20.03.2024 Sofia Kasidova: Let’s create a green environment of thinking and living

To create a green environment of thinking and living – this is the main message of Sofia Kasidova, head of the team for strategic development and green policies in the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB), in the publication for the Economy journal.

My view on regional globalization: An inevitable trend that is changing and restructuring the world economy. It started years ago, brining a variety of shocks from Donald Trump’s trade war with China, to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. In a sense, we see the reverse course of globalization related to an orientation towards partnerships and economic interests based on near shoring, ally-shoring and friend-shoring. This creates opportunities for new value chains. Bulgaria and Bulgarian business have such a chance, especially since the volume of international trade depends on both the size of economy and the distance between the partner countries.

Money is many things at the same time. In the modern world, money is smart money, which is used for investments, budgeting, salary increase, commercial and residential assets. Money gives security, access to health care, to modern education ...

The public financial resource is our money. With them we should finance public wealth, and the rest should be saved for the accumulation of production resources for the good of the economy. The good management of the public resource builds public trust.

The role of the Recovery and Resilience Plan in Bulgaria: It is a significant European political innovation that emerged after the pandemic. The degree of its success is not yet known - the funds are still being spent and it is difficult to measure their effect. The main purposes are to help businesses recover from the post-Covid recession and to invest in a green and digital transformation of the economy.

ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) – the green and sustainable themes are more than a promotion and advertising exercise for business. For all of us, it is a commitment to balanced economic activity. An interesting aspect is the consumer protection that ESG gives for good governance of environmental, social and corporate themes.

The green transition is above all climate strategy and policies. Along with the climate goals until 2040 and until 2050, the transition is a process of investments and competitiveness of the economy. Strengthening the competitiveness of the European economy is a top priority, and for this purpose it is important how it will be defined, how it will be understood and how it will be supported. Events in the global economy have revealed new challenges. The US Inflation Reduction Act has rightly raised fears of investment outflows from the EU.

Electromobility includes many types - cars, scooters, bicycles, and their use is a matter of cultural and consumer attitudes. The high cost of electric cars - 30 to 40% more than that of cars with an internal combustion engine - is a major obstacle, especially given the frequent accidents in urban environments.

From my perspective, the biggest challenge now is achieving global cooperation and security in complex geopolitical and geoeconomic times, and finding ways to stop wars. The global economy in 2024 will be influenced by numerous factors and risks that will shape a new growth model.

The Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) is a bank that must have great ambitions to implement strategic projects with long-term support from the state in order to realize them. The BDB can be as significant as the state wishes.

The Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) as a partner of the European Investment Bank (EIB) in the promotion of green projects: An opportunity to change to the best market practices, gain valuable knowledge from the best, establish prestige as a valuable partner. An opportunity for joint business and co-financing of projects with the EIB.

As a head of the team for strategic development and green policies in the BDB, during the new strategic period 2024-2026 I will pay attention to the possibility of financing significant projects with a proven social effect and national dimension.

The BDB’s unused potential is large. Each EU state has at least one encouragement banking institution, and in countries such as Romania, Greece, the Netherlands, France they have several. The BDB is the only state bank and its role and importance for the economy can be multifaceted - from an anti-cyclical function, through the support of small and medium-sized enterprises and start-up businesses, to a key role in the implementation of strategic national projects.

My personal measure of success: Meaningful and useful work that delivers practical results with valuable input.

If it were up to me, I would have built green areas, groves and gardens in the spaces between the blocks. I would have invested in computer training programs for students.

My vision for a green Bulgaria: Clean, green and blue living environment, maximum recycling of waste, use of desalinated sea water for irrigation and industrial needs, and saving clean drinking water.

Sofia Kasidova has been the head of the team for strategic development and green policies at the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) since 2017. From 2006 to 2010, she was Vice President of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB). She began her banking career in 1995, successively holding positions in the Ionian Bank of Greece (Ionian Bank, Bulgaria branch), in the Hex Capital Investment Fund (Czech Republic), in the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), in DSK Bank, in the Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) investment bank. In 2001, she became Deputy Minister of Economy and was part of Bulgaria’s EU accession team. In 2003, she became Deputy Minister of Transport and was responsible for the implementation of large public infrastructure projects in the Transport sector. She is a Vice-Chairman of the recently established Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Committee at the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists of Bulgaria.