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Postbank awarded the winners of the second edition of its innovative CSR program "Universe of Opportunities"

Postbank awarded the winners of the second edition of its innovative CSR program „Universe of Opportunities“ on 26 September during a special event at the Peroto Literary Club in Sofia city. The all-digital initiative was created for the financial institution’s 30th anniversary to encourage interesting ideas related to social entrepreneurship for the benefit of society. This year’s edition, which took place in response to the exceptional interest in the social program, generated 105 projects in the key areas of „Digital Innovation“, „Education“ and „Green Projects“. The 30 ideas that gathered the strongest public support in the competition reached its final stage. The participants ranked first received a total prize fund for grant funding from the financial institution in the amount of BGN 30,000, with which the authors commit to a deadline for the implementation of their projects within 6 months from the date of receiving the grant.

The winner in the „Digital Innovations“ category is the project „YANIKA“ Mobile Application“: modern sign language learning aid with maps and augmented reality.

The project ranked first in the „Education category“ is „The World in a Box“, which aims to spark children’s curiosity and encourage young explorers to learn more about different cultures.

The award in the „Green Projects“ category was won by „Zero Wave“ for their idea of producing biodegradable tableware and food products from residual material.

„The most valuable thing for us at Postbank is that the „Universe of Opportunities“ program is becoming a sustainable initiative, which we are implementing for the second year in a row. We created the innovative platform to discover and present to the public the diverse ideas and projects of social entrepreneurs that will contribute to our sustainable development. The „Universe of Opportunities” initiative has taken a special place in our corporate social responsibility policy because it reflects all those values that guide us in our business as well. The platform unites and gives voice to attractive ideas of citizens and non-profit organizations that are related to social entrepreneurship for the benefit of society. We are happy that the first finalists were able to realize their ideas, and many of the other projects from the pilot edition of the program found followers to support them. Today, three new projects with potential in the key areas of education, digital innovation and environmental protection, selected by our independent jury, will receive grant funding of up to BGN 10,000 each from Postbank to be implemented. We are happy that we have the opportunity to consistently develop and support valuable solutions for a brighter common future,“ commented Dimitar Shoumarov, Executive Director, CFO and Мember of the Management Board of Postbank.

The „Universe of Opportunities” digital program provided a chance for anyone with an attractive idea and focus on social entrepreneurship to compete for funding for its implementation. At the address www.PostbankUniverse.bg interested citizens or non-profit organizations could submit their projects, which had to meet the criteria of innovation, useful value, quality, applicability, etc.

The 105 projects for the benefit of society that participated in the competition for grant funding were distributed as follows – 24 applications in the „Digital Innovation“ category, 50 applications in the „Education“ category and 31 applications in the „Green Projects“ category. Until the end of July, users had the opportunity to vote for a project of their choice through the platform, thus determining the 30 best ideas. During the final stage, an independent jury examined and evaluated the final applications, the methodology of which was based on a detailed analysis with a check of each idea for compliance and eligibility – technical, financial and creative.

The expert jury was composed of:

  • Mrs. Petia Dimitrova, CEO and Chairperson of the Management Board of Postbank, as well as Chairperson of the Jury;
  • Mrs. Teodora Bakardzhieva, Executive Director of the Bulgarian Donors Forum;
  • Mr. Momchil Vasilev, Executive Director of Endeavor Bulgaria;
  • Mr. Ognyan Trayanov, President of the National Council of the Bulgarian Network of the UN Global Compact and Executive Director of TechnoLogica EAD;
  • Mr. Svetlin Nakov, co-founder and Manager of „Training and Inspiration“ at SoftUni;
  • Mrs. Elitsa Barakova, Executive Director of the BCause Foundation.

Postbank follows a sustainable and long-term CSR policy, constantly engaging with the processes that Bulgarian society goes through, through its socially responsible and charitable activities. The digital platform „Universe of Opportunities“ builds on the financial institution’s actions in the fields of education and environmental protection and promotes innovation and accelerated digitalization. The first edition of the program generated over 230 submitted applications in the three announced categories, and the total prize money that Postbank provided to the winners was BGN 30,000, along with an additional incentive award.

More information about the platform, the rules of the competition, as well as about the winners in the three categories, can be found at www.PostbankUniverse.bg.