Page 18 - RBI FIntech Atlas 2018

18
Spotlight Bulgaria
The Bulgarian capital So a is one of the fast growing ntech destinations in the CEE Region and has a critical mass of startups and nancial and technological service providers. One reason for the rapid development of digital technology is the fact that Bulgaria is second only to
South Korea in terms of the speed of broadband Internet. According to the Global Innovation Index 2017 Bulgaria is also the world’s second most innovative upper-middle income country and number one in the SEE Region in terms of innovation ef ciency and achievement.
The Bulgarian ntech market generally follows the lead
of larger CEE countries. Digital payment has the largest share of this market, which is predicted to grow this year by around 21%. The most promising services include mobile payments, peer-to-peer payments and lending and digital commerce transactions.
Financial district in the city of So a, Bulgaria
The two most prominent seed-stage VC funds from Bulgaria, whose role is to nance startups and innovative SMEs, are ELEVEN (which, according to the 2017 European Accelerator Report, is one of Europe’s top
ten investing accelerators and venture funds) and LAUNCHub. Both companies are very active in Bulgaria, where the number of local and foreign angel investors is growing.
The dynamic development of the ntech sector led to
the recent creation of the Bulgarian Fintech Association. This non-pro t organisation brings together the country’s leading ntech companies and aims to provide all parties in Bulgaria interested in ntech with a platform for communication and exchange. Bulgaria’s rst FinTech Conference took place in May 2018 with the aim of demonstrating how ntechs are reshaping nancial services in the CEE Region. The conference, which is planned to become an annual event, gathered more than 300 CEOs and decision makers from the nancial sector.