The shiny Oscar ceremony this year was different due to the long expected prize of Leonardo DiCaprio and his magnificent speech that focused the audience’s attention on nature and global climate change. The message of the talented actor was that there was no time left for postponing and climate change must be stopped, if we want mankind to continue its existence. We all now remember his words: “Do not take the Earth as granted!”

“We can change the world, we have the potential” – these are the words of a young Bulgarian entrepreneur, distinguished in a contest for business ideas with universal application and effect on people’s life. Sergey Petrov is 30 and has invented the concept of the revolutionary Smart Beehive Management System. It is a colony of beehives that successfully copes with the so-called Colony Collapse – the falling apart of bee families. The system provides precise monitoring, allowing beekeepers to take timely measures for prevention of the most common threats, regarding their colonies of bees. It includes an innovative technology, sustainable design and the provision of a decision which will directly reduce the threats in the life of bees.

The Bee Smart Technologies Company, established by Sergey has existed for one year now. It provides intelligent sensor stations to beehives, allowing constant monitoring. “It is ridiculous to live in the era of information with unprecedented connectivity between people and at the same time to break the connection between separate natural systems, Sergey comments.

“By using our systems beekeepers can optimize their business, improving their production, timely solving the problems within a beehive. That is why we think we can be a powerful social company, assisting the whole world, as people are doomed without flowers and plants. Humans have changed the system more quickly than any adaptation abilities of insects.

We notice a problem with the death toll among bees, but we hope there is a technological solution for bringing back the balance. The intelligent system is our own design – the whole idea is original. That was why they selected us to be the Bulgarian representative at The Venture competition for social entrepreneurship. Bee Smart Technologies will compete in the July finals with 27 other projects for an award of USD 1 mln.”

The value of Sergey’s software development remains a secret for the moment, but its price is going up due to consumers’ demand:

“We are to build up a chain of distributors from now on, as we need access to be provided to our fine product. The funding won via the award will be invested into the optimization of the sensor system for the beehive’s observation. The distribution of the product across the USA is starting soon. That is our main market, as they have been suffering huge losses over the past few years. We try to optimize our business and to change the product with the purpose of making it more affordable to beekeepers of different rank. To sum up, we want to help bees with our work.”

Sergey Petrov calls beekeepers the unnoticed power that can stand up against the harmful impact of agribusiness on nature.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev