Sofia has recently made the list of Europe’s best tech hubs. Ranking among the top 20 Tech Cities of the Future in 2020/2021, Sofia has plenty to offer if you’re looking for the best place to set up your company’s new office.
Why Sofia, Bulgaria?
Sofia has been described as one of the European cities with the most promising technology scenes. Let’s explore five of the city’s major advantages, as listed by Sofia Invest:
1. Strategic Business Location
Set up your company’s operations in an EU-member country, while using Sofia as a gateway into the Middle East, and the Russian Federation markets. And the largest European hubs like Paris, London, Amsterdam, and Berlin are just a 1-3-hour flight away.
2. Regional Talent Hub
With 23 universities, 23+ independent software schools, and over 100,000 students, Bulgaria’s capital has a highly skilled recruitment base, especially in the IT sector.
3. Premium Digital Infrastructure
Benefit from one of the highest average connection speeds in Europe, as well as high broadband adoption to keep your business up and running.
4. Home to innovative startups and global IT leaders
Over 100 IT companies employ 50,000+ people. Moreover, global R&D and IT consultancy leaders like SAP Labs, HP, and VMware have already set up offices in Sofia.
5. Business-friendly taxes
Bulgaria has the lowest corporate tax in the EU – 10% flat, as well as the lowest personal income tax – 10% flat.
Already started considering Sofia as your company’s new home? Now let’s tap into some of the main activities lying ahead of you when setting up operations in the Bulgarian capital.
Step 1: Register your business in Bulgaria
Establishing a new business entity in Bulgaria (including with foreign participation) is governed by the Commercial Act. Note that there’s no limitation on the share participation of foreign legal entities and individuals.
The two most popular forms of business associations in the country are the limited liability company (OOD) and the joint-stock company (AD). Here’s what you need to do in the two cases, as Sofia Invest informs.
Need a trusted partner?
We’ve got you covered. At Campus X, we offer best-in-class partner services to help you manage all aspects of setting up your business entity. Everything you need in one place.
For instance, our partners PwC Bulgaria can help you set-up a Bulgarian legal entity and save you time and resources with their tailor-made tax consultancy services. If you need to establish your presence in Bulgaria in a short time span (i.e. without having to wait for the establishment of a legal entity), be sure to check out the BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) model, offered by our partners Bica.
Step 2: Rent an office in Sofia
Here’s what you need to know about renting an office space, which meets and exceeds your company’s needs.
High-class office buildings
The existing stock of modern office space in Sofia accounts for 1,709,153 square meters (class A and B), according to a report by Forton. Due to the specific tenant requirements, the leasing activity is concentrated in the office zones alongside the main boulevards such as Alexander Malinov, Tsarigradsko Shose, Bulgaria, Todor Alexandrov, Nikola Vaptsarov as well as in the outskirts of the city and the area near Sofia airport. For example, the Mladost district has emerged as a buzzing tech hotspot in recent years.
Serviced office vs. just an office rental
Serviced offices have many advantages over renting a traditional office space. Here’re two of the most important ones:
1) Maximum flexibility – modular spaces, which scale up or down depending on the companies’ needs and fully flexible rental contracts. So that companies pay only for what they need when they need it.
2) End-to-end office experience, where everything is taken care of - IT and Facility support and leading partner services, on-demand custom design, access to meeting rooms, kitchens, and shared zones, as well as all utilities and complimentary refreshments included in the plan, and much more.
Take a deeper dive into the benefits of serviced offices for your business.
You focus on your business. We take care of the rest
Campus X’s ready-to-move-in offices are ideal for companies, seeking an end-to-end office experience with minimum lease commitment. Benefit from our high-class offices, leading services, thriving community, maximum safety, and top location. All you need included in your plan with no hidden fees.
“When setting up Wipro’s first hub in Sofia, we evaluated 3-4 serviced offices and chose Campus X for their customer-centric approach. The team spent the time to clearly understand our needs and went out of their way to deliver everything within budget and on a tight deadline. The building is well designed and offers a great location, infrastructure, and flexibility, ensuring a great start for us. In my experience, Campus X is one of the best serviced offices worldwide,” comments Ramesh Phillips, Head-Operations Support-UK/Europe at our member company Wipro.
Step 3: Source top talent
We all know that securing the right talent is crucial for your company’s success.
The good news is that Bulgaria has emerged as a regional talent hub in southeast Europe. For example, the country is in the top 5 in the all-time ranking in competitive programming, following closely much bigger economies like China and Russia, according to statistics by the International Olympiad in Informatics.
Furthermore, various university and private tech educational programs have started to address the evolving needs of IT businesses operating in Bulgaria. When joining Campus X, you can benefit from our trusted partnership with Telerik Academy – the first Bulgarian private tech-ed organization, which helps power the entire tech industry and is a regional leader in tech education.
“Campus X’s ecosystem of like-minded tech entrepreneurs is amazing. The proximity to Telerik Academy, one of our main sources for talent, is a major gravitational pull for us,” comments Stoyan Damov, Founder and CTO of Tick 42, based at Campus X.
But there’s more. As mentioned earlier, we’re collaborating with one of Bulgaria’s leading HR consultancy companies – Bica. Thus, we can further empower our community and help you find the right talent with the assistance of the best HR experts in the country.
Step 4: Build your brand & culture
Businesses, who enter a new market know that strong employer branding and company culture are the backbones of their success. Your physical office space and the overall office environment and community play a key role in attracting and retaining leading talent.
“Honestly, the community at Campus X is remarkable. The events and the wider community help us attract and retain high-quality talent,” shares Teodora Georgieva, an HR Specialist at our member company OfficeRnD.
“It’s much more than state-of-the-art serviced business buildings and facilities. It’s a carefully filtered coworking ecosystem, where team members can enhance their professional skills by participating in various events and benefiting from the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded professionals,” she adds.
Founded by Telerik’s (the biggest exit in the CEE) co-founders Boyko Iaramov, Vassil Terziev, and Svetozar Georgiev, Campus X takes pride in its powerful community of renowned entrepreneurs and innovators, who are ready to share their expertise and help each other on the way to global success.
Sofia, Bulgaria: the new home of your company?
All in all, Sofia offers great opportunities to global companies, who look for a new home. Whether you want to set up or expand your operations, Bulgaria is the right place for you. Here’s no shortage of premium serviced offices and highly skilled talent to power your business success.
Need an end-to-end office solution and a trusted partner on the way to success? Get in touch now.
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