Mariya Hristova

Mariya is part of Agriventures community, an NGO founded with the mission to increase the market realization of research, supporting agri-food and biotech start-ups and innovative companies in realizing and developing ideas, and supporting women entrepreneurs to implement deep tech in agrifood. Maria has been actively involved in the negotiations for fairer support for agriculture in the EU, for the development of the agriculture and food sector , to negotiate the position of farmers and processors in the European institutions, she was selected as one of 17 participants in the program for the development of prominent Bulgarians at the number 1 university in the world Babson in Boston, Maria actively participates as a volunteer in supporting and developing the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Bulgaria as a mentor to startup innovators and entrepreneurs who need funding for their ideas. She supports the Rural Development Directorate at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Bulgaria in the management of the EU Common Agriculture Policy and Recovery and Resilience programs. Before that, Mariya worked at Deloitte in Sofia. She holds a Master’s degree in Law from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” and a Master’s degree in Agriculture digitalization from the Agricultural University in Plovdiv. Mariya is Climate ambassador of the European commission and community representative of the European institute for innovation and technologies (EIT), contributing to the development of analyses, funding schemes and initiatives committed to promoting entrepreneurship and innovation in agriculture and food with a lasting impact on the region, aligning with the global sustainability goals such as EVA programme for women entrepreneurs.