets in, whoever he is, whatever he thought – goes out illuminated by kindness, positive thinking and finds himself in life, i.e. the unreal becomes real.A tale of kindness, creativity and friendship.

Lilia Chausheva,teaches JA Programs at“Georgi Benkovski“ High School, Pazardzhik

1276 UNIVERSITY

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Ivona Velkova, 18 years old, from “Kozma Trichkov” Secondary School, Vratsa12th grade and taking part in the program “Student Company” during 2013/2014 school year

Did you manage to put in practice what you have learnt about economics, finance and entrepreneurship from JAB programs?Yes, in a very positive way. All initiatives of JAB are connected with gaining skills for sound business planning, marketing and advertising. The program “Student Company” is the essential cross point where I managed to show what I have learnt in different activities. During its management I have learnt more about shares, about sharing the capital, establishing the profit, making different marketing strategies and creating a good team. My communication skills have improved and I managed to impress everyone with new skills and knowledge. I gained different experience from each competition where I took part. My abilities to work in a team have improved. Marketing is one of the basic sciences which are presented in the JAB activities. I can say that during the competitions I cultivated my marketing skills and knowledge and I am very proud of the results. With the help of the student companies I developed very useful organizational experience. The basic thing is to achieve good profit with less expenses, I saw the finance field form a different point of view as something necessary and easy. One of the most important things for a successful business which I learnt during my activities is to manage to cooperate and adapt quickly to an unfamiliar environment. Owing to these activities now I think in a more innovative way and see different business opportunities everywhere. I see a solution in every program.

What are your impressions from the work with mentors in the programs?I have taken part in JA’s “Student Company” program for two years. During these two years we had mentors who were all the time right next to us. One of the basic things which a mentor has to do is to listen carefully to the students and to see things from their point of view. During these two years the business mentors of JAB were part of our small family in the “Student company” program. They believed in us and accepted our vision, supported us all the way and taught us how to think innovatively. Everyone gained different experience from the work with mentors. For me personally, it helped me to improve my team work, I learnt to listen to people, how to make good presentations and how to think innovatively.

Alexander Panayotov, part of the company “Parking Sector”, won the “Hyundai Brilliant Young Entrepreneurs” award at the national JAB business forum “Rising stars” in June 2014.

Alexander is a Computer science senior at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics, Sofia University. During the 2013/2014 academic year he took part in “Start UP Program” and in “Manager for a day”.The company “Parking Sector” uses technology in order to eliminate the problems associated with finding a parking space.

What business experience did you gain as a participant in JAB programs?One of the most valuable advantages of JAB programs is the practical experience in the world of business, which I earned and continue to earn. I learnt what it is to be an entrepreneur, how to start a business, what to pay attention to in a startup company, how to recognize business opportunity, how to structure a business model, how to reach customers and clients. I also learnt how to prepare a successful presentation and how to develop a team. I got answers to these and many others questions and all of this in the context of my project, my problems and difficulties concerned with it. Another valuable thing I got was the mindset! To build a startup company is difficult and mistakes and failures are an integral part of the path of an entrepreneur. I realized that it was not scary to fail, but we must learn from our mistakes and move on. Last but not least, I learned how to represent my business effectively in order to find funding, attract investment partners and others.

You won the Hyundai Brilliant Young Entrepreneurs award, how it changed the business development of your company? What is next for you and Parking Sector?Firstly, the Hyundai award motivated us greatly! We worked hard and therefore we were self-confident even before we won it. However, to receive recognition from such an innovative giant as Hyundai, as well as the approval of prominent business people, further contributed to the motivation and determination to develop a great company and create a great product. There is no doubt that our service is the future of the search and management of parking spaces. Awarding us with the prize of Hyundai shows that established professionals with great experience share our faith for the future of our service!Besides motivation and more enthusiasm for work, the financial incentive allows us to be flexible and focus on building a solid company and elegant product! Now we can even use professional services associated with the daily administrative activities of the company. This saves time and gives us the opportunity to focus on the real work. Having financial resources, we can plan costs and development in the short and medium term.

OUR IMPACTthrough our Students

MENTOR INNOVATOR – Junior Achievement

Bulgaria Business Volunteers Program

JA Business Volunteersprogram

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The JAB Business Volunteers Program started in 2010 and aims to attract more business practitioners in the classroom to improve the educational process. This is done by sharing of experiences from the world of business and converting theoretical knowledge into practice. Business consultants who are included in this project must be open to change, have fun while working with young people, and have the desire and ability to share their personal and professional experience with young people of all ages.For the last year, Europe-wide more than 130,000 business volunteers entered the classrooms, were mentors of student companies, were consulting future entrepreneurs, or were part of the jury in various initiatives and events. In Bulgaria we reached the hearts of many business people and were able to attract them to our cause. Now we have over 80 enthusiastic professionals who support the ideas of our students. You can see some of them in the promotional short movie we released in 2014 – in JA’s Youtube channel.

Today, we are looking for people who embrace the mission of Junior Achievement – to develop and implement entrepreneurship education programs for young people through a partnership between business and education. Today we invite you to become part of our network of business volunteers and mentors, sharing your knowledge, skills and time with the future young entrepreneurs in Bulgaria! See how at: http://www.jabulgaria.org/page/mentors.

“Working with these young and ambitious people is very inspiring and gives you the feeling that you’re doing something really meaningful. Because you see how change happens. Because the satisfaction of shared knowledge and experience is great.”Gergana Pavlova, JAB volunteer and co-founder of Equinox Partners

“I think that the overall contribution of all volunteers who operate real businesses is primarily in the fact that we gave the students confidence that their ideas hold real opportunities and that business is not just an exchange of money and resources. It is an emotion you have to show attitude towards. We help them to get closer to the real business conditions. This helps the students to become a bit more responsible and better at their work.”Alexander Milanov, PR and marketing specialist, Bulgarian Industrial Association

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Ivaylo Hristov is one of the most successful young entrepreneurs in Bulgaria and a prominent IT specialist. Over 4 years ago he founded the company Komfo (www.komfo.com) with the help of three partners. The company has grown now up to 50 people in Sofia and Copenhagen and over 30 people of those are talented IT specialists from Bulgaria.

1. Tell us about yourself.My name is Ivaylo, I am an entrepreneur, experienced IT specialist and a teacher.

2. How did you take the decision to start your own business and how did you come up with the idea?Since I was little, I was an entrepreneur by heart. The idea about Komfo was born 5 years ago, when I and my partners saw the opportunity for development in the social networks. We developed a suitable software solution to the business’ needs. Our software is helping companies regulate successfully their presence in the social networks and make actual sells. Our system offers unique settings from creation of applications, management of the communication from many channels, optimization of adverts and successful tracking of the business results.

3. How did you meet JAB?I took part in JAB’s program “Student Company”. With the help of a few colleagues and friends we created a student startup. Our idea was not only recognized, but we succeeded in making a profit. This competition put me in a real life situation in which I and my team had to fight to create a valuable and relevant idea, to draw attention toward it and to be trustworthy. The competition gave me the unique opportunity to face real life challenges in a startup as well as realize whether I truly wanted to develop as an entrepreneur in the future.

4. How would you define “entrepreneurship” and what qualities should an entrepreneur possess in your opinion?

Many people associate entrepreneurship with setting up your own business. To my mind, entrepreneurship is a way of thinking, both in personal and professional life. This is a way of thinking that guides you to think outside the box, to be ready to look at already existing models in a new way and to continue to believe in your project even when everybody around you tells you that this is impossible. The entrepreneur is a person who is ready to put a lot of effort in what he believes in – methodical and consistent effort. A key element of the entrepreneurial way of thinking is being ready to take risks.

5. What would you say to the people who start their business now?Hard work and a great deal of commitment are needed! Do not stop in front of the obstacles and never give up! The greatest problem for the people with startups is exactly giving up too easily in front of obstacles, which are everyday life in the entrepreneurship. As a matter of fact coping with the obstacles is the thing that defines which business is successful and which one is not.

6. What is it like to do business in Bulgaria, speaking from your experience?As in any other country, doing business in Bulgaria has its advantages and disadvantages. I do not think that in Bulgaria you cannot do business, even in some aspects it is exactly the opposite. Business in Bulgaria is done! I can give an example with Komfo, as a business that has been started both in Denmark and in Bulgaria. At the moment there are many opportunities in Bulgaria for financing a startup thanks to the venture funds.

7. What is your recipe for success?Hard work and bravery to overcome the difficulties and to find solutions. Very often exactly these challenges are the source of interesting opportunities for the entrepreneur.

8. What are your plans for the future?To continue to work hard!

SUCCESS STORIES

Ivaylo Hristov is one of the most successful young entrepreneurs in Bulgaria and a prominent IT specialist.

SUCCESS STORIES

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Georgi Kadrev is one of the founders and a manager of ImaggaHe says about himself that he has been working with programming since he remembers himself. “When I was 11, I started studying programming at a center for extramural student activities in Ruse, where I am from. This was a natural continuation of my interests in math and electric engineering which my parents developed in me since I was little.Later in the mathematics high school, I continued to study informatics and to take part and win different competitions for programming on regional and national level.In 2003, I started studying informatics at the Sofia University and meanwhile I started working.In 2007, I came up with the idea for a platform for automatic search, recognition and comparison of pictures, which can be a successful business,” says Kadrev.“In the next year with a couple of friends we took part and won a national competition for business planning. At this time I was studying “Technological entrepreneurship” in Sofia University, and I was taking part in a Junior Achievement program”, shares Kadrev.In 2008, he took part in the “Student Company/ Start Up Program” where he won second place in the national competition “Best student company in Bulgaria” with “StikerArt”.In 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, he took part in the same program but this time as a teacher, as part of the “Technological entrepreneurship” faculty team of Sofia University. “This is something which brings me satisfaction and awareness that I help young people to overcome their fears and to avoid the mistakes which I have made”, says Kadrev.“The next two years were spent in hard work in my free time “at home” so that together with other new contributors we managed to develop the platform in the way it is now. In 2011, we received our first financial support from an outside Greek fund Openfund, and in 2013 we received a next investment from the Bulgarian LAUNCHub”, says Kadrev about the history of Imagga.

“Entrepreneurship is a mindset and a way of life. For me entrepreneurship is to believe in something valuable and to pursue it, regardless of the outside circumstances. The successful entrepreneurs are those who are determined to find an opportunity to create something which brings real value for a lot of people, and to have the patience, creativity and perseverance to realize it”, emphasize Kadrev.On the question about the recipe for success, Kadrev answers that everyone who is starting a business first has to find something which excites them, something they can easily learn to do and something which brings good for a lot of people.Ambition, self-awareness, readiness to change, passion, and self-confidence bringing about the feeling that you are doing something valuable, is the recipe for success according to Georgi Kadrev.

“At the moment the team consists of seven employees (four of them are co-founders). We also have two trainees, one is from the American University in Blagoevgrad and the other is from Temple University in Philadelphia. We are actively working on our technology for automatic tagging (with key words) of pictures and we are offering it as a solution for businesses with lots of pictures, we have done the same with our solution for automatic analysis of colors and compositions of digital images.Our clients are mainly from USA and Great Britain and we are trying now to cope with the technical adventures, our main task is to give a clear vision of the things we are making in front of a big audience of potential clients – there is an explosion of such clients because of the boom of digital images made by cameras, phones, mini devices, etc. in the recent several years”, explains Kadrev.

Young entrepreneurs: Georgi Kadrev and Imagga“Entrepreneurship is to believe in something valuable and to pursue it”

Making tags in Imagga

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Essay by Vanya Grozeva, who spent the day at America for Bulgaria Foundation

“Manager for a day” is an event with many years of history. I first heard about it on a TV commercial in 2008. But then I was 8th grade – not old enough to participate, with no idea about my future as a professional and to become a manager was not a dream or desire of mine. The event didn’t cause a flutter of my heart and I did not apply.Six years later I am old enough to apply. The moment is appropriate because now I have clear goals and I yearn to become a manager. This time the news of the event moved me. This time I had the desire to take part. And I applied. And the answer was not delayed.So here is the day. Alarm. Morning toilet. No breakfast and no coffee today. Make up. Suit. Dress shoes. Bus. Metro. “Sheraton” hotel. Adherence to these nine steps provided me with the testimonial for my managerial position – the badge. This is a joke of course.After the nine steps it was time for 9 o’clock – the beginning of a working day. The opening ceremony ended quickly. The working day began. I, however, will not hurry to end. Smile.At “Sheraton hotel” I was welcomed by five representatives of America for Bulgaria Foundation which I was selected to manage that day. There was a photographer. Definitely as a guest manager I was expected, awaited and photographed! One more smile.During the day in the office as a manager for a day, I received useful lessons on how to extend my managerial position. Here are the lessons.

The manager has the power of a master, but he shouldn’t be overmastering. He should be respected by his employees and he should be respectful to them. He should be well informed and open-minded. He should filter out the information and his words should be concise and meaningful. The manager has to balance between work and fun and something very important – to eat regularly and healthily. The manager has to listen, to be candid with his employees and with himself as well. He has to address constructive criticism but he has to appreciate the efforts. The manager should encourage the employees. He has to require but also to give. The manager should be grateful. The list is long, but it is not too long for a girl with a dream. Another smile.The working day is over. Closing ceremony quickly puts the end of the event. My day of being a manager is over. A new one begins. Alarm. Morning toilet. Breakfast and tea. Jeans. Shirt. Comfortable shoes. Walking. University… And the most important – a list. Brand new nine steps. Adherence to these new nine steps maybe will help my dream come true. This is a joke or… it is not?Here is the end of my essay. But this is not the end of the new story that just began!

MANAGER FOR A DAY.

That’s me!

LETTER FROM THE AUDITOR

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