Optimism for Bulgaria

Hairdressing was an unlikely choice for someone with a background in veterinary science and engineering and a job in pharmacy. But it was a childhood dream, so she signed up for a six-month hairdressing course, traveling daily for classes in Veliko Tarnovo, 55 miles away, even as she juggled family responsibilities, including a preteen son, and a full-time job.

The Council of Women in Business unites companies and individuals in the goal of promoting women’s inclusion and development in Bulgaria’s economy and public life. The Council is also the America for Bulgaria Foundation’s partner in launching three editions of Business Academy for Starting Entrepreneurs, the Foundation’s free entrepreneurship program, in Lovech, Troyan, and Veliko Tarnovo. In four years, BASE has helped dozens of individuals across Bulgaria build or expand small businesses creating hundreds of jobs.

Plamen Nikolov likes to joke that he is in the business of diffusing wellbeing. He is the executive director of Esseterre, the Bulgarian arm of the world’s largest producer of essential oils, dōTERRA. Essential oils are aromatic oils distilled from plants and an essential ingredient in aromatherapy, the practice of using oils for healing or cosmetic purposes, usually through inhalation. Diffusers are devices used to disperse the beneficial scents.  

The transformative role of digital technologies will be the main theme of the first ever World Press Institute conference in Bulgaria. Titled “New Horizons in Journalism,” the event will be held in Sofia on September 24–25 in cooperation with the Association of European Journalists – Bulgaria and the America for Bulgaria Foundation.

The Kelvin Health app shows huge promise for the early detection of a variety of conditions including breast cancer, vascular diseases, and respiratory infections, according to Kelvin Health cofounder Georgi Kadrev. Founded in 2020, the company is partnering with pharmaceutical giant Novartis and several research hospitals and universities in Bulgaria and abroad and is currently collecting clinical data.

The world’s largest conservation organization, the World Wide Fund for Nature — or WWF, as it is more commonly known — embarked on an unusual experiment: instead of focusing on the businesses of today and asking them to change their ways, it would nurture the environmentally responsible businesses of tomorrow.

Science-themed RFPs promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the life sciences by backing early-stage ventures like Martinа and Milko’s. Their effort to create knee implants from human collagen was one of 17 promising projects that received funding for further development in the program’s inaugural year.

Founded in 2019, Zero Wave utilizes used brewer’s malt to make single-use plates and comestibles. Brewer’s malt is a waste product that ends up in the dump in 95% of the cases, with Bulgaria alone producing over 240 tons of malt waste every day.

Contestants in Innovation Academy 2021 are young adults who are coming up with innovative business ideas to tackle pressing global issues. The eighth edition of the program drew 150 students from 14 universities in Bulgaria who, divided in 76 teams, worked on projects for reducing waste and stepping up recycling, encouraging blood donation, facilitating remote education and work, and improving the workplace.