The citizens of Sofia can now use the new free mobile app of call.sofia.bg – the contact centre for citizens’ alerts and one of the largest platforms of Sofia Municipality.

The “Call Sofia – Sofia City Contact Centre” app is available to users of Android and iOS devices via Google Play and App Store.

You can access the app via a Google Account, a Facebook account or after a one-time registration. Citizens can send non-urgent signals to the city administration by choosing the topic of their signal from the app’s menu. Given the situation in the country, there is a special COVID-19 section for reporting violations of the anti-epidemic measures introduced for the territory of Sofia Municipality.

So far, Call Sofia is the only platform in Bulgaria created by a municipal administration, offering the citizens the opportunity to submit non-urgent reports, letters, complaints, applications for access to public information, proposals for the development of the municipality, and to receive information on the activities of the Municipal administration.

Sofia Municipality’s contact centre works 24/7. Users can also report irregularities by calling 0700 17 310.

After submitting a signal through the platform, each citizen receives an official registration number, which allows them to check the status of the report, and the answers provided by the municipal administration.

The platform is integrated with the administrative information system of the Municipality. The reports get directed to the structures responsible for the respective problem, including municipal enterprises and municipal commercial companies providing public services to Sofia’s citizens through line managers. They, in turn, exercise control over solving the reported problem.

For Android, download the app here.

For iOS – here.

Over the last two weeks, together with the team of Innovative Sofia and the direct participation of the Deputy Mayor for Digitalization, Vladimir Danailov, we organized online meetings with a number of industry associations in Sofia. We e-met with the Bulgarian Startup Association (BESCO), the Association for Innovation, Business Excellence, Services and Technology (AIBEST), the Bulgarian Association of Software Companies (BASSCOM), the Bulgarian Employers’ Association Innovative Technologies (BRAIT), the Health and Life Sciences Cluster and the AI Cluster Bulgaria, the Digital Health and Innovation Cluster Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Convention Bureau, the Association of Commercial Building Owners in Bulgaria and others. 

We discussed the potential threats and opportunities for the local economy, the opportunities for business-to-city collaboration during and after COVID-19, as well as specific possible measures (at municipal and national level) to help rebuild the business ecosystem. 

The meetings continue and we will prepare a summary analysis with proposals. Here are some of the visible threats and possible solutions that the business has shared so far.

The situation:

• The ICT sector expects losses from corporate clients both abroad and in Bulgaria, because of the economic crisis.
• The impact on foreign enterprises in aviation, automotive and other high-tech industries has a direct negative effect on suppliers, subcontractors and co-innovation partners in Sofia.
• Companies in a development phase are expected to freeze their investment plans, which will have a negative impact not only on the IT industry in Sofia, but also on the startup environment, which could lead to layoffs of staff in the most affected companies and the shrinking of the number of employees in the sector by 30% -50%
• There is even greater risk for product companies due to the current lack of investment.
• It is possible that global companies might decide to close their operations in Sofia .
• The congress and event sector, which attracts about 52% of tourists in Sofia, currently brings virtually zero revenues because of the postponement and cancellation of events. COVID-19 is expected to have a huge negative effect on the workforce in the sector, while the sector also supports a number of subcontractors (on average, 200-300 companies are involved in the organisation of major forums), that would also experience losses along the chain.
• New construction is expected to be put on hold this year.
• Reduced or no revenue is generated by business premises because of closed facilities and offices. Within

Sofia is a beautiful city that is growing and changing every day. A city that is developing as a startup, innovation and creative hub of Central and Eastern Europe with a constantly improving urban environment. Sofia is surrounded by mountains, full of parks, gardens and mineral springs and offers a great cultural and nightlife.

To help those who consider settling down and exploring business opportunities in Sofia, Innovative Sofia, the new ‘Digitalisation, Innovation and Economic Development’ department of Sofia Municipality, just published the first Sofia: Quality of Life guide. In this step-by-step guide, you will find everything you need to know before you move in: cost of living, study and work options, the weather in the city, leisure, culture and tourism opportunities, as well as how to find a home, how to register a bank account, how to travel across the city and explore Sofia as a local, and even a list of useful words and phrases.

Here are some reasons why living in Sofia sounds like a great idea.

• – Expats rank Bulgaria 1st in the world in terms of cost of living. 
• – Bulgaria ranks 6th in the “Finding Friends” and 7th in the “Feeling at Home” indicators 
• – 91% of expats are happy with their costs in Bulgaria.
• – Sofia ranks 28th out of over 400 cities and regions worldwide in English proficiency. The most commonly spoken languages are English, German and Russian.
• – Sofia ranks 27th in concentration of knowledge-intensive jobs among 278 European regions
• – 10.1 % of the working age population in Sofia is employed in brain business jobs, which is more than twice the national average and higher than the European average of 6.3%.

Download Sofia: Quality of Life now!

About Innovative Sofia

The ‘Digitalisation, Innovation and Economic Development’ department of Sofia Municipality was established in 2020 to support Sofia’s development as a smart, digital, innovative, and tech city. The new Department will consolidate and guide all of the city’s digital and smart city projects and will continue to support high-tech and R&D investors in Sofia. It will focus on increasing the number and quality of municipal e-services, open data and smart city projects implementation.

The new single point of information issues related to COVID-19 is already active on Sofia Municipality’s website. The system has been developed with free of charge assistance of the Sofia office of SAP Bulgaria, a local affiliate of the international software leader SAP SE.

The platform is accessible through the COVID-19 page of Sofia Municipality at https://www.sofia.bg/covid-19 and provides citizens with concise, accurate and up-to-date information on key issues –  what to do if we suspect we have been in contact with infected people, what to do if we belong to a senior age group or have reduced mobility, what to do if we have children, or if we have recently returned from abroad, etc.  

The system is interactive, with easy navigation, and leads the user to their specific case of interest. The information on the platform is being constantly updated, so that it could provide the most up-to-date and useful information in one place, without the need for citizens to visit different sites of different institutions. Besides, the single point of information facilitates the gathering of feedback on citizens’ problems, what they are worried about and the kind of difficulties they are experiencing. There is an option for volunteers and donors to send information on how they think they can help.  

The technology is provided on the initiative of SAP Bulgaria’s team in Sofia who contacted the new department of Sofia Municipality for Digitalization, Innovation and Economic Development (Innovative Sofia) to offer free implementation of the software application.

Since the start of the state of emergency, many technology companies in Sofia have been actively proposing ideas and ready-to-implement solutions to help the citizens and the city’s management in the state of crisis.  

Sofia Mayor Mrs. Yordanka Fandakova and the teams of Innovative Sofia and Invest Sofia would like to express sincere gratitude to the startups and IT companies in Sofia for their proactive approach in providing solutions for the city.

Sofia Municipality launched an official Viber community for COVID-19. The community will share daily important information, news about the situation in the city and current measures affecting the citizens of the capital. All citizens can join the community and invite their contacts to join as well. 

The official Viber community for #COVID-19 in Sofia was launched by the Sofia Municipality’s newly created Digitalization, innovation and economic development unit (Innovative Sofia) with the kind support of the Rakuten Viber team in the city, in order to offer easy and fast access to important information in the crisis situation. 

You can join the group here: https://vb.me/COVID-19_Sofia 

The Sofia Municipality will share daily:

✅ Tips on how to protect ourselves and others from the disease;

✅ News on measures taken to combat COVID-19;

✅ Information related to the introduction of new rules and administrative provisions affecting Sofia residents. 

Since the onset of the state of emergency, a number of Sofia-based technology companies have been actively proposing ideas and ready-to-implement solutions to help citizens and the city’s authorities during the crisis. 

Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova and the teams of Innovative Sofia and Invest Sofia are grateful to the startups and IT companies in Sofia for their willingness to help with solutions for the city. 

With regard to the recommendations of the operational headquarters of Sofia Municipality for limiting social contacts to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we inform citizens about the possibilities to communicate electronically with the administration.

You can find direct links on our e-Sofia webpage:  investsofia.com/e-sofia, as well as at Sofia Municipality’s dedicated page: sofia.bg/e-sofia (in Bulgarian).

1. At https://call.sofia.bg/ (Information System of the Contact Center of Sofia Municipality) you can submit:  

✔️ non-urgent signals about problems in the city environment, no preliminary registration required; 

✔️ letters, complaints, suggestions, requests for access to public information. Preliminary registration is required and the user must provide their current email address in the registration form. 

2. By sending a message to Sofia Municipality through the Secure Delivery Electronic System (e/Account/Login).

✔️ Every citizen can register in the Secure Delivery Electronic System (SDES), by identifying themselves by their personal identification code from the National Social Security Institute or Qualified Natural Person Signature.

✔️ Through the Secure Delivery Electronic System one can submit letters, complaints, signals, suggestions, requests for access to public information, as well as requests for electronic services, signed with a Qualified Natural Person Signature.

3. At szp.sofia.bg/OnlineReportWSClient one can make inquiries about taxes and fees due to Sofia Municipality and these can be paid electronically by a debit or credit card.

The inquiry can be placed using:

✔️ Personal ID number/Unified Identification Code/Personal ID number for a foreigner and PIN, issued by the Municipality; 

✔️ Personal Identification Code, issued by the National Revenue Agency;

✔️ Qualified Natural Person Signature 

4.  https://usl.sofia.bg/ provides the opportunity to apply electronically for administrative services in the categories of Civil Registration, Local Taxes and Fees, Municipal Property, and Tourism.

The provision of electronic administrative services requires mandatory registration in the system of electronic services and the availability of a qualified electronic signature (QES)

The authorized Bulgarian QES providers are: 

• Information Services 
• InfoNotary
• Borica Bank Services
• System for Electronic Payments / SEP Bulgaria  
• Eurotrust Technologies  

Information about the prerequisites and settings required to use the electronic services can be found in the “Questions/Answers” menu, and in „Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) manual“.

The Sofia Investment Agency Team just published the third edition of Sofia Business Guide, a guide about Sofia as an investment destination. The Guide was developed in close collaboration with Innovative Sofia – the newly established digitalization, innovation and economic development department of Sofia Municipality. The new edition is already available for download on the Agency’s website in Bulgarian and in English.

Sofia Business Guide 2020 covers a wide range of topics and contains statistics on Sofia’s economy, workforce, education, transport and connectivity, industrial and office spaces, priority industries, investment and entrepreneurial environment, and many more.

This year, for the first time, the Guide includes up-to-date statistics and information on such sectors as artificial intelligence (AI), proptech, gaming, robotics, automation, and aerospace.

The Business Guide also presents the activities of the newly established Digitalization, Innovation and Economic Development department of Sofia Municipality (Innovative Sofia). Since the beginning of 2020, its function is to consolidate and lead the city’s digital and smart city initiatives and to support high-tech and R&D investors in Sofia.

The edition contains up-to-date information on taxes, fees, investment incentives, the procedures for registering a company, funding opportunities, and other practical information. It also serves as a step-by-step guide for starting a business in Sofia.  

The information is mainly presented visually – in graphs, tables, and infographics.

Feel free to use all of the content and graphs in your business endeavours, whenever you present your projects to foreign partners and potential investors.

The team of Sofia Investment Agency is available to provide additional information and detailed analysis on specific topics, as well as continuous support at every stage of the investment plan for foreign and Bulgarian investors.

Sofia Investment Agency would like to thank all supporting organizations for the information and guidance they provided for the new edition of the Sofia Business Guide.

Thank you for your support and valuable feedback: Institute for Market Economics, Bulgarian Fintech Association, Professional Association of Robotics and Automation PARA Bulgaria, Fund of Funds, Creative Industries Foundation, Game Dev Summit, Automotive Cluster Bulgaria, Tourism Municipal Enterprise,  Directorate of Culture, Sofia Municipality, Sofia Airport, Puzl CowOrKing, BESCO-The Bulgarian Startup Association, Sofia Tech Park, AIBEST.

The Sofia Business Guide was developed before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is expected to have a serious impact on the global and the European

In cooperation with the team of Innovative Sofia, we developed the first Assessment report on the impact of COVID-19 on Sofia’s economy.  There you can read about:

• – The three scenarios for the development of the economy
• – The impact by sectors at international and European level
• – The impact on the development of Sofia’s economy

It is reasonable to expect that Sofia’s GDP will shrink by 1-3% in 2020 г., but there are more catastrophic scenarios, too. The effect of a potential economic recession will be very similar to the situation in Europe. This is true especially for Sofia, whose economy is linked to the EU’s economy to a higher degree. However, recessions in the past were followed by a rapid recovery as a result of the return to normal economic life.

Sofia has the best labor market in Bulgaria with an unemployment rate of under 2% and employment of nearly 80% of the population in active age by the end of 2019. The capital has a relatively big potential to respond to the unemployment caused as a result of the crisis.

Most affected will be those employed in the tourism and travel sector, over 35 000 people, culture and sport – 10 000 people. Moderately affected will be the employees in the industrial sector. The least affected will be the employees in the utilities, ICT, professional activities, where the impact is softer because of the opportunity for remote work.  

You can find more in the full report.

The Assessment Report on the impact of COVID-19 on Sofia’s economy was developed by the Digitalisation, Innovation and Economic Development Department of Sofia Municipality (Innovative Sofia) and the Sofia Municipal Privatisation and Investment Agency (Invest Sofia) with the support of the Institute for Market Economics (IME), Sofia Tourism Administration, the Bulgarian Convention Bureau, Automotive Cluster Bulgaria, the Bulgarian E-Commerce Association, the Culture Directorate of Sofia Municipality, the Association for Innovation, Business Excellence, Services and Technology (AIBEST) and representatives of the business ecosystem in the city.

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the Hertie School of Berlin launched a new Training Course on Evidence-Informed Policymaking. Policymakers from around Europe, including representatives of the Committee of Regions, gathered in Berlin last month for a two-day training in evidence-informed policymaking and our team was among the participants.

City governments are facing an increasing complexity and increasing politicisation of the policy-making process. In addition, there is an ongoing process of externalization: i.e. increasing relevance of non-governmental actors who provide policy advice. The vast variety of evidence is difficult to analyze, especially when it comes to evidence on evaluating government programs and policies. It is crucial to distinguish between misleading and useful evidence.

Going beyond “correlation is not causation”, the course covered how to distinguish between observational evidence, which could be misleading, and quasi-experimental evidence, internal vs. external validity (‘relevance’) of evidence, recognizing spillover effects and how to design policy impact evaluations. 

The course explored the various tools in the policy making toolbox and building analytical capacity for policy implementation.

AI for policymaking is also a big topic.

AI has a slower pace of adoption in government due to privacy and ethics concerns. As algorithms play a growing role in criminal justice and education for example, there is a growing recognition of embedded bias in AI. Security concerns are also growing. Another big problem is the lack of investment and skilled talent. Different approaches to AI solutions like sandbox prototyping and co-developing with universities and private partners might be the way to go to ensure larger adoption of AI projects in the public sector.

We examined several use cases from the Essex Centre for Data Analytics (ECDA) in the UK.  

***

About Joint Research Centre (JRC) 

The Joint Research Centre is the European Commission’s science and knowledge service. It employs scientists to carry out research in order to provide independent scientific advice and support to EU policy. JRC collaborates with over a thousand organisations worldwide. Its work and research has a direct impact on the lives of citizens by contributing to a healthy and safe environment, secure energy supplies, sustainable mobility and consumer health and safety.

ec.europa.eu

About Hertie School in Berlin

The Hertie School in Berlin is a private independent graduate school with more than 95 countries represented among alumni and currently enrolled students. It has a right to confer doctoral degrees. The Hertie School encourages

At the initiative of CampusX and The Bulgarian Startup Association (BESCO), Vladimir Danailov, Deputy Mayor of Sofia for Digitalization, Innovation and Economic Development,  participated in a network meeting with Sofia’s technological and startup community. He presented the goals and the first initiatives of the new department of Sofia Municipality which will operate under the name Innovative Sofia. 

Issues that the ecosystem itself sets as priorities for the city were discussed during the meeting. Among them were the opening of data for the city; the provision of machine-readable data; opportunities for using Intelligent Process Automation to extract information from a text or images and analyzing it through artificial intelligence (from document templates to street traffic); can the Municipality participate in the regulatory framework at a national level; what is the procedure through which businesses can offer solutions for implementation at the city level; what are the ways to achieve a more structured collaboration between the city and the business; what are the financial resources of the city and how will it fund digital and innovative solutions; are there legal acts that impede the provision of facilitated electronic services and will such be updated; will new e-services be established in areas where they are not currently available; is there a plan for the implementation of new solutions, etc.

We would like Sofia to be one of Europe’s technology leaders, with a good environment for living and starting a business. We would like the city to be recognized as a testing ground, as a place where intelligent urban solutions are developed, a place where products and services are launched for the city by local companies, Deputy Mayor Danailov said and outlined the first three steps in which the new department will focus on.   

A priority for Sofia Municipality is to reduce the administrative burden for citizens and businesses by increasing the number of electronic services to 170 over the next two years, as well as the implementation of modern technologies, since the current electronic system was created 5-7 years ago.

Another task is the opening of the data of the city and its use by the business. This year the Municipality plans to invite local startup and technology companies to test solutions. More pilot projects should be supported, and when there is a new developed solution available, it should be implemented more easily in the city.

After the success of the Digital Cities Challenge (DCC), the European Commission just launched the follow up project, the 100 Intelligent Cities Challenge, to involve more cities and bigger scope. Being a part of the existing DCC network of cities, Sofia was invited to apply for the successor initiative.  

We are glad to spread the news that the call is open for other Bulgarian cities, as well as for cities and regions across Europe that may wish to profit from the initiative.

The application period is now open. All relevant details concerning the timeline are already published on intelligentcitieschallenge.eu.

Deadline for applications: 6 April 2020, 11:59 CET

The 100 Intelligent Cities Challenge (100 ICC) will sustain, reinforce and expand the existing DCC network of  40+ cities. It will support EU cities to build ecosystems for smart, green, climate-neutral, sustainable growth, with a focus on green industrial transition and new business models. It will help implement at local level the new EU political guidelines at local level, e.g. through local Green Deals, and lead tech uptake for better life. 

The program includes:

• – local visits, events, network support activities,
• – support by lead experts and thematic experts
• – a 30-month programme delivered by regional specialists based on the collective expert experience of over 100 smart city strategies, tailored to the biggest thematic issues for your city – be it energy, mobility or security, or other local priorities.

Please find more details on the call here. 

For more information about the participation of Sofia in the Digital Cities Challenge Programme and the benefits from the initiative, please follow the links provided on our webpage Digital Sofia: investsofia.com/en/digital-sofia. 

If you have any questions or need further information, please feel free to contact us for details. 

Mark-Aleks Evtimov

mark.aleks.evtimov@investsofia.com