AIBEST: Sofia Concentrates the Head Offices of 81% of the Outsourcing Companies in Bulgaria
Revenues of the companies operating in Bulgaria’s outsourcing sector rose by an annual 22.4%, which is almost a double increase compared to the previous year, the annual report by Bulgaria’s Association for Innovation, Business Excellence, Services and Technology (AIBEST) and SeeNews says. The industry has added a record 10,000 new jobs, and thus the number of employees in the sector reaches nearly 90,000. The most active investors in ITO and BPO companies in our country are Great Britain, the USA, Germany and the Netherlands, and 81% of the central offices of such companies are concentrated in Sofia.
The data was presented at an event at the Grand Hotel Millennium Sofia. AIBEST announced key highlights from the report days before the official release of the full edition. In addition to presenting findings from the study, part of the event were also a panel discussion and a networking session, in which our colleague Viktor Gousev, Head of Investment Analysis Department at Invest Sofia, took part.
More key findings for the sector
For the 2021 survey, data from 774 companies with activities in the field of business services and technology were analysed. For the first time, the report features R&D centers as a separate subcategory. The other two categories are ITO (outsourced IT services) companies and BPO (business process outsourcing) companies.
Operating revenues for 2021 reach 4.225 billion euros and the industry contributed to the country’s GDP nearly 6%, with the Association expecting it to rise to 9% by 2025.
So far, the number of employees has grown by an average of 3,000-4,000 people per year, while in 2021 a new 10,000 positions were added, which is a record increase. According to AIBEST, the industry has the potential to attract more workforce and the professional opportunities in the sector are still one of the main incentives for young people returning to Bulgaria. Another factor that has a bearing on the number of employees is the hybrid and remote work model, which expands the opportunities for employers to hire people outside the cities where companies have operational offices.
Salary expenses increased by an average of 22% and reached a value of 2.1 billion euros, 11.4% of the total salary expenses in the Bulgarian economy and 8.6% of social security contributions.
Bulgaria is strengthening its image as a center for high-tech added value services in Europe.
We expect more data within days when AIBEST will publish the complete analysis from its annual survey on the state of the outsourcing sector in Bulgaria. A video recording of the presentation made during the event is available in the publication by Economy.bg here.
