Deutsche Börse Venture Network is expanding its offering in Central and Eastern Europe: Bulgarian start-ups can now become members of Deutsche Börse Venture Network at an early stage and improve their positioning towards international investors and stakeholders in one of Europe's leading start-up networks. This is possible through the partnership between the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) in Sofia and Deutsche Börse's pre-IPO platform.

According to data provider Dealroom.co, there are currently over 800 startups and scaleups in Bulgaria. With about 70 companies, Bulgaria also has the highest number of fintechs in Southeastern Europe. The number of funding rounds, especially in late stages from Series C onwards, has increased sharply since the beginning of the year, already surpassing the figures of the last two years in the first quarter.

"We are continuously expanding our reach in Europe, along with established partners with existing growth initiatives," says Peter Fricke, Head of Deutsche Börse Venture Network. "By cooperating with the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, we are making it easier for Bulgarian start-ups to access an international investor network and thus potential growth capital. The start-up ecosystem in Central and Eastern Europe has been continuously developing over the past years and offers high potential for further growth."

"We are pleased to partner with Deutsche Börse Venture Network to broaden new horizons for Bulgarian companies to foster their development and growth. The BSE will act as a bridge to the network for the companies by providing free evaluation and advisory services to the potential members from our country," said Prof. Manyu Moravenov, CEO of the BSE.

With Deutsche Börse Venture Network, Deutsche Börse is making a significant contribution to strengthening the ecosystem for growth in Germany and Europe. With offering specifically developed pitching events, training sessions and networking formats tailored to founders and investors, the growth network aims to improve the financing situation of young, aspiring companies. The network currently counts over 660 members worldwide, including around 200 companies from sectors such as financial services, IT, software & data, and health & life sciences. With over 460 investors from 32 countries worldwide, the Deutsche Börse Venture Network also covers all financing phases from early to later stage. These include venture capital, private equity, corporate venture capital and family offices & HNWIs.