Infographic: How To Start Your Startup In Sofia

Read the complete Sofia Startup City Guide!

First things first: Sofia is one of the oldest cities in Europe, its history dates back to nearly 7000 years. Bulgaria’s capital is a crossroad between East and West which reflects in its unique culture and architecture. With a population of more than 1.2 million people, the city is a vibrant technology and outsourcing center with excellent opportunities for starting a new business.

In 2015 Sofia was named one of the top 10 cities in the world to found your startup by Forbes. Various factors like the relatively low income tax rates (10%) and one of the fastest internet speeds in the world take the Bulgarian capital to one of the leading positions in the global startup ecosystem. Sofia has also become a strong regional hub as entrepreneurs have been able to access EU investment funds.

Sofia – A City For Every Taste & Desire

As mentioned before, Bulgaria has one of the most favorable tax regimes in Europe: Corporate income tax is at 10%, which is the lowest in the European Union. But not only that, additionally to the large pool of highly skilled IT professionals (3rd place in Europe & 10th worldwide in the absolute number of certified IT specialists), Sofia is one of the most competitive countries in the EU when it comes to costs of labor.

Bulgarians are open-minded people, welcoming other cultures warmly, which shows in their knowledge of foreign languages: 98% of high school students learn a foreign language (usually English) and 73% choose an additional language, usually German, French, Spanish or Russian.

Although these are some great perks, there’re a few things to consider when choosing Sofia as the place to found your startup:

• Small local market with low-income population
• Ineffective management of the government funds
• High level of bureaucracy at governmental and municipal institutions
• Slow and ineffective judicial system
• 20% VAT

Despite these drawbacks, Sofia’s startup ecosystem is rapidly growing and manages to solve its problems one by one. Therefore, it might not be far away when disadvantages will disappear and only advantages remain. But see for yourself what this European startup city has to offer:

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