“2022 was the best FinTech year so far – the FinTech investments increased and our industry kept its first place as the most attractive sector for VC capital. BFA community visited events in London, Brussels, and Las Vegas where we had the chance to meet and compete with the most developed FinTechs. In 2022 the Bulgarian government and independent regulators continued to recognise the Bulgarian FinTech industry’s role and its importance for our modern economy” – summarised Valeri Valtchev, Chairman of Bulgarian Fintech Association.
The Numbers
2022 was here to impress: partnerships straighten, new members joined, opinions on Bulgarian and EU regulations were expressed and work recognised by major players in the ecosystem. BFA will continue its work as a mediator and trendsetter in the biggest FinTech Hub of Southeast Europe (SEE).
Read below what exactly these numbers mean ↓
Events
In 2022 COVID-19 released its tight and the year was full of physical events. BFA representatives participated in all major FinTech events around the world. Below is a non-exhaustive list of the most important events we had in the last 12 months.
Annual FinTech Report 2022 – Release press-conference
On December 15, the Bulgarian Fintech Association presented its Annual Fintech Report for the fourth consecutive year. The report aims to bring together and present a comprehensive view of the fintech ecosystem in Bulgaria, including quantitative and qualitative analysis of the fintech sector in the country, fintech mapping, and interviews with fintech experts.
On the occasion of the release of the report, BFA, in partnership with Mastercard and Nexo, organized a conference in Sofia Tech Park. During the event, the key findings of the report and the development of the sector in Bulgaria and Southeast Europe were presented. The conference was attended by representatives of the Financial Supervision Authority, EC, VUZF, Sofia University, Nexo, Penkov, Markov and partners, Paysera, Innovative Sofia, IRIS Solutions, and others. They took part in panel discussions on some of the main topics in the field of fintech, such as Fintech Education, Regulation, and Innovation.
You can watch the conference here and download the Report here.
Money 20/20 – Las Vegas
After last year’s visit to Money 20/20 in Amsterdam, this year our representatives managed to the biggest FinTech event in the US – Money 20/20 Las Vegas. The initiative gathered the biggest Bulgarian FinTech delegation across the ocean and was once again supported by the Bulgarian Small and Medium Size Enterprize Promotion Agency.
The Bulgarian FinTech and Tech Sectors Presented in London
On 8 and 9 November BFA, in partnership with BBBA and Tuk-Tam, presented the FinTech and Tech ecosystems in Bulgaria in front of the Bulgarian diaspora and UK VC funds, at the Bulgarian embassy in London, UK. The event in London was the first of a series of events in Europe in an effort to shed light on thriving ecosystems in Bulgaria.
The focus throughout the first day was on the Bulgarian diaspora interested in and looking for career development in the Bulgarian tech and FinTech industries. The Bulgarian FinTechs – Addit.tech, Ocado Technology, ePay, eLando, and SoCyber presented their technology and products before students and professionals. The second day of the forum started with a presentation by the Financial Conduct Authority and their representative Ishah Ijaz who discussed in detail the Innovation Pathways program and Regulatory sandbox in the UK. Read more about the event here.
FinTech Explained Series
The events aim to meet people interested in FinTech, blockchain and cryptocurrencies, and finance, with experts who share and discuss some of the leading topics in these fields. In addition to new knowledge on various issues, participants will have the opportunity to make new contacts with like-minded people during our networking sessions. In this way, we want to stimulate development and innovation in fintech and create a place where new ideas are born.
Some topics you can expect in the future are Fintech education, Open Banking and Open Finance, Women in Fintech, and more. Read more here
Coding Challenge for Ukraine
On the 17th of June Bulgaria participated in the EU-UA hackathon in support of all Ukrainian citizens, Coding Challenge for Ukraine, organized by the European Commission, European Digital Finance Association, and Ukrainian Association of Fintech and Innovation Companies.
You can read more about the event here
Regulatory
In 2022 the Association participated in various regulatory initiatives both on the national and supra-national levels. We took part in public discussions on topics such as the crypto markets in the EU regulation – MiCA, PSD-2 Review, Financial Literacy Strategy for Bulgarians, etc. Our regulatory work continues in 2023.
BFA visit to the European Parliament on PSD-2 Review
On June 21st the Bulgarian Fintech Association, together with IRIS Solutions participated in the expert conference “Open Finance: The Backbone of Digital Economy”, organized by the European Digital Finance Association (EDFA) and hosted by the European Parliament. The participants in this meeting, including other Fintech companies and members of EDFA, had to introduce their recommendations on PSD2 and the development potential of Open banking, hence, Open finance in front of the European Commission. Read more at the full article here
FinTech Education
FinTech education remained one of the main work verticals of BFA. In the last 12 months, we launched the third year of the Finance, Investments and FinTech Masters’s degree programme at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, and started a brand new FinTech Master’s degree at VUZF University – Sofia. 2022 was also the start of the first FinTech short course in Bulgaria. We launched the From Zero To FinTech Hackathon 2022 edition, supported the Academic Conference of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” and etc.
In total, we lectured in more than 5 universities and schools across the country, worked together on education initiatives with the non-banking regulator in Bulgaria – Financial Supervision Commission and as a result reached more than 300 university and school students. and involved more than 20 FinTech companies in our initiatives.
Launch of FinTech, Finance and Digital Innovation Master’s Degree Programme at VUZF University – Sofia
Together with our FinTech expert assoc. prof Deyan Radev, in 2022 we launched the first FinTech Master’s degree programme at VUZF University Sofia. The programme is aimed at students with an interest in FinTech and its contemporary applications in 21 century. The teaching process is supported by both the private and public sectors, e.g. Iris Solutions’ CEO Galya Dimitrova is the head tutor of the Open banking course, while the Financial Supervision Commission of Bulgaria is an active lecturer. This Master’s degree programme and the interest in it is another evidence of the need for FinTech education in Bulgaria.
You can read more about the programme here.
Finance, Investments and FinTech Master’s degree programme at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”
For а third year in a row BFA partners with the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (FEBA) at Sofia University “St.Kliment Ohridski” in conducting the most desired FEBA master’s program – “Finance, Investments, and Fintech”. In the ongoing 2022/2023 academic year, the master’s program provides students with a wide range of knowledge in the fields of digital technologies, financial innovation and investment, blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
You can read more about the programme here.
From Zero To FinTech – The BFA FinTech Hackathon 2022
The hackathon was the next step of the Master’s degree program in Finance, Investments and Fintech at Sofia University and provided the participants with a series of workshops, conducted by some of the most prominent specialists in the field of marketing, sales, and investments in Fintech solutions in Bulgaria and Europe. The event was open to anyone interested in the field of digital finance and attracted more than 40 participants. In addition, From Zero To Fintech gave a chance to solve real-life Fintech cases, propose and develop new Fintech solutions, and test their ideas with ‘dummy data’ via Iris PSD 2 HUB. All Fintech ideas created and developed during the Fintech hackathon were evaluated by a highly respected jury consisting of Fintech specialists from Bulgaria, the UK, and the Silicon Valley. Read more here
The First FinTech Short Course in Bulgaria
On June 25, VUZF University together with the Bulgarian Fintech Association organised for the first time in Bulgaria a one-day course “Introduction to Fintech”.
The course is a continuation of the Master’s Program “Fintech, Finance and Digital Innovation” at VUZF, as the main topics during the day will be the future development of the fintech industry at a national, regional, and global level, possible transformations in the banking industry and financial markets, blockchain development, cryptocurrencies, the digital euro, artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning. You can see the whole program of the event here.
Community and Partners
Bulgarian Fintech Association continued to attract new members for its causes and grew by 10 members in 2022. Today, we represent 72 organisations interested in FinTech from the region of Southeastern Europe, including 2 universities – Sofia University and VUZF-Sofia. Our relationships with the public and private sector improved and straighten resulting in various partnerships with the Financial Supervision Commission of Bulgaria, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Bulgaria, the European Commission, OECD, European Digital Finance Association, etc.
