Why a cluster?
In Sofia there is a natural concentration (hub) of enterprises from different industries and sectors, incl. knowledge based industries. Some of these natural clusters have already grown into business or professional associations with varying degrees of development and maturity. The Sofia Knowledge City is not a sectoral cluster, but a "cluster of knowledge" in which the interrelationships between its members are in the knowledge triangle - education - science - business (knowledge companies). The Custer Sofia Knowledge City is focused on the process of turning information into knowledge and knowledge into innovation. This distinguishes it from other clusters and integrates it with the so-called "knowledge clusters".
Creating such a cluster is not an end in itself. On the one hand, it is the result of the strong interconnections between the majority of its members and, on the other hand, is a well-thought instrument for the realization of the Sofia Knowledge City concept. The cluster is an union of commercial companies, scientific organizations, universities and business support organizations. The core of the cluster is a network of interconnected companies - producers and suppliers of IT products and services (IT infrastructure, software solutions, databases, information systems, etc.) and business services (business management, information services , Publishing, radio, television, printed publications, creative activities, organizing events, etc.).
The second group is the non-profit organizations that are an important partner of the companies in the transformation process: information - knowledge - innovation. They provide training and implement projects to support information technologies of the future, innovation and entrepreneurship, talent attraction and technology transfer. The cluster also includes an internationally recognized science institute for space technologies and universities with programs in the fields of informatics and computer science, which conceals the knowledge triangle: business - science - education.
The cluster is open and its goal is to attract a critical number of members to realize the concept of a city of knowledge. By participating in this voluntary association, cluster members expect to make more effective use of available resources, better knowledge and innovation management, addressing skills shortages and shortages, entering new markets, expanding export capacity, and Creating products and services with high added value and hence increasing their competitiveness.
Cluster initiators expect this tool to attract more companies, education and development organizations, and achieve a critical mass capable of impacting on the city's innovative ecosystem. Developing organizational, resource and marketing capabilities within this tool is one of the major challenges for initiators.