On May 21 and 22, 2013, Crimson co-organized the third Balkan Venture Forum (BkVF), which took place in Sofia, Bulgaria. BkVF is a two day, bi-annual conference that brings together prestigious international investors and top entrepreneurs from the Balkans. The goal of the BkVF is to develop a platform to support innovation, entrepreneurship and investment throughout the region, and provide opportunities for entrepreneurs to network and connect with investors and strategic partners.

More than 500 attendees took part in the BkVF Bulgaria, including investors, entrepreneurs, representatives from top international companies, representatives from academia, and government officials. The conference featured multiple discussion panels on innovation, entrepreneurship and investment trends in the region and globally. In addition, the BkVF Bulgaria hosted a pitching competition, where 37 out of 90 startups were selected to present their business pitches to a jury panel of international investors.

As part of BkVF Bulgaria, the leading international seed investor and mentorship programme - Seedcamp hosted a “mini-Seedcamp”, a half day programme to accelerate up to 10 local startups through specifically designed business acceleration lectures, networking, and immediate feedback to startup business pitches from the Seedcamp team and international investors.

Crimson and the BkVF team is already preparing the next event; to keep informed, please visit us at: www.balkanventureforum.org or follow us on: www.facebook.com/BalkanVentureForum.