PUBLICATIONS
GFCC and Bulgarian Leaders Launch Advisory Council on Competitiveness in Sofia
Published on Wednesday 28 May, 2025
The GFCC is pleased to announce the establishment of the Advisory Council on Competitiveness (ACC) in Bulgaria. This first-of-its-kind institution in the country is designed to serve as an independent platform for research, analysis, dialogue, and advocacy, focused on promoting competitiveness and innovation. A crucial initiative to improve Bulgaria's productivity and prosperity led by GFCC member Glavbolgarstroy Holding AD (GBS).
Acting as an independent platform, the ACC drew inspiration for its mission, structure, and activities from the work of the GFCC. Since 2010, the GFCC has been fostering global best practices for advancing innovation and competitiveness at local, regional, and national levels.
On May 16, GFCC President Deborah L. Wince-Smith visited Sofia to inaugurate the ACC and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the newly established council. This agreement formalizes a shared commitment to align activities, collaborate, and amplify their collective impact.
"The establishment of the ACC and this new collaboration with the GFCC represents a significant step forward in Bulgaria’s innovation and economic development journey. I truly believe this partnership will help accelerate innovation, long-term prosperity, and stability for the country and its people", says GFCC President Deborah L. Wince-Smith, who will also serve as the President of the Advisory Council to the ACC.
GFCC and ACC will work together to advance innovation and competitiveness through multiple work streams: knowledge-sharing activities, such as the exchange of reports, studies, best practices, and strategic insights; capacity building, through training programs, expert exchanges, and executive education initiatives; joint programs and events, by co-hosting conferences, forums, seminars, workshops, and webinars, in Bulgaria and internationally; and policy development, collaborating on public policy recommendations, white papers, and frameworks that advance innovation and competitiveness agendas.
"Тhe event today marks the beginning of a strategic national initiative with a long-term vision led by the private sector in Bulgaria. It will be a strong driving force seeking to further increase the competitiveness of the Bulgarian economy by tightening closer ties among the industry, the academia and the governmental institutions, as well as by promoting foreign partnerships and global know-how exchange”, says Mr. Kalin Peshov, Chairman of the Management Board, Glavbolgarstroy Holding AD, during the official launch of the national Advisory Council on Competitiveness.