BESCO maps the next scaling phase for Bulgaria's startup ecosystem

The interview presents BESCO as moving from foundation-building to a scaling phase. Originally founded as the Bulgarian Startup Association and later broadened into the Bulgarian Entrepreneurial Association, the organization says its membership has grown from roughly 300 members representing around 50 companies to nearly 1,000 companies over the last three years. Its team has also tripled in size.

With Sofia still hosting around 86% of the country's startups, BESCO says its next step is to work more actively outside the capital. The organization points to Plovdiv and Stara Zagora as cities with visible entrepreneurial momentum, while also noting the obstacles regional founders face, including thinner peer networks, more limited access to capital, and less developed links with local authorities.

Funding is another central theme. BESCO identifies two main gaps: early-stage angel investment and late-stage growth capital. In the interview, its leadership says it is working with public and ecosystem stakeholders on stronger incentives for angel investors and on regulatory changes that could make it easier for pension funds to invest in venture capital and alternative funds.

The discussion also turns to tech transfer. BESCO argues that Bulgaria still needs stronger collaboration between universities and companies, clearer commercialization frameworks, and more practice-oriented learning. The broader message is that Bulgaria now has many of the basic ingredients of an ecosystem, but the next challenge is scaling it more evenly and strategically.