Bulgaria · Sofia · See the Bulgaria profile · See the Sofia profile
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Bulgaria's labour ministry used EU Recovery Plan funding to let people with permanent disabilities choose their own high-tech assistive device — AI smart glasses, braille computers, screen readers — from a certified supplier list. Over 1,400 have received one.
Bulgaria's Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP) runs the "Provision of Assistive Devices to Persons with Permanent Disabilities" project, funded through the country's National Recovery and Resilience Plan. In June 2025 the ministry announced nearly BGN 370 million allocated for services for elderly people and people with disabilities, of which this device programme is part.
The mechanism is a certificate model: an eligible person with a permanent disability applies, is issued a certificate, and then chooses a preferred device from an official list — modular custom-made prostheses, AI-powered smart glasses (of the type made by OrCam or Envision) that help visually impaired users navigate, standing wheelchairs, electric motors for manual wheelchairs, braille computers and screen-reader software. The beneficiary then selects a supplier from an approved list, which delivers the chosen device directly.
As of December 2025, the Bulgarian National News Agency (BTA) reported that 2,061 people had been issued certificates and more than 1,400 people with disabilities had already received their devices, with the rollout continuing.
The available reporting — from BTA and the ministry's own National Recovery and Resilience Plan page — covers delivery counts and eligibility rules, not an independent evaluation of how the devices affect beneficiaries' digital access or daily life, and continuation beyond the current Recovery Plan funding cycle is not yet confirmed.
Read the full analysis: https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/1020344-over-1-400-people-with-disabilities-receive-high-tech-assistive-devices-under-so
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