The seventh edition of the DA FEST international digital art festival will take place between 22 and 26 October, 2019 in Sofia. The festival is organized by the National Academy of Arts and the DA Lab Foundation.
Sofia Investment Agency will join the Festival as an institutional and communication partner.
The Festival’s program brings together distinguished artists and young authors from the international art scene. Many of the foreign participants are coming to Bulgaria for the first time, giving the audience a unique opportunity to get acquainted with their art.
DA FEST’s programme will include exhibitions, audio-visual, theatrical and VR performances, video art screenings, lectures and presentations, creative workshops, concerts presenting a variety of activities and creative practices in the field of digital arts.
The selection of DA FEST includes 60 artists from different countries and disciplines presenting different practices from digital video and photography, interactive performance and installation, audio-visual performance, virtual reality, streaming, 3D mapping, network art, sound-art, biotechnologies, robotics and generative systems and other interdisciplinary formats.
Venelin Shurelov and Galina Dimitrova-Dimova are the curators of the Festival.
The world-renowned performance artist STELARC (Australia) is the highlight of the Festival’s program. STELARC is a pioneer in the arts created with biotechnology, robotics and digital media. He is visiting Bulgaria for the first time and will participate in a number of program events.
The audience will be able to see the unique performances of Miwa Matreyek (USA), also for the first time in Bulgaria. Her performances create a magical reality in which she becomes a silhouette and a shadow interacting with animated images.
The exhibitions at DA FEST will take place at five locations: the Gallery of the Art Academy, Goethe-Institute Gallery, Credo Bonum Gallery, Serdika Gallery and the gallery space of the Triangular Tower of Sofia at the Regional History Museum.
The program also includes: Ken Rinaldo (USA), James Auger & Jimmy Loizeau (UK/France), Gerhard Funk (Austria) Anna Vasof (Czech Republic/ Austria), Karla Tobar Abarca (Ecuador/ France) Sara Bonaventura (Italy), Michaela Lakova (Bulgaria/ Netherlands), Georgi Georgiev (Bulgaria/Germany), Kamen Stoyanov (Bulgaria/ Austria), Maximilian Pramatarov (Bulgaria/ Austria), Pravdolyub Ivanov, Melformator (Petko Tanchev and Atanas Dichev), Iliyana Kancheva, Mario Stoynov, Momchil Aleksiev, Hristo Kolev, Pepa Parisheva, Yana Vasileva, Gergana Lazarova-Runkel, Daniela Nikolchova and others.
DA FEST will also present a program of audio-visual concerts and performances. Participants include: The Science, SoundCamp (UK), mimionix & Quantum space, Saturated Pixels, Zero One, Ivan Shopov
Sofia Investment Agency presented the economic development and investment climate in Sofia during the ‘Future Today’ event, organized by the Automotive Cluster Bulgaria on September 26-27 as part of the Green Ict deVElopment (GIVE) project.
Representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises, clusters and organizations from six countries – Albania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Northern Macedonia, Romania and Serbia – joined the event and presented the development of the Automotive, ICT and Smart Green Technologies sectors in their respective countries.
Among the main topics discussed during the event were:
- – opportunities for cross-cluster, cross-border and trans-regional partnerships
- – building cross-sectoral strategic collaborations
- – internationalization opportunities in the Automotive, ICT and Smart Green Technologies sectors
During the B2B meetings, part of the two-day program of ‘The Future Today’, the participants presented their activities and products, exchanged experiences and good practices related to the international development of the three sectors, and discussed the possibilities for future joint initiatives.
We thank the organizers from the Automotive Cluster Bulgaria for the invitation.
We are happy to announce that the City-to-City Agreement between Vienna and Sofia was prolonged for another year. On a special event celebrating one year of partnership between the two cities, Mr. Vladimir Danailov, CEO of the Sofia Investment Agency, and Mr. Gerhard Hirczi, CEO of the Vienna Business Agency, signed the new Agreement for cooperation focused on networking, knowledge-exchange and business support to companies that want to start operations in the partner capital.
‘Unlike the function of many memorandums, this one is not just a piece of decoration to ornament our offices, it’s a working paper’, Gerhard Hirczi said right before signing the new agreement.
The City-to-City Agreement targets companies from various sectors, such as Financial technologies, ICT, Creative Industries, Biotechnology and Life Sciences, and others. For the last twelve months, our business agencies managed to organise several networking events that create business opportunities and facilitate the internationalisation and expansion of Bulgarian and Austrian companies in our partner cities.
The first success story under the City-to-City Agreement is the Bulgarian Evrotrust Technology, which entered the Austrian market with its innovative and unique mobile application for remote electronic identification and remote signing of documents with a qualified e-signature.
Sofia is the first Eastern European city with which the Austrian capital partners on such level.
It has been a great first year of cooperation between our cities and we hope to make the next one even better!
We would like to thank Missia23 for being such a wonderful host and celebrating our first anniversary with us.
Sofia-based companies from all sectors interested in internationalization opportunities aiming at business expansion may contact the Investment and Business Development Department at Sofia Investment Agency.
Previous Sofia-Vienna City-to-City networking events:
Create&Grow: Creative Sofia Meets Creative Vienna
Conference of the cities of Vienna and Sofia
Eleven Sofia-based Fintech and Biotech companies in “25 Hours in Vienna”
The Invest Sofia team presented the investment opportunities and development trends in the construction and real estate sector in Sofia during the first ever panel dedicated to Bulgaria at Expo Real.
Expo Real, the largest B2B trade real estate fair in Europe, took place in Munich on October 7 – 9. Invest Sofia is involved as an institutional partner presenting Sofia for the second consecutive year at the invitation of the Association of Commercial Building Owners in Bulgaria (ACBO).
During the panel, we provided up-to-date information about the office spaces, retail spaces, logistics and industrial areas, investment opportunities and the general economic and investment environment in the city. More than 100 representatives of international companies, investment funds, hotel chains and high-tech industry companies joined the discussion at Hall A1 right next to the Bulgarian Booth at Messe Munchen.
AHK Bulgarien (German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce) is the official representative of Messe München in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria has been present at Expo Real since 2012. In 2018, Sofia was present as a city for the first time in the history of Messe München and the adjacent International Congress Center, where dozens of international forums, including EXPO REAL, are being held throughout the year. This year, the Bulgarian stand at Expo Real was even bigger – 120 m². Eleven Bulgarian companies presented their projects within the exhibition.
Expo Real 2019 welcomed over 45 000 participants from 72 countries. During the fair, our team participated in a series of meetings with stakeholders from various countries.
As a next step, we plan to invite an international delegation of key stakeholders interested in real estate and construction investment opportunities to Sofia.
The Energy and City Cyber Security Bulgaria 2019 Forum, part of the European Cybersecurity Month, took place on October 4th at the Sofia Military Academy. The event was organized by the Education and Innovations Energy Cyber Security Platform*, the European Commission in Bulgaria and the National Committee of Bulgaria to the World Energy Council.
The event was opened by the Head of the Military Academy “G. S. Rakovski” Major-General Dr. Grudi Angelov, the Mayor of Sofia Municipality Mrs. Yordanka Fandakova, the Minister of Energy Mrs. Temenuzhka Petkova and the Deputy Chairman of the Energy Committee at the 44th National Assembly Mr. Dimitar Boychev. Mrs. Maria Gabriel, ЕU Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, joined the Forum with a special video address.
The main goal of the event was to present the cyber security policies related to the energy sector and the development of smart cities and to discuss the challenges facing the Bulgarian energy and Bulgarian cities related to their digital transition
The main aim of the event was to present the cybersecurity policies related to the energy sector and the smart cities development, and to start a discussion on the challenges faced by the Bulgarian energy sector and the Bulgarian cities during their digital transition.
In this regard, the topic of digital transformation in cities was particularly relevant. As part of the panel on urban aspects, the Invest Sofia team presented their work on the topic of digitalization and gave an overview of Sofia’s Digital Transformation Strategy.
The Sofia Digital Transformation Strategy was developed as a result of Sofia’s participation in the Digital Cities Challenge project. Sofia Investment Agency started work on the subject at the beginning of 2018. The Strategy was developed with the advisory support and methodology of the European Commission, as well as with the involvement of over 100 stakeholders from the ecosystem.
The Sofia Digital Transformation Strategy focuses on four priority areas: e-government, utilities, transport, and ICT startup ecosystem. The mission of the strategy is to define an action plan and actions that strengthen the business ecosystem of the ICT sector located in Sofia and to:
- – develop and offer solutions supporting the digital transformation of the city;
- – identify or create markets for digital services at local, national or global levels, and facilitate access to these markets;
- – support the system of innovation enabling the development and absorption of new digital services and
The pilot edition of Sofia Municipality’s Accelerator Startup Sofia completed with two days of an intense mentoring program for the 13 companies in the accelerator.
The program for support of innovative companies and social entrepreneurs is jointly implemented by the Municipal SME Guarantee Fund, the Europe Program of the municipality and the Sofia Investment Agency.
We are pleased to have attracted experts from LAUNCHub, BrightCap, EY Bulgaria, Dimitrova, Staykova and Partners, Out2Bound, 356Labs, The DOTS, Vangavis, Trending Topics Bulgaria, UNWE and the Fund of Funds into the mentoring program. Their participation made it possible to cover topics that the startups themselves identified as areas they needed guidance in: business planning, management styles, sales, design and presentation, digital marketing, fundraising, financing tools, foreign markets entry, working with institutions, contacts with media and partners.
We believe that, the experts provided not only inspiration and ideas for further development opportunities during the two days, but also practical guidelines for specific actions and tools with which the entrepreneurs will be able accelerate the realisation of their ideas.
The start-up companies in the program develop products and services in areas such as 3D printing, consumer experience, marketing and advertising, health care, education and others. We remain in contact with the entrepreneurs and ready to share our knowledge and contacts network in support of the business in Sofia even after the end of the program.
Congratulations to all companies and mentors at Accelerator Startup Sofia.
Over the past year, over 70 foreign companies have come to explore Sofia as a place to invest in
Sofia is developing and is an example of success that the city government can be proud of. This is what Thorsten Geißler, head of the Bulgarian office of the Conrad Adenauer Foundation, said in a forum of the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in the presence of Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova.
Mr Geißler also pointed out that German investors had invested BGN 6.8 billion in Bulgaria, which makes Germany the second biggest foreign investor in the country.
Mayor Yordanka Fandakova said that since the establishment of the municipal Sofia Investment Agency, Sofia has had a proactive policy to attract investment in business development and has been inviting companies to invest in a sustainable ecosystem for the city. Our priorities are high-tech and clean manufacturing, said Mayor Fandakova. The available specialists, good infrastructure and tax policy make Sofia a preferred place for foreign investment, Yordanka Fandakova added during the forum.
We present Sofia and the conditions that the city offers. We have invited 12 hotel chains because we would like to develop our city as a tourist destination, especially for congress tourism, Ms Fandakova pointed out. The good traditions in engineering education helped the rapid development of start-up projects. A total 95% of startups in Bulgaria are based in Sofia and the ecosystem is fully built with venture capital funds, accelerators and incubators, and developed companies are already investing in R&D centres.
More than 70 companies from over 40 countries have come to explore Sofia as a place to invest, said Vladimir Danailov, director of Sofia Investment Agency. The environment and infrastructure have evolved, the business climate has improved, and investors also take into account the quality of life in a city before making any investments, Mr Danailov said.
In a few days, Sofia will participate in Expo Real in Germany, and in addition to its own booth, there will be a special panel dedicated to Bulgaria, to which many investors have been invited. Our city also hosts more than 30 international events.
Sofia Investment Agency is pleased to announce that CEO Mr. Vladimir Danailov was invited to speak at BIOTECH ATELIER – the one-of-a-kind event in the biotechnology field in Bulgaria that will be held on the 25th of September 2019 at the John Atanasov Innovation Forum, Sofia Tech Park. Vladimir Danailov will join the panel discussion “Access to Funding for Startups and Mature BioTech Companies in Bulgaria”.
BIOTECH ATELIER 2.0 will bring together international experts with experience in the areas of: advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), artificial Intelligence and machine learning in medicine, the MEGA project, personalized medicine, biomarkers and biobanking, medical practice data (RWD / RWE), clinical trials, patient advocacy, access to funding and more.
The purpose of the initiative, organised by Prescriptia and the Bulgarian Association for Personalized Medicine (BAPEMED), is to once again bring together leading Bulgarian and international experts focused on innovation and entrepreneurship, catalyzing the growth and development of the Bulgarian and Southeastern European biotechnological ecosystem. The founders of BIOTECH ATELIER are convinced in the potential of life sciences and biotechnology, and believe that the key to successful development of the environment is in the international collaboration between science and industry. Both sides will have the opportunity for a direct dialogue on the day of the event.
This year, the Biotech Atelier will also organize 2 additional events – Intellectual Property and Technological Transfer on September 24th, organised with the British Embassy, and Computer Validation in the GMP Regulatory Standard, organised by Pharmalex Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Association of Qualified Persons on October 2nd and 3rd.
You are welcome to become part of this ambitious event, dedicated to the biotechnological business and science innovation in the region.
As a partner of Sofia investment Agency, you can get a discount on your registration fee for the BIOTECH ATELIER 2.0. To receive your discount, please use this code: BIO20SILVER.
To register for the event, please visit its website: biotech-atelier.com
To stay up-to-date with the event you can follow the official LinkedIn page or Facebook page.
For more information and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Mr Miladin Ivanov, e-mail: miladin.ivanov@simbula.eu, mob.: +359 896 51 02 63.
For the first time, the largest real estate exhibition in Europe is organising a separate discussion panel dedicated to Bulgaria.
Commercial real estate market in Bulgaria –
opportunities and perspectives 2020
07/10/2019 | 13:00 – 13:45 | Hall A1, Stand 250
Language: English
More about the panel: exporeal-konferenz.de/events
We will be presenting investment opportunities in Sofia in the construction and real estate sector at Expo Real 2019. Expo Real, the largest B2B trade real estate fair in Europe will take place in Munich on October 7 – 9. We will provide up-to-date information about office space, retail space, logistics and industrial areas and the general economic and investment environment in the city.
As part of the discussion, the Chief Executive Officer of Sofia Investment Agency, Vladimir Danailov, will present the macroeconomic and development trends in Sofia.
Visit Bulgaria’s Booth
07-09/10/2019 | Hall A1, Stand 442
Contact us to make an appointment during the fair.
nadia.soultanova@investsofia.com
This year, the Bulgarian stand at Expo Real will be even bigger – 120 m². Ten Bulgarian companies will present their projects within the exhibition. For the second consecutive year, Sofia Investment Agency has been involved as an institutional partner in the presentation of Sofia at the invitation of the Association of Commercial Building Owners in Bulgaria (ACBO).
In 2018, Bulgaria and Sofia were present at Expo Real for the first time in the history of the fair. Thus, Sofia became the first city to represent Bulgaria at an event at Messe München and the adjacent International Congress Center, where dozens of international forums, including EXPO REAL are held throughout the year.
The EXPO REAL event for real estate and investment projects in Munich is the largest B2B trade show in Europe. It takes place every year in October in Munich. This year, 2 095 exhibitors from 41 countries will be present at 64 000 m2. The participants in EXPO REAL reflect the entire spectrum of real estate businesses: investors and financiers, designers and project managers, consultants and intermediaries, corporate property managers, architects and representatives of cities and economic regions.
You can find more information about the exhibition at the following links:
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- The website of EXPO REAL- exporeal.net
- Presentation of the Bulgarian panel in the Expo Real 2019 program
- Purchase of entrance tickets – exporeal.net/visitors
- The online catalogue of exhibitors – exhibitors.exporeal.net/onlinecatalog
Sofia Investment Agency and Kambourov & Partners Law Firm are jointly organising the ‘Residing & Doing Business in Bulgaria’ seminar to take place on September 18th, 2019, at Polygrafia Conference Center. Our teams will meet with representatives of foreign embassies and consulates in Bulgaria, advisory companies, investors and investment funds.
Practical answers will be given to questions under three main topics:
- Residence and import of workforce in Bulgaria, procedures for the acquisition of a work permit or a blue card in Bulgaria
- Acquisition of property by foreign natural persons and companies, legal and tax aspects of property acquisition in Bulgaria
- Business and personal data protection in the Republic of Bulgaria and information security
The joint event is designed to provide expert answers to some of the most frequently asked questions by foreign persons willing to reside in Bulgaria successfully and for a long term.
For detailed information on how you can establish your daily life and business in Sofia, please refer to our team. We will gladly provide you with all the necessary information.