At a special forum, MOVE.BG has presented the report “The Prosperity Compass: Focus Industry ( in ENG),” which contains over 100 ideas from 22 leading experts on improving the environment for the development of Bulgarian industry and its successful decarbonization by 2050. The ideas are aimed at representatives of central and local government and the business community, and include measures to boost the industry’s competitiveness through innovation, engaging the business sector as an active partner in the decarbonization process, and carving out a niche for Bulgaria among global green industries to attract investors and ensure secure, well-paid jobs. The recommendations in the report were developed using the methodology for long-term and holistic policy-making—strategic foresight analysis.
“Today, we are paving the way to the future as a society. The strategic choices and investments we make in skills, research and development, and industrial policies will determine the social and economic capital with which we will navigate a world with a changed environment tomorrow. The economy of the future rests on two main technological pillars—digital systems and solutions for preserving nature. The competitiveness of nations will depend directly on the ability of businesses to implement energy-efficient and circular practices in their operations, on the adoption of robotic systems and the use of Artificial Intelligence, and on organizing supply chains to minimize their environmental footprint. The report “The Compass to Prosperity: Focus Industry” answers the question - how do we achieve these conditions for Bulgaria’s development in the future. I would like to thank the experts who participated in the strategic foresight and contributed concrete ideas that can be implemented immediately,” said Sasha Bezuhanova, founder of MOVE.BG and initiator of the strategic foresight “The Prosperity Compass: Focus on Industry.”
From left to right, the participants in the roundtable discussion on the presentation of the report: Sasha Bezuhanova, founder of MOVE.BG and moderator of the forum; Prof. Georgi Todorov, Dean of the Faculty of Industrial Technologies at the Technical University of Sofia, member of the Executive Board of the Bulgarian Industrial Association; Zinaida Zlatanova, expert on European affairs, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice (2013–2014); Ilia Krastev, Chairman of BRAIT and AIBEST, CEO of A Data Pro; Elena Darieva, founder of the sociological agency “Nasoka.”
The Prosperity Compass: Experts’ Insights
MOVE.BG developed the recommendations in the Report with the contribution of 22 experts from various fields: representatives of political parties and local authorities, the business and financial sectors, academia, and civil society organizations. Through these measures, we can overcome the long-standing challenges facing our industry: lack of preparedness for climate change and its effects on production, employees, and supply chains; the highest energy intensity in the EU (3.5 times above the European average) and resource intensity, which make Bulgarian goods and services uncompetitive and prevent sufficient funds from being allocated for innovation and wages.
The ideas in the report are grouped into three categories: recommendations to the central authorities—the government and the parliament; recommendations to local authorities—mayors and municipal councils; and recommendations to businesses. Among the ideas in the report are:
- Develop a comprehensive mechanism for the uptake of green innovation in industry, which, on the one hand, will provide the necessary funding, human resources, and access to laboratories for testing and development of ideas and, on the other hand, facilitate the uptake of innovation. The establishment of a green innovation fund is one of the options for the funding part. Develop a green innovation platform of the one-stop-shop type
- Adopt an Innovative Autonomous Areas Act (IAAA) to create a legal sandbox in selected depopulating or coal mining regions
- Open a niche for Bulgaria’s development among the green industries in the world and promote it to attract investors – analyse where Bulgaria has the greatest potential and use it to attract investors
- Develop municipal plans for carbon-neutral municipalities by 2050 (currently, only two municipalities have such plans). Decarbonisation plans should cover, inter alia, measures to provide financial resources, including green bonds
- Set up a “federation” of municipalities from former coal-mining regions to facilitate investment in green industries on degraded land
- On a self-regulation level, businesses to open industrial laboratories and test areas for green technologies (materials, water, energy, circular models)
- On a self-regulation level, business to develop a worker reskilling and upskilling programme, and employers’ organisations should work out a free reskilling programme to train the workers needed in net-zero industries
The report “The Prosperity Compass: Focus on Industry” was presented at a forum on March 17, 2026 with the participation of experts and representatives of stakeholders. In the first part of the forum, three innovators and participants in strategic foresight analysis presented the innovations their organizations are developing and how they contribute to the decarbonization of industry: presentations were made by Maria Alexandrova, Head of “Innovative Projects and Sustainable Development” at “Nasekomo,” Mikhail-Ernesto Mihaylov, a business development expert at “Theoremus,” and Boris Varbanov, an expert at the European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) “Zagore” in Stara Zagora.
From left to right, the participants in the first part of the forum: Sasha Bezuhanova, founder of MOVE.BG and moderator of the forum; Maria Alexandrova, Head of “Innovative Projects and Sustainable Development” at “Nasekomo,” Mikhail-Ernesto Mihaylov, a business development expert at “Theoremus,” and Boris Varbanov, an expert at the European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) “Zagore” in Stara
In the second part, experts and stakeholders participated in a roundtable moderated by Sasha Bezuhanova to discuss the ideas from the report. Participants included Georgi Todorov, Dean of the Faculty of Industrial Technologies at the Technical University of Sofia and member of the Management Board of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce; Zinaida Zlatanova, expert on European affairs, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice (2013–2014); Iliya Krastev, Chairman of the Bulgarian Employers’ Organization for Innovation and Technology (BEAIT), Chairman of the Association for Innovation, Business Services, and Technology (AIBEST), and CEO of A Data Pro; Elena Darieva, founder of the sociological agency “Nasoka.”
Watch the full recording of the forum presenting the Report here (in BG).
View photos from the event here.
View the Report "The Prosperity Compass: Focus Industry” here (in ENG).
