Bulgaria is 1st in the Balkans in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2026 🏆

Not to brag, but we’re a little proud of Bulgaria today!

StartupBlink’s 2026 index puts Bulgaria 40th globally and first in the Balkans, with 25.4% growth that’s among the fastest in the EU, and Sofia jumped twelve places to 117th with 22.2% growth. We couldn’t help getting a bit excited about this at Capto, because we work with finance teams here and get to watch this ecosystem grow from the inside, and honestly the reasons behind the numbers match what we see every day.

Over the last few years Bulgaria has made it much easier to start and fund companies, with a flexible new company form for startups, a digital nomad visa, R&D tax incentives and a Fund of Funds that doubled its venture commitments to €300 million, and joining the eurozone and Schengen has made working with partners across Europe a lot smoother. Throw in great technical talent and a fintech unicorn in Payhawk, and it’s no wonder more and more finance teams are ready to let AI take over the routine reporting so their people can focus on growth, which is exactly what we love helping with. 🤖

What we like most is that the whole region is moving up together, with Greece and Romania each placing two cities in the top 10 and Skopje growing fastest of all, so big congrats to everyone building in the Balkans! We’d love to see even more teamwork between Bulgaria, Greece and our neighbours in the year ahead. 🚀

Source: StartupBlink Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2026

Capto

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Originally posted on LinkedIn:

https://lnkd.in/p/dRJFGFG4