Sofia has rapidly accelerated its development. Sofia municipality prioritizes making the city home of a vital startup, innovation and R&D ecosystem. Building and expanding the infrastructure and improving the quality of life have further enhanced the city’s business climate.
10 Great Reasons to Invest in Sofia
1. Regional Talent Hub
- Sofia has a well-developed recruitment base of highly skilled employees, especially in the ICT sector and the creative industries
- 23 universities, over 100 000 students, 63 research centers and 20+ independent software schools
- Most young people in Sofia speak English
- Read more about the labor force
2. Global R&D IT Leaders Аre in Sofia
- Global IT R&D leaders like SAP Labs, HP, Bosch, VMware, IBM, CISCO already operate large R&D centers employing, educating and developing thousands of highly qualified professionals
- 50 000 people employed in over 100 IT companies
- Read more about the IT industry
3. Business Friendly Tax Rates
- The lowest corporate tax in EU – 10% flat
- The lowest personal income tax in EU- 10% flat
- Read more about the tax rates
4. Competitive Business Costs
- The lowest overall labor cost per hour in the EU
- One of the lowest office space costs in Europe. Low total occupancy cost per square meter per year – 223 Euro (2014)
- One of the lowest industrial energy prices in the EU
5. Easy to Start a Business
- Capital requirement of 1 Euro
- Sofia is the 3rd city in Europe in number of start-ups, with 90% of them in the ICT sector
- Investor class C certificate is awarded to projects of regional significance
- Read more about registering a business
6. Low Currency Risk
- The Bulgarian lev is pecked to the Euro
- Investors will avoid additional risks of local currencies exchange rate fluctuations present in other non-Euro-zone countries
7. Developed Creative Industries Sector
- Sofia is a center of the cultural and creative industries. In 2014 it was awarded the title “Creative City of Film” by UNESCO
- Bulgaria ranks 37th out of 128 countries in “creative outputs” indicator for 2018 (Global Innovation Index).
- 3/4 of the sector’s workforce in Bulgaria is concentrated in Sofia
- Read more about the creative industries
8. Great Digital Infrastructure
- Great ICT test market and good condition for the development of services of the digital and sharing economy
- High Broadband adoption
- One of the highest average connection speeds in Europe
9. Strategic Business Location Between Europe, the Middle East and Russia
- Use Sofia as your gateway into the markets of the Middle East and the Russian Federation, while setting operations in an EU-member country
- Only 1 to 3 hours flights’ duration to connect with the biggest European hubs
- Sofia Airport launched 42 new routes between 2015-2018
10. EU Funding Opportunities
- Companies registered in Bulgaria have access to EU funds on both – national and EU levels, which provides many opportunities for direct business partnerships with companies from various European countries
