Milena ANGELOVA
Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA)
In its endeavours to always serve and help its members – more than ten thousand Bulgarian companies – the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA) has set up a new, dedicated section on its website. The main aim behind it is to help the country's population and businesses, both during the current emergency and in the course of follow-up measures, to offset the damage to the economy inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the pages was and remains to keep in touch with the views and needs of BICA members.
Accessible HERE, these pages host examples of model action plans, instructions, recommendations and methodological guidelines for normal work operations and for protecting workers. These have been specially drafted in line with EU and WHO guidelines.
BICA collects, disseminates and presents best practice to Bulgarian companies in different sectors and regions of the country on how to organise work during the pandemic.
As the biggest national umbrella organisation, representing over ninety industry bodies, BICA's core mission is always to promote the interests of the country's smallest as well as its largest companies. Its Governing Board members and experts are engaged in a standing dialogue with the executive to draw up measures to counter the crisis. At BICA's initiative, business support measures have been extended and prolonged, giving more of the country's companies access to the finance and various facilities provided by the state. BICA's proposals for action to mitigate the economic impact of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus involve changes to regulations and measures in the areas of: promoting tourism, industry and access to finance; smooth movement of goods; support for complementary educational activities, and shoring up the country's fiscal system, as well as measures of a general nature.