At a special ceremony at the President’s Office in the capital city Sofia Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev officially received on Thursday the Offshoring Destination of the Year for 2015 Award granted to the country by the European Outsourcing Association (EOA).

The European Outsourcing Association Awards 2015 are presented for a sixth year in a row. They are organised by the British National Outsourcing Association (NOA).

The awards are presented to companies and countries for achievements in the field of outsourcing. Bulgaria was nominated for the prize along with Latvia and South Africa.

The award was received by the Bulgarian Outsourcing Association at a ceremony in Lisbon on October 8, 2015.
Mr Plevneliev delivered a statement on Thursday.

“The outsourcing industry is the fastest developing sector in the Bulgarian economy over the past years,” he said, speaking at the ceremony.

The official said he was extremely glad to receive the award of the European Outsourcing Association.

“As head of state I am proud Bulgaria is positioning itself as one of the most attractive destinations in the field of outsourcing,” Plevneliev explained.

In his words, the award comes also in recognition of successes achieved in the sphere of outsourcing.

“The outsourcing industry is a cure for the difficult economic situation,” President Rosen Plevneliev went on to say.

According to Plevneliev, the outsourcing industry works regardless of difficulties.

“Today’s success is of Bulgarian entrepreneurs, innovators, developers, outsourcing companies, and the young in Bulgaria, who speak foreign languages, study, work, and see opportunities in staying in Bulgaria,” Plevneliev remarked.

In his view, Bulgaria’s advantages in this sector are widely known – high-quality specialists, good foreign language training, a favourable taxation environment, low corporate expenditures, as well as multiculturalism and tolerance.
“The quality of life and security due to our EU and NATO membership are a combination of favourable factors drawing more and more international companies,” Rosen Plevneliev noted.

“Employment in the outsourcing sector has increased fast in past 10 years and there is a trend for this growth to continue,” he commented further.

In his words, this is due to the market growth and new companies from the USA, the Netherlands, Germany, Israel, and other countries coming to operate in Bulgaria.

“Over 33,000 specialists worked in some 180 outsourcing companies in Bulgaria at the end of 2014. 28% were in the IT sector. The average annual growth rate is quite impressive. It is much higher than all the rest of industries and a 21% employment growth is reported year after year. I would like to thank all of you; this is a huge success,” Plevneliev pointed out.

He announced it was estimated as of today over 35,000 people worked in the outsourcing sector in Bulgaria and this figure was expected to grow to 60,000 by 2020.

The President said some experts even thought the number of employees in the outsourcing sector in Bulgaria could be 90,000 by 2020.

Plevneliev opined this could be achieved only if the government institutions and the private sector worked jointly for that to happen.

“The need of qualified cadres expected to grow when more Bulgarian outsourcing companies start operating,” the head of state noted.

“The outsourcing industry has achieved success all over the country. This is seen in Plovdiv, Burgas, Veliko Tarnovo, Varna, and Blagoevgrad. It more than clear the reform in the education sector is necessary and could not be postponed any longer. If we want to have this growth here and help not 35,000 but 90,000 young Bulgarians stay here in Bulgaria, this could not take place without this reform,” the senior official stated.

In his words, the annual turnover of the industry is estimated at present at some EUR 1 billion. “We expect the figure to double by 2020,” President Plevneliev announced.