How it all started and what we have in mind for the Bulgarian international community
Written by Giuseppe Di Benedetto and Anastasiia Dehtiarova, edited by Lindsay Martin.
The idea of a platform for the international citizens of Sofia starts with the Facebook group “Foreigners in Sofia & Friends.” Established in 2015 as a self-help forum, the group grew organically over the years. After many events and gatherings, it has now become the largest international community in Bulgaria, connecting more than 27,000 people from around the world.
For Giuseppe, Manuel, and Anastasiia, Open Sofia doesn’t just bring practical value to the internationals in Bulgaria. It gives the community a sense of belonging and helps them feel at home in a new country, providing reliable information, support, networking opportunities, cultural and recreational initiatives.
Since the lucky pitch event where the founders met and started working together, the Open Sofia team has grown and set ambitious goals for the project. Contributors from all over the globe joined to design and deliver opensofia.org, crafting helpful content, developing new institutional and corporative partnerships, and opening new paths of collaboration with public partners and other NGOs.
Our skilled multicultural team has built Open Sofia using a lean startup approach. It’s been a challenging and beautiful journey, especially during these difficult times. Our next steps are now the growth of the partnerships network, and the release of a full version of the platform, with more news and services for the community.
Open Sofia wants to connect and inspire the international family. Like a beautiful tree, we are ready to grow and bear countless fruits of collaboration, support, innovation, and social impact.
Watch the video to learn more about Open Sofia from the founders themselves.
