ABSTRACT
This chapter explores social enterprise in Bulgaria in a historical and institutional perspective. It deals with the emergence and historical evolution of social institutions and social enterprises in Bulgaria. The chapter focuses on public policy in the field of the social economy and social enterprise. A historical overview of the evolution of social institutions and social enterprises in Bulgaria bears testimony to their century-long existence in the country. Many charity activities were also based on private initiatives by wealthy people and influential elites’ representatives, who funded different social causes and projects. The Chitalishta Act of 19964 stipulates that chitalishta are non- governmental self-regulatory organisations. Urban mutual credit associations were the predecessors of savings and credit cooperatives in the cities before the Liberation. Cooperative credit in urban settings developed from the beginning of the 20th century onwards.
