By Gunter Deuber, RBI, Zrinka Zivkovic Matijevic, Raiffeisenbank Croatia and Emil Kalchev, Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria Finally, the accession of Bulgaria and Croatia to ERM II and ECB-led Banking Union was completed last week. The local community is happy to finally belong more to the core Europe. At the EU […]
By Bojidar Gyurov, Raiffeisen Bank in Bulgaria | What is a foreigners’ idea of Bulgaria? How can Bulgaria pleasantly surprise them? Would they come to work here? How is the business environment in Bulgaria changing? How can Bulgaria attract foreign investments? While we were trying to find the answers to these challenging questions, our paths […]
By Eleonora Georgieva and Stoyan Genov, Raiffeisen Bank in Bulgaria | Graffiti artists are turning Bulgarian cities into creative open galleries, and sending powerful messages in the process The perception towards graffiti has changed over the past few decades thanks to outstanding street artists like Banksy, who have done more than just paint an image […]
By Eleonora Georgieva, Raiffeisen Bank in Bulgaria | Well-being. Improving the health of all is one of the main goals of the United Nations for the next 10 years. The organization’s current set of sustainable development goals include ensuring a healthy life and the promotion of well-being for everyone. And as we all know, food […]
By Stoyan Genov, Raiffeisen Bank in Bulgaria | A centuries-old history, traditions and great ambitions. These are the key features of the Bulgarian wine business. Along with production for local and traditional markets, and entry into new international markets, a number of boutique wineries have been trying to bring Bulgaria’s wine culture to an even […]
By Stoyan Genov, Raiffeisen Bank in Bulgaria | What could five towns in Southeast European with a population of fewer than 50,000 people have in common? Obviously, the small population… But how about global business leadership? Yes, it’s actually possible. The Bulgarian towns Letnitsa (population: 5,000), Bozhuriste (8,000), Lozen (6,000), Montana (50,000) and Vidin (40,000) […]
By Stoyan Genov, Raiffeisen Bank in Bulgaria | “One of the fastest growing fintech destinations in the CEE Region”; “An evolving fintech hub”; “The most vibrant fintech destination in the SEE region”. You can often hear or read these definitions of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Trust us, this is not an overstatement. Behind these […]
In November, the Discover CEE spotlight is on Bulgaria! Watch out for several blog posts on Bulgaria’s business, culture and success stories. Today, we have the most interesting economic data and cultural facts about Bulgaria at a glance for you. The fact sheet is also downloadable in print version. Click here to print the fact […]
By Stoyan Genov, Raiffeisen Bank in Bulgaria | Innovative solutions for analysis of large databases, developed by students from Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, are being tested in a real business environment at Raiffeisen Bank in Bulgaria. Together with the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at the Sofia University, the bank held the first […]
By Gunter Deuber, RBI| Although Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007 – i.e. only three years after the last three countries to enter the euro area (Estonia 2011, Latvia 2014, Lithuania 2015) – there was no clear euro entry perspective for the country until summer 2018. Bulgaria has waited a very long time (more than […]
by Stoyan Genov, Raiffeisenbank | Svetlin Nakov, co-founder of SoftUni, is part of the expert jury of the Bulgarian challenge within Elevator Lab – the largest corporate fintech accelerator in CEE. The program was created by RBI and aims to find the best start-up companies in the field of finance and to build long-term cooperation […]
By Eva Maydell, Member of the European Parliament | Eva Maydell, Member of the European Parliament, about what it needs to catch up to the US and Asia in terms of digital business, the best places for digital investments in Europe and Bulgaria’s high potential in this regard: Europe is still lagging behind the US […]