The Bulgarian market for medical and dental equipment is growing quickly as a result of increasing private and public investment in this sector and gives therefore excellent opportunities for companies from these sectors. The detailed survey published by SBDC on “The Market for Medical and Dental Equipment in Bulgaria” today gives an overview on the health sector in Bulgaria, recent reform trends, private and public investment projects, privatization, a detailed analysis of the exports and imports of medical and dental equipment from and to Bulgaria, opportunities for foreign producers, and a very detailed list with useful addresses, public institutions, producers, importers and wholesalers, medical and dental journals, trade fairs and useful web resources. It is a very helpful especially for foreign producers of medical and dental equipment which want to increase their business in Bulgaria. The survey is available on request from SBDC (office@sbdc-bg-eu) for 350 Euro.

In 2008, SBDC will target to increase its number of private clients by increasing its service portfolio. As a new service SBDC will offer all kind of market surveys and market briefs to clients from the private sector. The market briefs will cover Bulgaria and/or other countries of the Balkan region, and will be produced either on individual request or offered to clients of a specific prospective sector in the region. “Based on the big market potential in this field, and the recently announced changes in the health system, including the upcoming privatization in this sector, we decided to start with a survey on the market for medical and dental equipment in Bulgaria”, explained Elitsa Osenska from SBDC. The market survey will assist foreign producers and distributors to get all relevant information, and thus getting market access and increase their sales. It is planned to launch the first market survey in April.

Sofia Business and Development Consulting (SBDC) recently completed its first participation in an International Development Project funded by the European Union. An expert from SBDC was managing since May 2007 the Export Promotion component of the Trade Enhancement Project (TEP-A) EU-Egypt, which was implemented by a consortium led by the Catalonian Trade Promotion Organization (COPCA) and the Government of Catalonia in Cairo. Beneficiaries of this project component, which provided technical assistance in the field of Institutional Capacity Building mainly, were several of the Egyptian Export Councils and the Egyptian Foreign Trade Training Center.
The SBDC expert managed and supervised the assignments of about 40 local and international consultants, that provided their specific expertise to the clients. It is expected that this project with a total budget of 20 million Euro will have a big impact on the competitiveness of Egyptian exporters and increase their exports to the European Union considerably.

According to Thomas Huebner, Managing Director of SBDC, the company intends also in 2008 to participate in International Development Projects, mainly in the field of Private Sector Development, Trade and Export Promotion, Investment Promotion, and Regional Development, with a regional focus on South-Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean region, and the PHARE region. The company is therefore looking forward to strengthening its network with other companies in this field which apply for donor-funded projects, including EU Framework Contracts.