The Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency (BSMEPA) invites Bulgarian SMEs on a Trade Mission during the international startup event Slush. The forum will take place from 16 to 19 November 2022 in Helsinki, Finland. Slush is an annual startup and tech forum that brings together entrepreneurs and investors from around the world.

Startups from all sectors of the economy can register for participation until August 16. The economic activity of the companies should fall into one of the groups specified in the National Strategy for the Promotion of SMEs – 2014-2020, Annex No. 10. BSMEPA will partially cover expenses for transport and transfers, accommodation for one representative from a company, hall rentals for bilateral meetings, technical equipment; translation services, entrance fees to networking events, and other related expenses. Participating companies should bear a percentage of the costs. For more details please visit BSMEPA’s website here: https://b2bconnect.bg/bg/events/view/129

—

BSMEPA, together with the US Embassy and the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria invite Bulgarian companies to join the international conference “EXPLORE USA”. The forum is dedicated to the opportunities for Bulgarian companies ready to start and expand their business in the USA. The event will be held on October 13, at the Millennium Sofia Grand Hotel. Details of the US market will be presented, as well as guidance on how to establish a business in the country. The Agenda also includes practical sessions, as well as information about the SelectUSA project, which aims to support Bulgarian companies that want to develop activities in the USA. Participation is free and upon registration by October 7.

—

No later than August 18, companies can submit project proposals in the 13th session of the National Innovation Fund. Applications should be in the following four areas: Informatics and ICT; Mechatronics and clean technologies; Healthy living and biotechnology industry; New technologies in the creative and leisure industries. The intended maximum value of the grant per project is up to BGN 500,000. You will find more details here.

—

Companies, universities, and research centers in the field of healthcare can join the bilateral business meetings during the MEDICA Healthcare Brokerage Event 2022, which this year will take place between 14-17 November 2022 in Düsseldorf, Germany, as well as online to December 15. The event is suitable for organizations seeking international partners for product development, manufacturing and licensing agreements, distribution, R&D collaboration, investment, or other

The office market in Sofia is still recovering, although the leasing activity in the first half of 2022 was above the average for the last five years and reached 85,444 sq.m. The hybrid work model is now firmly adopted by many companies. It allows them to grow and hire staff without office expansions. Data is according to Q2 2002 office market analysis by the Bulgarian unit of the consulting company Cushman & Wakefield Forton.

Renewals and relocations dominate the office market, with more than 70% of the take-up. Tenants’ desire for a better office environment remains the main driver, so most transactions are for Class A offices and new buildings.

IT and BPO companies keep the largest market share, with more than half of the total transaction volume in the first half of the year. More and more companies are looking for flexible office space, thus providing their businesses with a solution for rapid expansion. Currently, the total supply in the segment in Sofia is about 50,000 sq.m.

The pace of supply is slowing down. Unoccupied office space in Sofia in Q2 2022 reaches 16.7% compared to 16.4% for the first quarter. A significant change in the vacancy rates is not expected due to the lack of projects under construction.

Prices remain stable. The high-end rents are at levels of 15 euros/sq.m in the city’s central areas and 12-14 euros/sq.m alongside main roads. Rising operating costs are putting service charges under pressure, ranging from 2.75 to 4 euros/sq.m. Prime yields also remain stable – 7.5% for Sofia.

Sofia to be the first European city where public transport on demand will be piloted. Via a mobile app, citizens will be able to book a bus that has fixed end stops, but the route will be according to the needs of the passengers. The project is implemented by the Sofia Development Association, is part of the InnoAir project, and is financed by the European initiative Urban Innovative Actions. The service is expected to become available in September. The service will be available for the Southern Sofia districts first.

—

Another innovation has been already introduced in the public transport in Sofia. Following good practices from a number of European countries, an “Optional stop” has been introduced in some bus lines. Lines 1, 3, 4, 26, 27, 42, 58, 59 and 63 will not stop at all bus stops, but only at those where there are passengers waiting or for those wanting to get off and who have signaled to the driver via the STOP button. The new practice aims to increase the average speed of public transport and optimize expenses. You can check out the full list of “Optional stops” for each bus route here.

—

A new outdoor space for cultural events has just opened in Sofia. This is the stage pavilion of VOX POPULI located in Knyajeska Garden. It will be open for art activities until the end of October and will offer a diverse programme. The project is implemented by “Studio for Documentary Theater VOX POPULI” with the support of Sofia Municipality and is part of the Cultural Events Calendar of Sofia in the “Open Stages” section. 

—

We remind you that citizens of Sofia can use the increasing number of online-delivered services of the Architecture and Urban Spatial Development Service (NAG), a permit for the development of Detailed Site Development Plans (DDP) being among them. You will need a qualified electronic signature (KEP), an installed BIS application, free and valid for all types of KEP, a user profile in the NAG portal and readiness to provide a payment document at the time of the e-application. Detailed information can be found on the official NAG website at nag.sofia.bg/Pages/Render/974.

Sofia marks a 77% increase in the number of tourists for the first half of 2022 compared to the same period of 2021, deputy mayor of the “European policies, international activity and tourism” department Irina Savina announced. According to the data by the Unified Tourism System (UTS) of the Ministry of Tourism, foreign visitors grew up to 139% while visitors from Bulgaria marked 37% of growth, compared to the first half of 2021.

The number of foreign tourists is bigger than Bulgarian tourists. Foreign visitors are returning, with the most coming from Germany, Romania, Israel, Italy, the USA and Greece. Since the beginning of 2022, there has been an increased interest in Sofia as a tourist destination for UK citizens as well.

The average length of stay is 2.3 days, while the growth of overnight stays is 86%. For the first six months of the year, foreign tourists have the leading share with 62% of overnight tourists, against 38% for visitors from other Bulgarian cities. UTS data show a positive trend compared to the same period last year, when the share of Bulgarian tourists who stayed overnight was 51%, against 49% for foreign tourists.

 We invite you to participate in a short survey initiated by the Sofia Municipality, aimed at the experience of the city residents, related to access to administrative services and information from the city administration.

The questionnaire is anonymous and takes only 5 minutes.

More participants in the survey will help the city administration further optimize the processes related to the provision of administrative services and information about municipal initiatives, as well as build new approaches and more effective communication with the citizens of Sofia.

The questions are related to the most frequently used services, does the Municipality provide services and feedback in a timely manner, etc.

You can share the questionnaire with more friends or acquaintances who live in Sofia. The opinion of both natural and legal persons who develop business in the city whould be helpful. 

Link to the survey.

New entrepreneurs with a startup company or business idea, as well as experienced entrepreneurs who own or manage SMEs, can now apply for access to the cross-border exchange programme “Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs”. A partner organization for Bulgaria is the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), which has already supported 8 exchanges and has the opportunity to stimulate 11 more in Bulgaria and abroad.

“Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs” offers on-the-job training in a small or medium-sized enterprise abroad with a funded stay of 1 to 6 months. Among the advantages for the participants are improving the business plan, acquiring know-how, accessing new markets and partners abroad, looking at different cultural and organizational attitudes, and doing business in another EU country.

Participating companies from Bulgaria will join the programme as a host of a new entrepreneur from another EU country and will benefit from innovative approaches, new skills and knowledge about business and foreign markets, and improved potential for company growth by establishing business contacts with partners from another European country.

To apply for Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs, please submit your CV and business plan through the website of the programme: www.erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu. You need to indicate the BCCI is your intermediary organization. The platform will then allow you to connect with participants from another country and agree on the details of the exchange – dates, goals, etc.

The first open call under the AMULET (Advanced Material and Manufacturing Technologies United for Lightweight) project with funding of nearly 1.3 million euros from the H2020-InnoSUP-1 programme is open for applications until July 20. The project aims to support new value chains through projects that will promote the introduction of advanced lightweight materials in four sectors: Automotive, Aerospace and aeronautics, Energy, and Building. Projects are accepted from micro-consortium of minimum 2 and maximum 3 legal entities including exclusively SMEs. The proposed solutions must be related to one of the challenges pre-defined by AMULET. Up to 36 projects will be shortlisted and invited to Jury Day to pitch their solutions. Of these, up to 26 projects will join the next stages of the programme and will receive support services until up to 7 projects complete the full program. For more information, see the website here: https://amulet-h2020.fundingbox.com/. You can also ask for assistance from the experts of EEN – Bulgaria here.

—

The Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs of the European Commission, together with the EISMEA – European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency, and the European Alliance DIGITAL SME, will create a catalog featuring innovative digital solutions of leading European enterprises and their use cases of software systems for a more sustainable industry. The initiative aims to highlight digital solutions and business models with high impact in the area of ​​reducing dependence on oil, gas and imported raw materials, as well as increasing the resilience of global supply chains. The target group of the project are startups and SMEs that have developed innovative digital solutions in a relevant field. EU enterprises can propose their solutions for inclusion in the catalog. A special jury will select the solutions with the greatest impact, among all those proposed and included in the digital catalog, and companies will have the opportunity to present them within two seminars, as well as receive personalized consulting assistance from experts based on the specific needs of each enterprise. The application deadline is August 31. More information is available here.

—

Until August 14, Bulgarian startups with a ready-made innovative product or service can apply the “Drazkite” initiative by Bloomberg TV Bulgaria. The products and services must demonstrate potential for market growth and positive impact on society and the environment. The most promising 21 companies, voted by mentors and a special jury, will participate

Four Sofia-based companies and one Bulgarian VC fund are included in the report summarizing VC Funding in CEE in 1Q 2022 by the online matchmaking platform Vestbee. The companies are SPARK Bulgaria, SessionStack, Cloudcart, and the first Bulgarian unicorn Payhawk= Among the most active VC funds is featured the fund manager of the Fund of Funds – Vitosha Venture Partners.

According to Vestbee, the biggest matchmaking platform for startups and scaleups in CEE, a total of 233 funding rounds were completed in the region from January to March this year, with Payhawk’s €89 million Series B in the Top 5 of the biggest deals. The total investment amount reaches over €1.6 billion compared to €1 billion in Q4 2021. Bulgaria ranks fourth in terms of investment volume after Estonia, Poland and the Czech Republic, and in fourth place in terms of investment deals – a total of 13 within the Top 50 investments for the period under review.

The most appreciated industries for the investors were Ecommerce, Fintech, Analytics, AI, SaaS, Advertising, and Big Data.

The Bulgarian companies featured in the report

SPARK Bulgaria is a car rental agency that provides electric car-sharing services. It has received a €30 million investment from Luxembourg-based investment group GEM Global Emerging Markets. SPARK is a Lithuanian-Bulgarian company and has operations in Romania as well.

The SessionStack product is used by developers, product managers, customer service experts and UX designers and helps them find and fix problems with their product or service in less time. It allows companies with web applications to get a detailed idea of ​​the user path, possible product quality improvements, user experience and more. At the beginning of the year, the company received an investment of 750K euros from BrightCap Ventures and angel investment.

Cloudcart launched in Sofia in 2016 to develop its All-in-One SaaS eCommerce platform to create and launch an online store in no time. Last year, the company entered the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 ranking of the fastest growing technology businesses in CEE and was awarded in the Impact Stars category for successful products and services with a positive impact on society, business, innovation and the environment. Earlier this year, Cloudcart raised funds in an investment round led by Elevator Ventures, the venture capital division of Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), with the participation of the existing investor in the company – NV3.

The first Bulgarian unicorn Payhawk

Until July 29, companies can submit their applications for the Best Employer Career Show Awards 2022. The organisations can choose from over 70 categories distinguishing the employer brand and successful processes in companies. Invest Sofia will once again participate in the evaluation of applications. For another year, our executive director, Dr. Maria Hristova, is part of the jury.

The fourth edition of the awards once again will highlight the best examples of employers’ care for their talents, a good working environment, and labour market development. This year, the Career Show Awards has expanded the number of categories, paying attention to more details in the organisation of the work process. Among the new categories are “Fastest developing company”, “New product development”, “Innovations in the working environment” and others. With a brand new group of categories “Management and Teams”, the organisers will focus on individuals who have personally contributed to the success of the company.

The applications to be evaluated by a prestigious jury – a team of proven professionals in various fields, and outstanding public figures known for their work and visionary thinking.

“Career Show Awards have established as a leading initiative in the field of employer branding and employee care in our country. The trust we have built in the companies is due to the transparency and attention to every detail in the internal life of the companies. We value their work and give them a platform to share more about their success and development. That is the reason for the growing trust the Career Show Awards gain.

The most successful strategies for creating a good working atmosphere not only strengthen the image of the company but also serve as an inspiration and establish new trends,” Simona Harizanova, co-founder of Career Show says.

After the announcement of the winners, all applications and evaluations of the jury become publicly available, which guarantees the transparency of the competition.

Registrations are accepted no later than July 29 on the website here: careershow.bg/awards