The Belgian Team.blue, the largest hosting group in Western Europe, acquired the capital’s SuperHosting.bg – a market leader in Bulgaria in professional web hosting, domains, and VPS services. The company will continue to develop under the same brand and with the same team and management.
This is SuperHosting.bg’s second success for the last year. In 2019 the company launched an office in Belgrade and SuperHosting.RS quickly became a preferred partner for many small- and medium-sized businesses in Serbia. Following this step, the Sofia-based company wants to continue its expansion in the region at a time when the hosting industry has become one of the sectors with the highest boost by the pandemic and digital solutions have become the only option for many businesses to keep its activity.
This is an important step that will allow us not only to expand our presence in the region but also to turn our office in Sofia into a regional hub for digital services and online business. The entry of a strategic investor for the sector, such as team.blue positions Bulgaria as a regional center for hosting services and online business, said the company in an official statement.
SuperHosting.bg was founded in 2005 and today has a 40% share of the local market and nearly 100 employees in its office in Sofia. By joining the Belgian group, the Sofia-based company will help team.blue expand its presence in the region.
The team.blue Group includes over 30 local European brands and serves over 2 million customers in 10 markets in Europe. This is the second acquisition for the Belgian company in the last month after a deal for Turkish hosting provider Natro in June. With the acquisition of SuperHosting, the group aims to further strengthen its position in the CEE region
Sofia ranks 1st in the Smart City Development category and 7th in the overall ranking of Emerging Europe for the best cities for doing business in Central and Eastern Europe – Business-Friendly Cities Perception Ranking 2020. Sofia is also in the Top 10 in the Quality of Life category, sharing the 5th place with Gdynia, Poland, Bratislava, and Slovakia. For the ranking, Emerging Europe investigated 75 cities in the region of developing Europe – capitals and cities with over 200,000 inhabitants.
The Business-Friendly Cities Perception Ranking 2020 is part of the Emerging Europe Awards 2020 – the third edition of a program that presents the best of Europe’s developing region and honors the achievements of individuals, public and private organizations, projects, and initiatives.
Budapest has been named the most business-friendly city. The Hungarian capital also tops two of the eight categories taken into account in the ranking – Brand, and Local Authority Support. Sofia, along with Tallinn, is the winner in the category Smart City Development. Tbilisi leads in Economic Potential, Łódź in Business Climate, Bucharest in Pool of Talent, Warsaw in Infrastructure and Connectivity, and Prague in Quality of Life. Budapest, Prague, and Warsaw lead the overall ranks, where Sofia ranks 7th.
Due to the restrictive measures around Covid-19, this year, the ranking was presented online. In its publication, Emerging Europe quoted the Mayor of Sofia Yordanka Fandakova on the occasion of Sofia’s recognition as one of the two leading cities in the category Smart City Development.
“Our efforts are focused on implementing innovative solutions in city governance and urban development,” she says. “Sofia is changing and the most important thing is that more and more citizens are taking part in this change. Sofia’s most valuable asset is the city’s highly educated workforce that is demanding a constantly improving city environment. We are working with a consistent focus on one strategic priority – the improvement of the quality of life of its citizens.”
TNW’s and fDi Magazine’s international panel of judges have now selected the winners and top-performing cities in the debut research and ranking entitled Tech Cities of the Future 2020/21. Data was collected for 76 locations in Europe, 25 in total were shortlisted, Sofia being among them.
We are delighted to announce that Sofia has received a high score in the following 3 categories:
- – 20th in fDi and TNW Tech City of the Future 2020/21
- – 7th in fDi and TNW Tech City of the Future 2020/21 for Cost Effectiveness
- – 17th in fDi and TNW Tech City of the Future 2020/21 for F.D.I. Strategy
Technology Cities of the Future 2020/20 is a debut ranking focused on finding those European cities with the most promising prospects for start-ups, tech and innovation investment. London, Paris and Dublin are the top-ranking cities in the overall ranking.
Cities were evaluated under five categories: Economic Potential, Innovation and Attractiveness, FDI Performance, Cost Effectiveness and Start-up Environment. In addition, surveys were collected under a sixth category – FDI Strategy. Locations that ranked in the top 20 in this category were given bonus points, which contributed to their overall score.
We believe that the next inclusion of Sofia in a prestigious international ranking is of great importance for the positive image of the city and its strong position on the global map of innovation, technology and business hubs.
fDi Magazine, in partnership with TNW, has prepared this debut issue of Technology Cities of the Future 2020/21 to highlight the impact of tech hubs on the global economy. Silicon Valley, with its high concentration of hardware and software companies, is by far the most famous representation of a tech city – but the concept has been exported and replicated across the globe. Tech cities are hugely beneficial to local, national, and international economies. They create employment, attract investment, talent, and can help re-energise local pockets in cities and more remote areas. One thing is for sure: tech cities seldom emerge on their own, rather they are often the byproduct of resolute urban planning and government intervention, the report states.
The full document is available for free download: https://www.fdiintelligence.com/article/77846
fDi Intelligence is a department of Financial Times, specializing in areas relating to investment and promotion of the investment climate globally. The professional magazine targets
The Bulgarian telemedicine platform Healee received funding of EUR 800 000 from two local VC funds in order to expand its market presence to USA, Germany, Great Britain, Australia and others.
Healee offers a remote connection between doctors and patients with video connection, exchange of photos and clinical results plus chat. The platform works for both mobile and desktop devices. The company says that since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis the platform has registered a 300% jump in online consulting sessions. The price of the consultations is determined by the medical practitioners, with the platform charging a 10% fee.
In times like these, telemedicine is essential for patients and doctors. This is the most appropriate and often the only option for people to talk to a doctor without exposing themselves and others to the risk of infection and without putting additional stress on overburdened hospitals, the company explains.
The interest in telemedicine as a service is expected to grow further after the end of the pandemic.
Healee has launched a little over one year ago and is a part of the large CampusX family.