Software Group’s CEO Kalin Radev included in the first History of Bulgarian Entrepreneurship

The Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency (BSMEPA) released a book on the history of Bulgarian entrepreneurship, proposed by the Еxecutive Director of the Agency, Dr. Boyko Takov, and implemented by a team of researchers from Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" and The University of National and World Economy.

The book details the birth and development of Bulgarian entrepreneurship from the Bulgarian National Revival to the present day and explains the evolution in the understanding of entrepreneurship in the world and Bulgaria. It also pays significant attention to the topic of modern entrepreneurship, the role of incubators and accelerators in the overall culture of doing business in the country. 

Kalin Radev takes his place among the modern entrepreneurs being the co-founder and CEO of Software Group, a global technology company that enables financial institutions to provide more efficient and accessible financial services to people worldwide. 

Kalin’s experience in finance started in 2001 as a consultant for the international organization World Council of Credit Unions, which monitors the activities of credit unions alliances and funding organizations in countries with financially underserved populations. His work for the WОCCU helped him discover that billions of people around the world don't have access to financial services due to poverty or lack of physical access next to a bank branch. Kalin decided that it was worth working to find a solution to this serious problem, affecting mainly the population of developing countries. 

In 2007, he went to live in Kenya and worked in a software company providing information systems to companies in the field of microfinance. In 2009, he returned to Bulgaria and founded Software Group with the mission to help microfinance organizations and later other financial institutions provide better financial services to their customers and drive financial inclusion.

Today Software Group serves a worldwide client base of banks, fintechs, governmental bodies, and other FSPs in more than 80 countries from 9 regional offices located in Australia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Ghana, India, Kenya, Mexico, the Philippines, and the USA. The company's products offer significant added value for both the company's clients and their respective customers, affecting the lives of more than 100 mln people worldwide. 

The Executive Director of BSMEPA, Mr. Boyko Takov, commented:

"We are proud to launch this project because entrepreneurship should be encouraged as it paves the path to our future, in this line of thought we also want to show our past and history. Until now, no book has been published in Bulgaria that would present the origin and development of entrepreneurship in our country in such entirety. Its purpose is to motivate young people through the personal examples of Bulgarian entrepreneurs, their successes and failures as well as to serve as teaching material for higher education institutions, where entrepreneurship is taught. I think many lessons can be learned from the past that will serve us in the present and the future.”

A digital copy of the book in Bulgarian can be found here.