Zhivko Mutafov: Good causes exist, we just need to find them

There are many talented and capable Bulgarians among the Bulgarian community abroad. But there is too much negativity in Bulgaria. We need to look around us, see all the positive things and make Bulgaria a good place to live. Good causes exist, we just need to find them.

This is what Zhivko Mutafov, a Bulgarian entrepreneur living in the US for over 30 years, told BGNES.

Zhivko has a long career as an investor specializing in emerging markets in Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Asia. He has been a financial analyst and portfolio manager, and a partner in a major California-based hedge fund. In the course of his work, he traveled extensively to the places where he invested, gaining first-hand knowledge and experience of the economies and financial markets of developing countries around the world. Zhivko Mutafov is currently co-founder of a startup called Monetryx, a platform for connecting founders with providers of capital and expertise. In his role as a startup founder, he is deeply committed to helping Bulgarian startups expand into the US and tap into the resources provided by the Bulgarian community around Silicon Valley.

"There are many Bulgarians working in big companies and projects abroad. There are many talented and capable Bulgarians among the Bulgarian community there," he said.

"I have lived in the US for over 30 years. For the first 20 years I had no interaction with either the Bulgarian consulate or the embassy. But that is changing. Now I interact with them more. There is progress in this regard and everything is going in the right direction," the entrepreneur assured.

According to him, Bulgarians abroad are increasingly forming a positive opinion about our country. "It is increasingly understood that we are professional, smart, successful, honest, this develops the image of our country. But it is good that we are starting to believe in what we are doing, especially in Silicon Valley. We need to have more ambition as a country," Zhivko said.

But changing perception is not an easy job, he believes.

"If we're corrupt, but we're sending messages that we're not, it's not working. It's hard work, a slow process, a long road," the economist said. /BGNES