At the end of February, the second networking meeting was held under the motto “Welcome to the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria” with a focus on presenting the new individual members who joined the association in 2020.

Irena Bushandrova, Chairperson of the CWBB working group for Networking, traditionally opened the meeting with a greeting to all participants.

Albena Dimitrova, owner of the Factor Advertising Agency, had the opportunity to be the first to introduce herself and tell about her private life and career so far. She said that “the reason for the company’s success is the team confidence”, and the balance between business lady and mother is to be achieved only with “discipline, hard work, heart and love”. Vanya Kaneva, Executive Director of CWBB, said thank you to Albena for her proactive position with regard to the Council activities, and added that with members like Albena “we make  our profile of ladies entrepreneurs in Bulgaria more complete.”

“My whole career is about books.” This is how Victoria Biserova, who represents the Enthusiast and Apostrophe publishing houses and the Greenwich Book Center in Sofia, began her presentation. Victoria is the founder of the “Buy 1 Book” initiative, which the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria also supported at the end of last year. Thanks to Victoria, the noble cause of the Council was successfully completed and dozens of books went to different schools in the country. Victoria’s love for books is contagious, and the belief that the key to more reading people in Bulgaria is “the right book for the right person”, involved all participants in a very interesting conversation.

What it is like to be a teacher in the Peace Corps and how to explain the word “angle” to Americans through drawings shared Mariela Boycheva in a fascinating story about her career. “I learned to use my creativity and deal with what is available.” She is a teacher, translator, manager, consultant in the field of human resources and development. “For me, individuals are always the heart of everything and I make every effort to help them develop,” said Mariela, adding that the practice, experience and philosophy of  CWBB are among the factors that attracted her to become a member of the Association after she had been invited by Mrs. Vanya Kaneva.

“I believe in the unifying power of the feminine energy”. Raya Stefanova began her presentation with a very strong emotional charge. She is a Client Service Director at the PR agency Paragraph 42, part of the communication group The Smarts. Raya is a PR professional with 16 years of experience in the field. With a smile and pride, she shares about her work, which is expressed in taking care of “the agency’s clients and making them happy”. “I am glad to be part of the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria, because I will be able to learn new things from the people around me.”

“An invigorating and inspiring meeting for all participants. I am impressed by the ladies who presented themselves today. Our networking meetings are a great opportunity for me to get to know you, and for you, the new members, to get to know all of us, ” said Mrs. Boryana Manolova, Chairperson of CWBB, at the end of the meeting.