Bulgaria - Market Entry Strategy , Opportunities and Market Challenges

Market Challenges: Learn about barriers to market entry and local requirements, i.e., things to be aware of when entering the market for this country.

• Regulatory and legislative unpredictability
• Inefficient bureaucracy
• Slow moving court system
• Corruption and the influence of entrenched interests or organized crime on some sectors of the economy
• Intellectual property right infringements
• Important to retain a strong, vetted, agent, distributor or partner, and 
• Complex, and often opaque, tendering process

Market Oppurtunieties:Overview of best prospect sectors, major infrastructure projects, significant government procurements and business opportunities.

• Well-educated, young, multi-lingual labor force
• One of the lowest wage rates in the EU
• Convenient geographic location, and
• EU membership provides Structural and Cohesion Funds financing opportunities to all qualified U.S. companies, including SMEs

          For more information, please see EU Funding and Government Procurement Sector

          U.S. export opportunities to Bulgaria include (alphabetical order):

• Agricultural Equipment
• Agricultural Sector and Food Products
• Automotive industry
• Energy: Power Generation, Oil & Gas, Renewable Sources of Energy and Energy Efficiency
• Environmental Technologies
• Healthcare, Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals
• Information and Communications Technologies
• Safety and Security

Market Entry Strategy:Generalizes on the best strategy to enter the market, e.g., visiting the country; importance of relationships to finding a good partner; use of agents.

• Identifying and cultivating a reputable local representative is key to success in this market
• Conducting due diligence before selecting a representative is essential
• Enlisting qualified local legal services for contract negotiations is also highly recommended

• contact facilitation and evaluation
• market research
• service providers