ICT awards in Bulgaria: the BAIT awards and other industry prizes

BAIT and its awards

BAIT – the Bulgarian Association of Information Technologies (Българска асоциация по информационни технологии) – is an industry association of ICT companies. On its website it states more than 100 members across software, hardware, telecommunications, system integration, fintech, internet services and cybersecurity, and says its member companies employ over 16,000 ICT specialists (bait.bg, checked 4.11.2026).

According to the competition's own history page, BAIT created an annual award for a significant contribution to the development of ICT in 2004, presented at the opening of the BAIT EXPO exhibition until 2008; an award for journalism followed in 2006. In 2011 BAIT's board relaunched the awards in a new format with many more categories. The first edition of the new competition, for 2011, was presented on 26 January 2012.

The 2026 edition: who can apply

Registration for the 2026 BAIT Awards opened on 19 October 2026 and is free. It closes at 24:00 on 10 December 2026; the ceremony is planned for February 2027. Companies registered in Bulgaria under Bulgarian law, Bulgarian organisations and institutions, and people and teams working for them can apply. The 16th edition will present eight awards in seven open categories:

• Education award – companies and non-governmental education organisations working with secondary schools, and joint programmes of universities and the ICT industry.
• Youth award – school and university students.
• Journalism – journalists and bloggers.
• Public administration – state and municipal administrations.
• Startup – start-ups with an ICT product or service.
• Successful Bulgarian ICT product or service – developer companies registered in Bulgaria.
• Successfully deployed AI technology in a real business – users of the technology and ICT developers or integrators from any sector; the jury looks for AI systems in real operation with demonstrable business value.

The eighth prize, the award for a special contribution, is decided by the jury from internal nominations; no applications are accepted for it. Nominees may show a video of up to 30 seconds at the ceremony. Winners receive personalised plaques and certificates, annual subscriptions to the Ciela Norms legal information system and vouchers for Ciela bookshops.

The 2016 BAIT Awards winners

BAIT announced the 2016 winners on 1 March 2017. The ceremony was held under the patronage of President Rumen Radev, and the winners were chosen from more than 100 applications by 85 people, companies and institutions. Besides statuettes and certificates, the winners received vouchers for goods or services from BAIT member companies.

BAIT's archive lists every edition since 2011, with the winners of each year, on the competition website.

The John Atanasoff Award

The John Atanasoff Award (награда „Джон Атанасов“) is an initiative of the President of Bulgaria for young Bulgarian scientists with an outstanding contribution to computer science. Under the published rules for 2026, candidates for the main award must be Bulgarian citizens (dual citizenship is allowed) under 35 on 4 October 2026, the anniversary of John Atanasoff's birth; there is no restriction on where they live or the type of organisation they work for. Applications for 2026 were due by 9 September 2026. The rules also provide certificates in four further categories: school students and their teachers (for results at national and international olympiads), a project with high public value, a debut breakthrough for students aged 14 to 25, and an inspirer and creator of talent for teachers, mentors and coaches.

Forbes Bulgaria Innovation Awards

Forbes Bulgaria runs annual innovation awards for companies and leaders. According to the organiser, the 2027 awards will be presented for the fifth year in a row, with winners announced on 25 February 2027 at the Forbes Innovation Forum & Awards at Joy Station in Sofia. There are six categories: innovative leader (grand prize), innovative product, innovative service, AI transformation, social innovation and green innovation. Companies may enter more than one category; conditions and fees are on the organiser's page.

Applying: practical notes

• Read the category rules first: the BAIT AI category, for example, requires systems in real operation, not prototypes.
• Prepare evidence – users, deployments, measurable results – with dates and sources; juries compare applications side by side.
• Check the language of the application: Bulgarian competitions usually expect applications in Bulgarian.
• Note the deadlines in your calendar; for business events in Bulgaria see the event calendar (in Bulgarian), and for an overview of this site, the English home page.