DIGITAL CHALLENGES OF SOCIAL ECONOMY IN BULGARIA

Abstract

Digital transformation of economy and society is a key factor for the digital future of Europe. Digital technology is changing people’s lives and at the same time opens ne horizons for all sectors and all people. A leading priority for the European Union is to build a society powered by digital solutions that are strongly rooted in our common values, and that enrich the lives of all of us. However, the digitalization is very important for the social economy sector, which empowers solidarity and inclusive society throughout Europe.
The report reviews the contemporary challenges of digital transformation of social economy in Bulgaria and the perspectives for its future development. Key factor for the digital transformation of social economy is the European policy for green, digital and social Europe. The author is analyzing the status of Bulgarian economy and society in relation to digital transformation, while outlining the future applications related with silver economy, digital labour platforms, digital innovation hubs and artificial intelligence.
The report analyses the unequal development of digital skills and use of digital technologies, which influences the level of digital transformation in the different member states. Looking into the European Digital economy and social index (DESI) which monitors Europe's overall digital performance and digital competitiveness of European countries for 2020 is that Bulgaria is standing at the last position with a huge lag behind the average European levels. The author is defining the key sectors within social economy, which are expected to generate growth with an intensive application of ICT such as health and social services, medical robots and telemedicine, in addition to public social innovations including the smart cities and Internet of things.
The process of digital transformation of social economy can be related with few directions such as: application of ICTs in providing services in social economy; Using Internet for celling goods/service from social economy – electronic trading; artificial intelligence in social economy; social media to mobilize the communities/social marketing; platforms for sharing economy; providers of digital/cloud services.
However, the challenges for the digital transformation of social economy are becoming more important in terms of investing in digital skills and infrastructure, and at the same time balancing the social impact and the value for society.