Let me tell you a story about my homeland – and trust me, it's not what you might expect.
For decades, we quietly rewrote our narrative. While everyone else looked elsewhere, we were building something extraordinary. With a smaller economy and more modest global footprint than Greece or Turkey, we used to have less impact than our peers in the region. Not anymore.
Today, Bulgaria is making a name for itself as “The Balkan Silicon Valley.” We might be a small country, but we're bursting with talent and technological brilliance. Our roots in mathematics and engineering run deep – we're talking decades of technical excellence that goes back to the communist times. Now, we’re attracting tech giants like SAP, Microsoft, Oracle, and VMware, while homegrown success stories from Telerik or Payhawk are making the global headlines.
With just 6.5 million people, our tech community is incredibly vibrant. Our developers and other tech specialists have grown the software development market nearly tenfold over a decade. As someone who connects businesses with Bulgarian top-tier talent daily, I see their potential firsthand. And can’t wait to tell you more.
Strategic position for a balanced growth
First, let me brief you on Bulgaria’s recent growth and future plans to give you some context.
Since we embraced democracy in 1989 and joined the EU in 2007, we’ve been on an incredible journey of transformation. Our government has made substantial investments in modernisation, which have paid off quickly, turning us from a country most people couldn't find on a map into a hotspot for IT outsourcing and international business.
Here's what makes Bulgaria special: we don’t stake it all on one bet. We've built this incredible mix of industries – finance, manufacturing, tourism, tech, to ensure our economy stays stable despite global disruptions. The mining sector, a cornerstone of our development, supports our national security and energy independence. In 2022, total mineral production hit 126.6 million tons – an 8% jump from the year before – with output value soaring by 16%. And our manufacturing sector ended 2022 with a robust positive financial result of over €6 billion, contributing 58.3% to the overall outcome. Tourism remains a vital component of our economy, and as Bulgaria gains recognition abroad, it’s only flourishing more. In 2024, it saw a remarkable 6.1% increase in tourist arrivals year-on-year.
Another factor underpinning Bulgaria’s success is its unbeatable geographic advantage. Nestled in the heart of the Balkans, we’re a natural bridge between East and West, making business travel easy for foreign companies growing their teams in Bulgaria and professionals visiting clients or attending global meetings, conferences, and shows.
Those elements position us as a stable partner for organisations seeking a reliable talent source. Supporting this is the European Commission’s forecast that Bulgaria’s GDP will increase from 2.4% in 2024 to around 3% in 2025 and 2026. Our development is expected to be driven by a rebound in exports and strong domestic demand, with private consumption projected to rise by 4.8% year-on-year.
What’s in this growth? A story of resilience and the ability to embrace every opportunity, combined with a dedication to put our country on the map for international investors.
The rise of Bulgarian tech
Our capital city, Sofia, is recognised as the second fastest-growing tech center in Europe. In the tech landscape, we’re making significant strides:
- Over the past seven years, the revenue of our ICT sector has surged by a staggering 300%, reaching roughly EUR 2.5 billion, a solid testimonial to our tech capabilities.
- We’re home to nearly 10,000 ICT companies, 70% operating exclusively on an export basis. Our focus on exports has made us a top outsourcing destination in Europe.
- By 2025, the IT services market in Bulgaria is expected to generate about $463.30 million in revenue, with IT outsourcing contributing around $180.43 million.
- In the same timeframe, the projected revenue for Bulgaria's Business Process Outsourcing market is estimated to reach US$129.90m.
The cost advantage greatly fuels this dynamic. Building a cross-functional tech team in Bulgaria can cost up to 60% less than in the United States, a benefit hard to ignore. But cost-efficiency doesn’t come at the expense of quality. Bulgarian tech experts are widely acknowledged for their deep technical know-how, and our strength spans across fields - from telecom and network management to AI and sophisticated automation.
Bulgaria’s vibrant ecosystem of over 105,000 engineers is setting benchmarks. Through Pwrteams’ dedicated network in Bulgaria, we have immediate access to software developers, data specialists, AI/ML engineers, and cybersecurity experts ready to start projects within just seven weeks. Most companies looking to enhance their teams with Bulgarian talent look for Java, Python, .NET, JavaScript engineers and QA and automation testing specialists.
Why global tech companies are betting on Bulgaria
You know what they say about quality, speed, and price? Sometimes, you can have two but never the three. Yet, Bulgarian teams manage to balance them all in the most optimal way.
Bulgarian tech market. Quality
People are at the heart of Bulgaria’s tech success. Our esteemed educational institutions, including Sofia University and various specialised technical universities, produce approximately 6,500 graduates annually who rank among the best in the world. With a strong emphasis on mathematics, engineering, and computer science, our talent pool is deep, highly skilled, and always evolving.
When I talk with our clients, I constantly hear praise for Bulgarian IT teams – their outstanding technical skills, professionalism, and reliability always stand out. And it’s not just external feedback. In our internal team surveys, Bulgarian engineers consistently earn top marks, with their peers calling out their dedication and dependability. Yet, what truly sets them apart is the collaborative, teamwork approach. They actively contribute creative ideas and fresh, innovative solutions to every project challenge they face.
I am particularly proud of the increasing gender diversity in the Bulgarian tech community. Bulgarian women make up 37% of STEM graduates and 29% of ICT positions – the highest percentage in Europe. This trend isn’t recent. Since the 1960s, Bulgaria has invested in the electronics and software industries and promoted equal access to technical education. That legacy lives on today and is a big part of our success.
Bulgarian tech market. Speed
Can you move fast when you’re regularly hitting communication roadblocks? Too many companies stunt their projects by delegating work to remote teams. Not in Bulgaria.
We share a cultural foundation, work ethic, and business mindset with many of our clients, so we don’t get involved in resolving cultural frictions and misunderstandings. Plus, we’re only a quick 2-3 hour flight away, with minimal or no time zone gaps.
Smooth communication is key to moving fast. When language barriers arise, even the best-run projects can fail. Bulgarian teams have an answer to that. We rank 16th out of 116 countries assessed for English proficiency. Being at the crossroads of various cultures, many of our experts are also fluent in other languages, especially German, French, Spanish, or Italian. This multilingual capability positions us advantageously for customer teams that may not conduct business primarily in English.
Bulgaria’s modern infrastructure, with high-speed internet and state-of-the-art office spaces, makes it easy to see how we deliver quickly, even while working remotely. Our projects stay on track because we don’t deal with the usual delays that may come from working across distant cultures or continents.
Bulgarian tech market. Price
Back to the money talk. Engaging with Bulgarian tech teams comes with a substantial cost benefit. The rates are generally lower than in the West, and the same goes for our operating costs. With a flat corporate tax rate of 10%, tax exemptions available for hiring an unemployed person, reimbursement for engaging people with disabilities, and other incentives, Bulgaria presents an economically smart choice for forward-thinking businesses.
My colleagues have done an excellent job researching and comparing salaries in the tech industry across Central and Eastern Europe. I refer you to their detailed insights in this CEE tech salary report, which provides a comprehensive breakdown of the region's tech markets, key skills, and salaries. This will help you better understand Bulgaria’s price advantage.
Building your dedicated tech team in Bulgaria
The true measure of Bulgaria’s tech aptitude shows in the success stories of companies that have invested or flourished here. Here are some hallmark examples:
Payhawk
SAP
Telerik
Chaos Group
Build high-performing, affordable teams, fast
How do you find the right talent in Bulgaria if you feel they could help you deliver results faster? One of the ways to do this is through a reliable partner like us.
My role at Pwrteams is to search for the most skillful, driven tech professionals who work for companies like yours. My colleagues work closely with you to understand your specific skill set requirements, help define ideal candidate profiles, and match experts from our network to meet your needs. We’ve been doing this for years and built an extensive talent network throughout that time.
We have immediate access to the talent that is often out of reach for direct recruiters and other companies, to make sure we can provide you with the team you need within a nimble 4-8 weeks, all without lock-in contracts or binding exit fees.
Our structured approach to pairing skill sets with the right projects and company culture results in an above-market retention rate of 95.7%. This ensures that the teams we provide do not just fill short-term gaps but become genuinely integrated into your business workflows and contribute to your results.
What sets us apart? Every hiring process is tailored to consider budget constraints, niche talent requirements, and cultural alignment.
A prime example of our success comes from our client, Funding Circle. Over 15 years, the online lending platform has helped 110,000 UK businesses borrow £14.6 billion to grow their business. That’s nearly 7.500 beneficiaries each year.
To handle this growth, especially during their early expansion phase, Funding Circle established their R&D hub in Sofia. They onboarded their first Ruby engineer through us in 2015, integrating them directly into their core tech team.
Since then, they've steadily expanded their Bulgarian presence, adding Ruby, Python, React Native, Clojure, and Data and ML engineers alongside tech support specialists. Bulgaria's depth of talent and nearshoring teams’ seamless integration capabilities proved crucial in building an R&D division that functions as a natural extension of their team.
From dark horse to digital powerhouse
Betting on a dark horse? That’s no longer our story. Bulgaria’s transformation into the “Balkan Silicon Valley” didn’t occur overnight. We have spent decades building the necessary skills, infrastructure, and networking, allowing us to offer reliable and extensive tech team support to thousands of global companies.
As the Head of Talent Acquisition and a proud Bulgarian, I recognise the challenges of establishing a strong remote talent base in a new country. Pwrteams can help you solve that.
With years of experience in nearshoring, a proven hiring framework, and a vast network of vetted, qualified tech talent, we are prepared to connect you with the skills you need efficiently and affordably. You pay only when you find the right hire, and Bulgaria's top talent ensures top quality. Let’s chat!
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