Coca-Cola plans to open 130 new jobs in its regional IT development center, said Zhelyazko Petrov, director of the center, during a meeting with students from the Technical University in Sofia.

At the end of last year, it became clear that Sofia was chosen as a location for Coca-Cola Regional IT Development Center, which will provide services to Europe, the Middle East and Africa and a number of global initiatives of the company.

This will be the second largest service center, as part of Coca-Cola's global information technology infrastructure, which includes development centers in the US, Mexico, Singapore, and more.

The center will provide a number of opportunities for training and development of IT specialists, Coca-Cola highlighted. The company's goal is to attract students, experienced IT architects, and highly qualified talents to create intelligent technologies on a global level.

"We want to provide opportunities for a successful career in Bulgaria as well as for cooperation with highly qualified innovative teams from all over the world," said Zhelyazko Petrov to students and professors at the Technical University.

The Center will operate in several main areas - software solutions for system analysis and program development, data analysis, mobile applications, training, robotics, infrastructure and information security, as well as technological solutions for the marketing, financial and technical functions of the company.

The Coca-Cola Development Center in Sofia is partnering with the Bulgarian offices of leading companies such as SAP, Atos and Microsoft, and plans to expand its partner network.

"We do not solve technological problems, but we use technology to solve business problems. Our mission is to create flexibility and scale of business through modern digital platforms to enable Coca-Cola and our partner companies to benefit from the best global services in the sphere, "explained Zhelyazko Petrov.

The Coca-Cola system in Bulgaria provides 40% of jobs in the non-alcoholic beverage industry and is a direct employer of 2,100 people, with a total impact on employment of 19,200 jobs or 0,5% of the country's workforce , the company said.