Plovdiv Region in central-southern Bulgaria covers 5,972.9 km2 with a population of about 700,000. The district’s GDP p.c. reached 14,600 BGN in 2020, close to the national average. The unemployment rate is low at 3.3%, below the country’s average. Major CBE value chains are in agriculture and food processing, and a major challenge is valorisation of side-streams, as well as education is a challenge, with a lower than national % of people with university degrees. RIBES will support addressing challenges by developing governance and business models, as well as promoting social inclusion and innovation in CBE with local stakeholders. This will help in capacity building through education and improvement of CBE infrastructure.