Are you a highly innovative company based in Sofia? Are you involved in Fintech, Insurtech, AI, Cyber Security, Blockchain?
Join the Frankfurt Fintech Tour, a two day trip that will feature meetings and workshops with local investors, banks, regulators, fintech hubs, and corporates with interest in novel financial solutions.
Application deadline: 9 March, 2020
Tour facts, preliminary agenda and registration link: investsofia.com/en/frankfurt-fintech-tour
Sofia and Vienna will expand their activities under the joint City-to-City business cooperation programme. In addition to providing support to the businesses in both cities, the two capitals will collaborate on challenges in the fields of digital innovation and digital transformation.
The decision was made in the middle of February during the two-day visit of the new Deputy mayor of Sofia for Digitalisation, Innovation and Economic Development, Mr. Vladimir Danailov, to Vienna. The Deputy Mayor met with Mr. Peter Hanke, Executive City Councillor of Finance, Business, Digital Innovation and International Affairs, Mr. Gerhard Hirczi, Managing Director of Vienna Business Agency, Ms. Sabine Ohler, International Business Director VBA, Ms. Ulrike Huemer, CIO of the City of Vienna, and Nicolai Rodimov, Regional Manager VBA.
Sofia and Vienna agreed to start active cooperation on city management and urban politics issues. The scope of collaboration includes best practice exchange, knowledge transfer, mutual application for EU instruments supporting digital transformation, and involvement of Vienna and Sofia companies in the digital transformation processes of the two capitals.
The City-to-City agreement between Vienna and Sofia was signed at the end of 2018 and prolonged for one more year in September 2019. The partnership targets companies from various priority sectors, such as Fintech, ICT, Creative Industries, Biotechnology and Life Sciences, and others. The City-to-City agreement aims to provide support to companies that want to start a business in the partner city, by providing them with information, access to contacts and practical help in setting up.
The 7th Annual Meeting of the National Board of Tourism took place on 14 February in Sofia. Nadia Soultanova, Head of Investment and Business Development at Sofia Investment Agency participated in the discussion ‘Bulgaria – Digital and Shared Economics’ and presented the main principles of the Digital Transformation Strategy for Sofia.
‘The opening of data will allow the development of many new products, and tourism is one of the sectors that can benefit a lot from new data-based solutions,’ commented Nadia Soultanova and added that the digitalization process should be based on suggestions and priorities assigned by the ecosystem itself.
‘We look at digitalization as a broad process that includes not only the digitalization of services but also the whole urban environment as a creator of markets and а driving force of economic development. The principles in the Strategy will also be carried in the activities of the newly formed Digitalization, Innovations, and Economic Development department of Sofia Municipality, that was established at the beginning of this year’.
The annual meeting was opened by the Minister of Tourism, Mrs. Nikolina Angelkova, and the Mayor of Sofia, Mrs. Yordanka Fandakova. Sofia Municipality is actively working on the development of a vision for Sofia. In accordance with the Strategy for Development of Sofia as a Tourist Destination 2017 – 2030, this year Sofia will start work on a new project for the creation of a product brand of the city, announced the Mayor of Sofia.
More news and data from the sector mentioned during the meeting:
- The number of tourists who visited Sofia in 2019 increased by 3.5% compared to 2018
- The investments in tourism and the related service sector make up 37% of the direct foreign investments in the city.
- The city is becoming more and more attractive for investors – three new luxury brand hotels are expected to open in Sofia.
- The restoration of the mineral bath in Bankya is expected to be finalised this year, and there are preparations for the restoration of the mineral baths in the regions of Ovcha Kupel and Gorna Banya. These measures are an opportunity for the city to use the potential of Sofia’s mineral waters for year-round balneology and SPA tourism.
- The reconstruction of the central part of the city where most of the objects related to cultural tourism are located will continue in 2020. This includes the
It’s now official: Sofia is in the top 3 in two categories and in the top 10 in three other categories in the European Cities and Regions of the Future 2020/2021 ranking by fDi Intelligence:
✔️ 3rd in the category European City of the Future 2020/21 – Foreign Direct Investment Strategy
✔️ 3rd in the category European City of the Future 2020/21 – Cost Effectiveness
✔️ 6th in the category Eastern European Regions of the Future 2020/21
✔️ 9th in the category Eastern European Regions of the Future 2020/21
✔️ Sofia Region is ranked 9th in the category Small European Regions of the Future 2020/21 – Cost Effectiveness
At a formal ceremony in Cannes in mid-March, Sofia will receive a certificate for the good positions in the ranking.
We believe that through our work on the business environment in the city and the image of Sofia before the world in the last three years, Sofia Municipality and the team of Sofia Investment Agency have contributed to the recognition of the capital once again! Sofia’s placement in the Top 3 along with London and Dublin for the strategy for attracting foreign investment is an extremely strong achievement for the city.
fDi Intelligence is a department of Financial Times, specializing in areas relating to investment and promotion of the investment climate globally. The ranking is conducted every two years on the basis of a macroeconomic analysis of nearly 500 cities and regions across Europe in a total of 5 categories – economic potential, working environment, cost efficiency, infrastructure and good conditions for business development. In the previous issue of the ranking, Sofia was in the top positions in four categories.
The full report European Cities and Regions of the Future 2020/2021 is available here.
After the success of the Digital Cities Challenge (DCC), the European Commission will launch 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 project is expected to start in early 2020 and the expression of interest for new cities to join will be launched at the beginning of February 2020. All relevant details concerning the timeline, will be announced soon and will be published on https://www.digitallytransformyourregion.eu/
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, e.g. through local Green Deals, and lead tech uptake for better life. The ICC programme of coaching and facilitation will:
- – Reinforce the cities network through cutting edge advisory services and networking along with the thematic priorities identified above.
- – Align the city strategies with the new relevant EU policies and initiatives such as the European Green Deal, the new industrial strategy, strategic value chains, the AI strategy, the SMEs strategy, the circular economy, the Social Economy, etc.
- – Push ahead the implementation of action plans, joint investments and cross border collaboration among cities (together with industry, SMEs, academia and citizens), and help them benefit from the financial opportunities offered in the forthcoming MFF 2021-2027.
- – Foster new opportunities for citizens affected by the transition shift to smarter, cleaner and greener industry.
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: https://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
Mayor Yordanka Fandakova has appointed Sofia’s first ever Deputy Mayor for Digitalization, Innovation and Economic Development. The position is taken up by the current Chief Executive Officer of Sofia Investment Agency, Mr. Vladimir Danailov. He will lead the Digitalization, Innovation and Economic Development Unit. With the opening of such a unit, Sofia joins the ranks of cities such as London, Barcelona, Vienna and Stockholm.
“More e-services, digitalization of the processes of managing and serving citizens and businesses, the use of innovative urban solutions, and working together with the IT sector – these are key priorities for me in the coming years,” said Yordanka Fandakova, commenting on the decision to create the new unit. “I am convinced that the digitalization of the urban environment, innovation and economic development are interlinked areas that give the city and our lives more order, more publicity, attract foreign investment and create quality jobs and a better quality of life,” the Mayor of Sofia added.
Deputy Mayor Vladimir Danailov commented on the new unit:
“The digitalization of Sofia is a broad process that covers not only the metropolitan municipality and its services, but also the entire urban environment. Sofia can be a platform for innovation and a market for digital products and services created by the strong IT companies in Sofia and the startup environment. Finally yet importantly, digitalization activities are a tool for a strong international image of the capital. Digitalization is the basis of smart cities. By 2050, nearly 70% of the world’s population will live in large cities and the increased pressure on cities must be alleviated by new innovative solutions.”
The new unit for digitalization, innovation and economic development start its work with several tasks:
✔️ to ensure a holistic approach rather than a piece-by-piece work and inconsistent standalone decisions
✔️ to turn the city into a platform for innovation
✔️ to reduce the administrative burden
✔️ to turn Sofia into a market for digital products and services created by Sofia-based companies
✔️ to avoid dependency on a particular provider
The Deputy Mayor has already submitted for discussion and adoption by the Sofia City Council the Digital Transformation Strategy for Sofia – a strategic document on which Vladimir Danailov and the team of the Sofia Investment Agency, on behalf of the metropolitan municipality, worked for 18 months and developed it within the framework of the Digital Cities Challenge project of the European
Sofia Municipality will be among the participants of the European Commission’s “870675 PolicyCLOUD – Policy management through technologies across the complete data lifecycle on cloud environments” project with the topic: “Pilot on using the European cloud infrastructure for public administrations” under the Horizon 2020 Programme.
The project implementation term is 36 months, during which Sofia will work in a network with 15 other partners from nine European countries. PolicyCLOUD is already underway and an inaugural meeting with all participants in the programme took place in Madrid on January 21.
The municipality of #Sofia will work with #Okys on the #PolicyCloud use case focusing on urban #environment improvement and monitoring through #crowdsourcing data analysis.
Discover the project https://t.co/KFlNIIylwa pic.twitter.com/RPbNAPGjrW— PolicyCloudEU (@PolicyCloudEU) January 22, 2020
The main objective of the PolicyCloud project is to create a cloud-based tool for effective modelling, testing and management of policies through data analysis and visualization. Various pilot projects have been included in the program activities, including in Sofia.
The implementation of the project activities will be supported by free access to the existing European cloud-based IT infrastructure for collection, comprehensive processing and analysis of data. Latest ICT tools will be used for big data, data mining and predictive analytics in urban management topics, such as: waste management and garbage collection; hygiene; road infrastructure; street lighting; traffic signalisation; parking; ecology, green systems; children’s playgrounds; disruption of public order and others.
By participating in the project, Sofia Municipality will be able to simulate, test and analyse potential policies using different categories and types of data. This will help the municipal administration to improve the management, implementation and transparency of local policies by using the latest technologies.
In addition to Sofia, the project consortium numbers 15 more partners, including Atos (Spain) – coordinator, IBM Research (Israel), London Borough of Camden (United Kingdom), Socieadad Aragonesa de Gestion Agroambiental (Spain), Instituto Technologico de Aragon (Spain), EGI (Netherlands), Singular Logic (Cyprus), Greek Research and Technology Network (Greece), Maggioli (Italy), LeanXcale (Spain), Ubitech (Cyprus) and others.
Interviews with the participants on how PolicyCloud adds value to local and European policymaking.
Latest news on data-based public policies, as well as up-to-date information on the implementation of the programme and the activities of the associated participants will be published on the project’s website: https://policycloud.eu
Bloomberg Philanthropies invited Sofia to participate in an international training project on digital transformation management in European cities. The initiative is aimed at leaders in urban governance and policies for digitalization of the urban environment and innovation. Our capital is already part of the program and is represented by Vladimir Danailov, Deputy Mayor for Digitalization, Innovation, Economic Development and Investment, and Elitsa Panayotova, Project Coordinator of Green Sofia.
“The network between 21 European capitals to meet the challenges of digital transformation will help to share knowledge and good practices, which will provide synergies and inevitably accelerate urban transformation. Sofia, being the 14th largest city in Europe, can make a significant contribution to this process,” Vladimir Danailov commented on Sofia’s participation in the program. “Digitalization is the basis of smart cities. By 2050, nearly 70% of the world’s population will live in large cities and the increased pressure on cities will need to be alleviated by new innovative solutions,” he further commented.
The inaugural meeting was held on January 10 in London. The opening event was attended by teams from all participating cities, including Amsterdam, Madrid, Ljubljana, Athens, Dublin, Vilnius, Riga, Brussels, Budapest, Prague, Stockholm and others.
The new Bloomberg Philanthropies Digital Innovation Initiative is aimed at accelerating digital innovation. The goal of the program is to help European cities deliver high-impact digital services, and share lessons learned with cities around the rest of the world. City officials will have access to a specialized executive education program delivered by Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School faculty to strengthen the skills necessary for leading digital innovation in their cities.
The Initiative provides cities with the opportunity to participate in projects, apply for funding grants and for professional development programs for city management leaders.
You can find the official announcement here.
You can also follow the social media accounts of Sofia’s Deputy Mayor for Digitalization, Innovation, Economic Development and Investment Mr. Vladimir Danailov on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for news and highlights from digital Sofia.
The team of Sofia Investment Agency published its new report titled ‘Sofia: Economic and Investment Profile 2019’. The fourth edition of the annual report contains data and analysis of the leading industries, the target sectors for investments, the importance of infrastructure, local taxes and business conditions, information about Sofia’s performance in comparison to other popular business destinations in the region, as well as a forecast on how the economy of Sofia and the investments will develop in the future.
Key report highlights:
The contribution of Sofia Municipality to the national economy has been growing at a moderate but stable rate in recent years and Sofia remains the biggest regional economy in the country with about 40% of Bulgaria’s GDP.
The change in the value added by the different sectors in Sofia in the last 10 years is in line with the transformation of the Bulgarian economy and its orientation towards higher value-added sectors. While the share of construction sharply shrinks (compared to 2008), Manufacturing, Information Technology and Outsourcing are increasing their share and setting the pace of Sofia’s development.
The manufacturing industry has increased its weight in the local economy after a series of investments in the areas of Pharmaceuticals, Automotive, Cosmetics, Optics, among others. By 2018, the Manufacturing industry had a share of 9.9%, showing an increase of almost 2% compared to its share before the crisis.
The same increase can be observed in the gross added value of the Administrative and Supporting Activities sector, which includes part of the outsourcing industry (the so-called service call centres).
The other part of the outsourcing industry is included in the Professional Activities and Research sector. These two broad sectors of outsourcing, along with the IT industry (part of the Creation and Distribution of Information and Communication sector), found favourable growth conditions in Sofia in the last few years due to the combination of educated workforce, knowledge of foreign languages and low labour costs.
Sofia’s economy is also characterized by significantly higher investment activity than the national average. Latest data shows that about 40% of the cost of tangible fixed assets and half of foreign direct investments were concentrated in the Sofia region. By the end of 2018, the Capital had attracted €13 billion of foreign investments or about € 9 800 per capita, which is nearly three times the average for the country
Most investments in Sofia are directed
Successful cities from now on will be those that work for their image and for the trust (not blind, but healthy one) between institutions and different urban communities. Only this way, Sofia will be able to stand strong in the competition for people, business and investment against other attractive destinations in Europe and the world.
We follow this conviction in our daily work and we have been given a valuable opportunity to share it exactly with The Creators – the Digital Optimists of Bulgaria.
Nadia Soultanova and Ana Georgieva from Sofia Investment Agency talked with Hellyana Velinova about the potential of the creative sector in Bulgaria, the Digital Transformation Strategy for Sofia, the startup environment and its development, what Sofia is and what we want it to become, our work with local and international companies and other cities, and how we help businesses in the capital.
Listen to the interview (in Bulgarian). For English translation, read below.
Hellyana Velinova: Would you introduce yourself first?
Nadia Soultanova: I have been working at the agency for three years. I had the tremendous privilege to start working at the Agency only three months after it was created and to set up the team of Invest Sofia – the investment unit of the Sofia Investment Agency. I work with some exceptional young people – who have returned from abroad, intelligent, smart and passionate about the cause of Sofia, including a digital Sofia. I really enjoy my work every day. As for the rest – I lived in the USA for a while, then returned to Bulgaria and worked here for six years for a Fortune 500 company, then at a startup, and then happened to start at the Agency by chance.
Ana Georgieva: I have been working at the Agency for a year and eight months now, with lots of enthusiasm, eagerness and joy.
Hellyana Velinova: That’s true! I, as a bystander, can confirm. That’s true! (she laughs)
Ana Georgieva: I also happened to work in the Agency by chance and I’m very happy about that. I’m one of those young people who have decided to return from abroad. In 2010, I left to study – four years in Istanbul, then two years in Germany, one of which I spent in academia as a research assistant. But at some point I realized that I wanted to come back here and put all this
Dear Partners and Friends,
With 2020 around the corner, it’s important for us to spotlight some of this year’s achievements and to set some of our future goals. It was a year full of challenges, success stories, community building events and initiatives that aimed to put Sofia on the international map and to build a stronger, more recognizable brand for the city.
Here are some of the 2019 highlights.
Sofia in Figures
Sofia’s business environment had another year of growth. The city remains the biggest regional economy in the country with about 40% of Bulgaria’s GDP. Sofia had attracted €13 billion of foreign investments or about € 9 800 per capita or nearly three times the average for the country.
Overall, the prospects for the development of Sofia are positive. The city will most likely continue to concentrate an increasing share of the economic activity in the country due to its positive demographics and its leadership in the development of the fastest growing sectors such as the IT industry, outsourcing of business services and some manufacturing activities with relatively high added value.
Sofia is well-positioned to develop some new forms of economic relations such as digital and shared economy services due to both the appropriate IT infrastructure and the abundance of IT companies and specialists. The so-called Creative Industries have also been experiencing a rapid growth and development in recent years, and the creative companies and talent in the sector are mainly concentrated in Sofia. Trade, Transport, Storage and Tourism also have good development potential.
More detailed data, charts, analyses and trends can be found in our latest report ‘Sofia: Economic and Investment Profile 2019’.
Our 2019 Reports
Again, we did our best to make the information about Sofia as a business destination and a wonderful place to live available in one place, to make it easily accessible and pleasing to the eye. We published our second edition of the Sofia Business Guide, new reports with current data on the development of the Start-up and Innovation Ecosystem in Sofia, the Manufacturing Industry, the Tourism and Air Transport Market, the Labor Market, the latest Sofia Economic and Investment Profile, and the first version of our first sub-sector matrix, dedicated to Sofia’s Gaming Studios.
More reports and guides will be released next year to help entrepreneurs
Three years ago, when Sofia Investment Agency started work, we identified 9 priority sectors for the city. The Creative Industries was one of them.
In the process of research, we learned that the creative ecosystem in Sofia is very fragmented and there are over 10 very diverse sub-sectors out there. So our first step was to get to know each of the sectors and start focusing on specific ones.
To help the Gaming sector take shape, bring attention to the players and outline the resources available to help them, we just published the first version of our first sub-sector matrix – Sofia Gaming Studios.
The matrix contains a list of 35+ gaming companies and 100+ resources that are a part of the ecosystem.
We spent weeks of research on this, kindly supported by Game Dev Summit, but the project is still a work in progress. Enjoy the Matrix, and if you have any comments, please feel free to contribute, and we will include all input into our next update.
The Creative Industry in Sofia
The Creative Industries are among the fastest growing sectors with the highest added value. While in Europe this industry accounts for about 4-5% in cities, the share in Sofia is around 8%.
Indisputably, the Creative sector is something that Sofia can boast of and develop further. At the moment, our focus is on gaming, creative visualization, video and movie production.
The Gaming Sector in Sofia
Over ⅔ of the Gaming sector in Bulgaria is concentrated in Sofia. It has the highest growth among all creative industries and shows a 127% growth of value added at factor cost (2008-2015).