Strategy for the Attraction of
Foreign Investment to Pleven

In the fourth phase of the Bulgarian Resource Cities Program, the municipality of Pleven and the city of Charlottesville , Virginia , worked together in the areas of economic development and tourism. The partners cooperated on two economic development projects, one of which is the strategy for the recruitment of foreign investment in Pleven .

The mayor of the municipality and the municipal council in Pleven have a strategic vision for the improvement of the community. For the achievement of that goal the municipality needs to attract sustainable financial resources in addition to locally generated business income. Pleven needed a strategy for recruiting foreign investors to generate sustainable economic growth, decrease unemployment, and increase the standard of living and quality of life of its citizens.

Pleven also needed up-to-date data on local businesses. Before the transition to the market econ omy in Bulgaria , the municipal administration had accumulated a large volume of economic data concerning local businesses. With the beginning of the transition, the process of transferring centrally-owned property to private ownership began, and the restructuring of the economy was launched. During this time, the lack of a legal framework prevented muni ci palities from gathering necessary economic data from companies. This lack of economic data prevented municipalities from studying and responding to economic trends.

Project implementation involved the following tasks:

Review of community resources. Pleven s workgroup for local economic development accumulated the necessary data and statistical information from economic development surveys, which the group analyzed and summarized into the community marketing profile of Pleven .

Survey of existing companies in Pleven . The questions in the survey that the workgroup developed were precise to allow the local administration to create a database and to protect the confidentiality of the businesses. This survey was sent to 350 companies registered in all sectors of Pleven s local economy. The workgroup cooperated with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Branch Business Chamber, and the Industrial Chamber on the survey.

Determination of priority economic sectors in which to attract foreign investment. Using the accumulated statistical data and evaluating the trends, Pleven set the priority sectors in which to attract foreign investment: high-technology industry, light industry, and food industry.

Determination of strategic partners and potential resources. The summarized results from the business survey, the workforce and unemployment research, and surveys conducted by local professional schools formed the basis for the identification of poten tial resources and the profiles of potential strategic partners representative of the local economy.

Preparation of marketing and presentation materials. The workgroup created packets of documents to inform potential investors about the advantages and the opportunities of Pleven as a great place to do business.

Development of a strategy and creation of contacts with potential investors and financial organizations. The package of marketing and presentation materials became the basis for establishing contacts with potential investors and funding institutions and for Pleven s participation in national and international trade shows.

Development of a mechanism for tracking contacts and follow-up on new contacts. Thanks to the partners in Charlottes ville , Pleven will receive specialized software for tracking of contacts, which will give the municipality ideas for creating and maintaining its own database.

The project started in June 2003 with the visit of representatives from Charlottesville to Pleven . During the first meeting, the partners identified the main problems and defined collaboration methods. In August 2003, representatives from Pleven visited Charlottesville . During this visit, the partners developed and approved their action plan. The projects detailed in the action plan will finish in June 2004.

As a result of the project, the partners achieved the following:

Developed a marketing profile for the municipality of Pleven .

Created a database of the existing companies, which will be updated annually.

Created a local economic development plan.

Established a program for retention and expansion of existing businesses.

Created a municipal Web page with substantial content addressed to potential investors.

Published available sites and buildings on the municipal Web site with comprehensive descriptions.

Listed investment opportunities at www.invest.bg.

The role of the municipality in influencing local economic development was clearly defined.

The team of experts gained the necessary knowledge and skills to present Pleven to potential investors.

The partners established public-private partnerships as an important instrument for achieving the local community s goals.

Pleven determined its key partners for successful economic development.

The project strengthened the position of the municipal administration as the main influence on the economic development of the city and the municipality, and supports the merging of the efforts of all partners on local level to reach stable economic growth and respectively the betterment of the citizens welfare.