The Junior Achievement Bulgaria program has presented 25-year-old Ivaylo Hristov with the prize for “Best Young Entrepreneur 2010”.

Hristov is the co-founder of a Bulgarian-Danish company for social network applications. Junior Achievement has awarded him for his business efforts based on several criteria including development potential of the company, sustainability, international potential, human capital development, and innovation.

Before deciding to found his own company, the young businessman graduated from the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” and went on to work as a software developer in Microsoft Business Solutions in Denmark.

His firm Komfo specializes in creating web applications for social networks, and is active on the European market.

“It is hard to establish and follow commonly valid rules for a successful business. This is why the experience I gained from one of the programs of Junior Achievement Bulgaria was very important for me,” said Hristov.

Junior Achievement Bulgaria is now in its ninth year, and is supported by the US Embassy, government ministries, Sofia and other municipalities, and the media.

Its mission is to educate young Bulgarians to value free enterprise, understand business and economics, develop ethical leadership and be workforce-ready.

Junior Achievement Bulgaria offers high quality programs for elementary, middle, and high school students.

Elementary students are taught about their roles as individuals, workers, and consumers, and middle and high school students study the fundamentals of economics, creating and operating their own student companies.