"To turn Chelopech into an attractive ECO destination, widely open to the development of startup ecosystems, innovation and entrepreneurship for young people." This is the vision of the mayor of the highest middle income village in the country - Eng. Alexi Kesyakov.
The golden village of Chelopech is located 70km. in the sub-Balkan road from Sofia to Bourgas. At the beginning of the village also shows the reason why it’s called the Golden village - the mine of the Canadian company Dundee Precious Metals, which extracts and processes minerals and provides employment for approximately 50% of the population, which according to the latest data are about 1900 people.
Some of the main projects that will shape Chelopech as the First startup Village in CEE are:
1. Technology Park
Perhaps the most impressive of these projects is the future technology park, which will be used by small and large companies, digital nomads, freelancers and entrepreneurs from the country and Europe. It will be built on 3 floors and will be separated:
- Conference rooms
- Rental Offices
- Co-working space
- Relaxation rooms
- Networking zones
- Food & Beverage zone with dining room
The idea behind the Technology Park is to attract potential tenants to take advantage of the benefits the place offers, as well as all the advantages of the village - a free sports center, the opportunity to stay in the new ECO and SPA complex, free internet, services and more.
Pre-Accelerators and Accelerators will be created for start-ups and future entrepreneurs with training and mentoring programs.
2. ECO and SPA Complex Chelopech
It is planned a construction of a new permanent residence area away from the urbanized territory. The selected location is characterized with beautiful views, terraced terrain, easy access to the various zones and to the village itself through the Chelopech-Tsarkvishte road. The zone will be gradually developed, at each stage supplemented with the necessary functional zones and each one of them will be developed in close connection with the surrounding environment.
3. ECO Industrial Park
Another major project that is planned to be built is the ECO Industrial Park with the first production plant to build a tire recycling facility, meeting industry 4.0 standards and with 0% harmful emissions. The municipality of Chelopech has started discussions at international level in order to start the construction and operation of zero pollution enterprises, as well as to provide jobs and opportunity to apply modern technologies in production.
4. Improvement of infrastructure
In recent years, Chelopech Municipality has developed numerous projects for all elements of underground infrastructure in urban areas. The already started stage of the project development will be completed in the shortest possible time and thus all residents will have completely renewed and updated systems of all utilities. There are more than 600 camerasinstalled in Chelopech, which monitor the security of the villagers and 800 more are set to be installed. Another advantage of the village is that people and guests can use the services of 4 independent high-speed internet providers and there are also Wi-Fi zones for free use in the center of Chelopech.
5. Digitizing the database
We live in a time of constant digitalization and globalization and the administration of the village of Chelopech is determined to keep up with the new technologies and services. In order to support the development of the private sector and ensure maximum transparency, the municipality is in a constant process of digitalization. Thus, all the services provided to the residents will be easily accessible and the information will be as up-to-date as possible.
6. Holding national and international events
In the calendar of the village is planned to be included some of the largest and most important start-up events that will aim to contribute to the development of the startup ecosystem in the area. Part of these events are: Innowave PreSummit, Startup Weekend & Startup World Cup. Events of this rank are important for promoting the area and making Chelopech the first startup village in Central and Southeastern Europe.
7. Education
In addition to the startup events, seminars and trainings will be organized by TOP experts to educate the local population andprovide knowledge to them in areas such as entrepreneurship, business processes, marketing and other areas. There will be held several Business education camps with the purpose to create a new generation of young bright minds and establish a startup and entrepreneurial ecosystem.
8. Sports and recreation
An important aspect for every resident and guest of the village is the access to sports facilities. A project has been developed and it is planned to start construction of a new modern swimming complex next year. It provides both an indoor pool with the possibility of holding international competitions and an outdoor one for rest during the warm summer days. The swimming complex also includes a spa area with numerous treatments and attractions.
There is no doubt that the way for Chelopech of becoming the first Startup village in CEE is not going to be filled with flowers, but the young and open-minded team of Eng. Alexi Kesyakov is prepared for what’s coming in the next 4 years.
