The Bulgarian government hired Bloom Consulting to develop a strategy to attract strategic investors and position Bulgaria internationally following its EU entrance. Bloom found Bulgaria's most vibrant sectors were ICT-related startups and growing companies, but there was little venture capital available. Bloom recommended attracting venture capital firms to foster entrepreneurship through quality, not quantity, investments. The results vastly exceeded projections, with investments increasing 10 times more than expected in the first year and Bulgaria rising from 13th to 1st rank among CEE countries for investments within 3 years.

1. Let me take you
for a new ride
How to transition from a destination perceived
as not business friendly into a new one
associated with entrepreneurship and creativity
Welcome to
T1
Development of Countries
Human Asset Management
Business Strategy

2. The challenge
The Bulgarian Government hired Bloom Consulting in a critical moment of its history: Bulgaria’s entrance into the European
Union.
Thanks to the vision of the Prime Minister and former King H.M. Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (pictured previously), Bulgaria
had made remarkable progress on both economic and social fronts. Nevertheless, the same government was aware the country
could not sit on its achievements. Although the entrance into the EU was positive, it would also bring limitations, especially
for investors seeking competitive labor costs for greenfield investments, as costs would become higher and other regions
would become more appealing.
Bloom Consulting was hired to develop a strategy geared towards positioning the country internationally for strategic key
investors who would be interested in what the country had to offer in terms of value added.
The approach
The first step Bloom developed was to understand what current perceptions the country held for international investors, dis-
cover how they heard about the country, and if they already had or were interested in investing in Bulgaria.
Additionally Bloom researched the most important upcoming sectors and their stage of development, as well as the main
needs for their sustainable growth.
The Findings Disparity between the potential and the available funding
The conclusions demonstrated that the most vibrant sectors
were ICT-related, and the most interesting and strategic stages
of development were in a seed or expansion stage. The biggest
Available Potential Available Funding
issue was that there was no venture capital in the country and
very few private equity firms as well as entrepreneurs. Thus,
there were very few or no funds whatsoever to invest in the new
generation of startups and mid-size companies that were eager
to grow and expand.)

3. The Strategy
Bloom Consulting recommended that the Bulgarian Government establish a medium to long term strategy, and focus mainly
on attracting strategic investors that would foster entrepreneurship and bring investments to small and medium size companies
in the country.
Impact in the economy
Strategic investments
Corporate investments
Time (Years)
The vision was not to create a visible and loud strategy, but rather a specific one geared mainly at attracting venture capital
and private equity firms as well as entrepreneurs. This strategy was basically focused on quality rather than quantity invest-
ments and would start to have visible results on a medium time frame.)

4. The Projections and Results
In conjunction with the Bulgarian Government, Bloom Consulting created a short to medium term strategy projection of a
steady venture attraction of €50 million a year.
The results were spectacular as the 10 year projections were achieved in only 3 years. The lack of trend or negative trend in
2005 (when Bloom started the project) improved dramatically from nearly 0 to €560 million the following year – 10 times
more than expected - Bulgaria moved from CEE position number 13 to number 1 in 2010.)
Investments in Bulgaria vs. CEE Ranking of Bulgaria vs CEE Ranking of Bulgaria vs CEE
(no bank leverage included) 2005 2010
Rank 1 01 Hungary 01 Bulgaria
2.00%
02 Bosnia-Herzegovina 02 Poland
03 Estonia 03 Estonia
04 Czech Republic 04 Czech Republic
1.50% 05 Romania 05 Serbia
06 Lithuania 06 Romania
07 Latvia 07 Ukraine
1.00%
08 Slovakia 08 Hungary
09 Poland 09 Latvia
Rank 2 Serbia and Montenegro
Rank 5 10 10 Croatia
0.50% Rank 3 Rank 1 11 Slovenia 11 Slovakia
Rank 13 12 Croatia 12 Slovenia
13 Bulgaria 13 Lithuania
14 Bosnia-Herzegovina
15 Macedonia
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 16 Moldova
17 Montenegro
Investment as % of GDP in Bulgaria
(no bank leverage included)
Investment as % of GDP TOTAL CEE
(no bank leverage included)
Bulgaria Ranking compared to all CEE
(15 countries)
Bloom Consulting Projections Sources: European Venture Capital Association and European Union