Seven Bulgarian companies fall into different categories of Deloitte's annual ranking for Central Europe "2023 Deloitte CE Technology Fast 50", the organization said.
Fast 50
The regional ranking of fast-growing companies in the technology sector is being held for the 24th consecutive year. It provides both established and emerging technology companies with a platform to promote their dynamic growth and solutions in the technology industry, Deloitte says.
Nearly 400 companies from 16 countries in Central Europe, including 18 companies from Bulgaria, applied in 2023. According to the criteria, 50 of the applicants made it to the final ranking. In 2023, the 50 ranked companies are from seven countries and six different sectors, dominated by software companies. Poland and the Czech Republic have an equal number of companies in the Fast 50, with 18 each. The remaining 14 spots are split between Croatia (five), Slovakia (four), Romania (three) and Bulgaria and Serbia (one each).
Deloitte reports that the average growth rate achieved by the companies is 1,502% and describes it as good compared to the growth of 1,460% recorded in the 2020 edition. The growth rate is based on revenue generated by the companies between 2019 and 2022 and covers a period marked by a global pandemic and significant geopolitical tensions.
Bulgarian Ampeco ranked 15th with revenue growth of 1,627% over the period. The company, founded in 2018, develops a cloud-based software platform to manage charging stations for electric vehicles. Its software platform is in use on 6 continents and over 60,000 charging stations operate with it.
"Making the Fast 50 is a great recognition of the work of our entire team. We have managed to build a global company from Bulgaria that facilitates the entry of electromobility into people's lives," Ampeco CEO Orlin Radev was quoted in Deloitte's press release.
Companies to Watch
The winner for 2023 is Slovak software company 3IPK, established in 2019, whose blockchain-based solutions enable customers in the aerospace and defence industries to ensure the authenticity of data, including satellite imagery for Earth observation.
Bulgaria is represented in the category by three companies - Resolute Software (12th), Sappience (14th), and AIOPSGroup (15th).
Resolute Software is a software consulting company specializing in digital business transformation. It delivers high-quality web, mobile, and desktop services to help clients modernize their businesses and achieve their business goals in a modern, less time-consuming, and less maintenance-intensive way.
Sappience has been on the market since the summer of 2019 and works to support asset-intensive companies to achieve 360-degree asset lifecycle management. It works with clients in industries with physical assets and develops digital twin software that enables forecasting of activity, performance, and costs around an asset based on current and historical data, relying on a so-called low-code model.
AIOPSGroup entered the market in 2019 and offers eCommerce technology solutions that empower its clients to transform their businesses - creating an amazing customer experience, a smarter data strategy, and a more efficient approach to maximizing returns on retail operations. The company works with world-renowned international brands.
Impact Stars
In the category, introduced for the first time in 2020, the Bulgarian technology sector is represented by three companies - Digital Lights, Ucha.se, and ZenHold. It is a special classification of companies that successfully link outstanding products or services with a positive impact on at least one of the areas - society, business, innovation, environment, and diversity.
Digital Lights is a software company specializing in creating solutions for mobility, business applications, and space. The company develops information systems that control and connect vehicles, and also create platforms and tools to design new vehicle models.
Ucha.se is a product company in the ED Tech sphere, founded in 2012, named Bulgaria's number 1 educational platform with lessons presented in an engaging and understandable language. With over 26,000 video lessons, quizzes, and mind map talks, the website and mobile app of Ucha.se help all pupils from first to 12th grade to increase their school performance, have fun, and have more free time.
ZenHold (using the trademark ZenArt) has created its own proprietary process for building photorealistic 3D worlds that support AAA gaming, VR, and AR experiences and simulations. The company's product portfolio consists of a variety of fully interactive VR experiences and simulations based on a technology called photogrammetry, and the market application of the technology spans a wide range of industries.