Chapter 2: Bulgaria

(continued)

2.5 Information Channels for Business Opportunities

Environmental professionals in Bulgaria receive business information mainly through personal contacts and from environmental publications, the daily press and attendance at conferences. Other major channels for information on business development include the Ministry of Environment, fairs and trade shows, direct mail and business publications. Surprisingly, professional associations and chambers of commerce were mentioned by only 22 percent and 15 percent, respectively, as sources of information to find out about business opportunities. Even international organizations and the Academy of Sciences were used more frequently for finding out about environmental business opportunities. Table 2.14 shows the percentage of survey respondents who said they receive information through the listed channels.

TABLE 2.14: MOST IMPORTANT CHANNELS OF INFORMATION ABOUT BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
Information Channel	% of Respondents

Personal contacts	94
Environmental publications	66
Daily press	65
Conference attendance	65
Environmental Ministry	60
Trade shows and fairs	59
Direct mail	46
Business publications	40
Local authorities/municipalities	35
International organizations	34
University/Academy of Sciences	30
Professional associations	22
Broadcast fax service	16
Chamber of Commerce	15
Ministry of Economics/Trade	13
E-mail	10
Commercial banks	6

Fewer than half of environmental professionals said they participated in more than three conferences annually (see Table 2.15). The major reasons given for attending conferences were to learn about new project opportunities, to find potential partners and to meet others in the same field. The percentage of respondents citing various reasons for attending is shown in Table 2.16.

TABLE 2.15: ANNUAL CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE
Number of Conferences Attended Annually	% of respondents

None	10%
1-2	43%
3-5	33%
6-10	12%
More than 10	2%

TABLE 2.16: MAIN REASONS FOR ATTENDING CONFERENCES
Reasons	% of respondents

Learn about new project opportunities	72%
Find potential partners	72%
Meet others in the same fiels	70%
Marketing of firms products	48%
Participate in professional training	44%
Participate as speakers	35%

Comparison of tables 2.17, 2.18 and 2.19 shows a much more widespread readership of the main business publications and newspapers than of the top environmental publications. For example, the most widely read environmental publication, Eco, was read by 6 percent of respondents, while the top business publication, Pari, was read by 19 percent of respondents. The top three newspapers, Trud, Pari, and 24 hours, also enjoyed significant readership, with 16 percent, 13 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

TABLE 2.17: READERSHIP OF ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLICATIONS
Publication	% Who Read

Eco	6%
ME Bulletin	4%
ETP News	3%
Eco Energy	3%
Eco-Info Bulletin of NCEMR	2%

TABLE 2.18: READERSHIP OF BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS
Publication	% Who Read

Pari	19%
Kesh	9%
Bulgarian Business	6%
Capital	6%
Control and Finance	4%
Economika	4%

TABLE 2.19: READERSHIP OF NEWSPAPERS
Newspaper	% Who Read

Trud	16%
Pari	13%
24 hours	11%
Standart	8%
Capital	4%

When asked to name the most important professional associations, the largest number of respondents (9 percent) mentioned the Bulgarian Association for Water Supply and Sewage. Other mentioned associations included Phoenix Resource Waste Branch Association and BIEA-General Constructions. These are shown in Table 2.20.

TABLE 2.20: MOST IMPORTANT PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Association	% of Respondents

Bulgarian Association for Water Supply and Sewage	9%
Phoenix Resource Waste Branch Association	4%
BIEA - General Constructions	4%
Association for the Water Quality	4%

REC * PUBLICATIONS * EMERGING ENVIRONMENTAL MARKET 2 * BULGARIA