Invest Sofia Presented the Sofia Digital Transformation Strategy during the Energy and City Cyber Security Bulgaria 2019 Forum

Nadia Soultanova presenting The Sofia Digital Transformation Strategy

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 smart solutions.

*The Education and Innovations Energy Cyber Security Platform was established in December 2018 with the mission to be a strategic tool for the support and development of the major education and innovation  processes in the field of energy cybersecurity in Bulgaria and the region. Founding partners of the platform are: Sofia Municipality, the Industrial Cluster for Electric Mobility, Sofia Military Academy, the Bulgarian Nuclear Society and Sofia Security Forum.