Press release | 3rd edition of BULGARIA: PropTech Mapping Report 2021

BULGARIA: PropTech Mapping Report 2021 [3rd edition] gets released while we are well into the consequences of the pandemic crisis. Changed consumer behaviour and preferences. Changed political priorities. The Green Deal is on. And most importantly, difficult times give the birth to great people. And not only, but also great tech solutions.

‘If history is any guide, the best performing vintages are being raised now or soon. Investments made at the bottom of any downturn and into the early stages of recovery are generally outperformers – when entry multiples are lower, competition subsides and portfolio companies benefit from macro tailwinds.’ [PropTech1]

This turbulent times made it very tough to analyse and synthesise in a very concise and easy-to-understand manner all the profound changes we observe just within a year since the 2nd edition of the Report. This hard task was much facilitated by our inherently iterative approach based on regular surveys, researches, and continual communication with both tech companies, and property developers, we have had in the meanwhile. Sensing the pulse contantly. In this 3rd edition of the Report you will find the recap on Covid-19 impact on Bulgarian PropTech, Bulgarian Real Estate (both Commercial, and Residential), information about the change in consumer profiles and behaviour patterns, and of course, 2021 forecasts on future tech and consumer trends.

We pay very special attention to future forecasts. All these are based on the sound judgement of entrepreneurs who have been dealing with the crisis challenges all the way long. Both the challenges of exponential demand growth, and of business models that become void. You will be able to read the prognoses of 9 Bulgarian tech entrepreneurs from different PropTech realms, inclusive of 2 ones from the HealthTech sector. We at PropTech Bulgaria firmly believe that the complicated situations everyone finds oneself in can be solved by combining PropTech together with HealthTech. This is why below you will also find an access link to our BULGARIA: HealthTech Mapping Report 2021 [1st ed.] which we officially announced on April 15, 2021.

                                              Some key figures

The YoY increase (2021 to 2020) of PropTech solutions included in BULGARIA: PropTech Mapping Report is 81%, inclusive of mobility solutions.

The YoY increase (2021 to 2020) exclusive of mobility solutions is 65 %

This increase is as a result from 2 factors. The first one is the 14 newly-established PropTech companies in 2021. The second one the increased number of PropTech solutions we at PropTech Bulgaria have identified. As it is a well-known fact, there is no register in Bulgaria, alike many other countries, of tech solutions according to their type.

It takes time and a lot of efforts, and resources to do the scouting and identification of tech solutions per industry verticals. This makes BULGARIA: PropTech Mapping Report the only source and the only reliable source of information on Bulgarian PropTech.

The total number of Bulgarian PropTech solutions identified and analysed by PropTech Bulgaria is 114. The number rises to 130 when we add some Smart City solutions which don’t classify along the 5 PropTech life cycle stages, but are included in the 10th Smart City categories which are typical for categorising such tech solutions.

Bulgarian PropTech solutions contribute to 7 out of all 17 SDGs of UN 2030, and 3 of them have the most solutions. These are: SDG 11, SDG 7, SDG 12.

16 % are the externally funded Bulgarian PropTechs, and 84% are bootstrapped.

The most well-funded Bulgarian PropTech company is Officernd. Crunchbase reports (dd 22.03.2021) that the company has received EUR 4.2M and is registered in the UK, though being physically based in Bulgaria, and founded by Bulgarians.

                                 What’s hot on the Bulgarian PropTech scene

The PropTech industry in Bulgaria gains more and more speed. We are pleased to see the fruit of our efforts in a never-ending strive to perfection to establish this tech sector in Bulgaria, identify the key players, and collaborate with them on an increasing number of inter/national opportunities.

Hence, we are proud to list some of the high achievements in 2020 as a result of our incessant efforts:

PropTech Bulgaria organized the 1st international PropTech conference in South-East Europe on 04.11.2020;

PropTech Bulgaria established the 1st Annual PropTech Award in partnership with imoti.net and Investor Media Group. The Award ceremony was on 07.07.2020;

The 1st Bulgarian PropTech channel on the worldwide event RE:Connect 1.0 was ranked among TOP 3 most-viewed sessions in the context of 400+ parallel sessions from 40+ countries. The channel was broadcasted on 07.01.2021;

In Dec. 2020 we released the 1st PropTech overview on the South-East Europe, namely ‘South-East Europe PropTech Trends 2020’ e-book;

We opened the DACH region market to Bulgarian PropTechs through our international partnership with blackprint Booster, Germany;

We supported both key media in Bulgaria, and Bulgarian PropTechs in the unbearable turbulence of Covid-19 crisis;

We were among the first-movers worldwide to research the Covid-19 impact and implications on Bulgarian PropTechs. Consequently, we were among the few to release a separate analysis of the situation early on into the pandemic. We were followed by countries like the Netherlands that we freely provided to our research questionnaire;

The efforts of PropTech Bulgaria to position highly Bulgaria on the international scene, were recognized by key international players;

PropTech Bulgaria was featured in the yearly e-book on PropTech issued annually by the European PropTech Association – PropTech House;

And all these are only in addition to our long-term endeavours like:

The 2nd edition of BULGARIA: PropTech Mapping Report 2020 released on 27.02.2020. We daresay that PropTech Bulgaria is the first organisation worldwide that issues such analytical reports and mappings for the national PropTech sector. We are the only one to have 3 annual editions thus far, and you are holding the 3rd one in your hands;

Providing international recognition and opportunities to Bulgarian PropTechs through our partnership with the European PropTech Association – PropTech House. Proud to represent Bulgaria in this pan-European alliance.

All these are just a fraction of all we do for:

national PropTechs that want to enter foreign markets, and international PropTechs who want to enter the Bulgarian market;

tech investors and property developers who operate in Bulgaria or at European level.

Find more on  proptechbulgaria.eu  and don’t miss the official presentation of Report’s results on 24.06.2021 at RE:Connect 3.0. Find more here