Intercultura Consult

What Intercultura Consult does

Intercultura Consult (ICC) is a Sofia, Bulgaria-based creative consultancy founded in 2004 that advises, trains, and incubates cultural and creative industries (CCI) organisations across Europe. Its core service lines are strategic advisory, EU project coordination, audience development research, and structured innovation incubation programmes. The firm operates as a human-capital consultancy (not a technology company) and monetises primarily through participation as partner or coordinator in EU-funded consortia under Creative Europe, Erasmus+, and Pact for Skills, supplemented by direct consultancy engagements and training programmes supported by the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria.

ICC's deliverables are tangible research and incubation assets rather than software products. Documented programmes include the Collab4HySustCCI incubator (15 organisations across 5 countries), the Time Perspectives and Reconnect micro-incubators (museums, community centres, puppet and science theatres), the Vitality training programme (33 participants, 7 experts), the Humans at Play national game-industry study (1,300+ respondents), the Collaboration and Innovation study (121 cases, 11 countries), the European Stories knowledge alliance, and the Gamebadges Erasmus+ micro-credentials project. The organisation also publishes policy papers on cultural inclusion and implicit cultural policy, and maintains a subscription newsletter as a community engagement channel.

ICC's customer base spans cultural and creative NGOs, municipalities, academia, and EU institutional partners across Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Italy, Denmark, France, Ireland, Romania, Finland, and Sweden. Revenue mechanics are grant-driven: ICC assembles or joins international consortia, with roles ranging from associate partner to coordinator, typically over 2-3 year project cycles. The firm has 6 core team members led by founding director Petya Koleva and holds reputational assets including the 2022 European Language Label and PFS Leader Badge.

Name

Intercultura Consult

Legal name

Intercultura Consult

Website

https://inter-cultura.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Intercultura Consult is a Sofia-based creative consultancy advising European cultural and creative industries organisations through EU-funded projects, audience research, training programmes, and innovation incubation. It serves NGOs, municipalities, and creative professionals across South-East and Northern Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural and Creative Industries Consultancy

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Program & Project Implementation (TA Delivery) (BPADAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Intergovernmental Education Cooperation & Bilateral/Multilateral Programs (EDADALAA), Erasmus+ and Government-Sponsored Exchange Partnerships (EDAIABAJ), Cultural Adjustment & Intercultural Training Programs (EDAIAKAB)

Keywords

• Cultural consultancy services
• Creative industries research
• Audience development strategies
• Innovation incubation programs
• Cultural policy advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Sofia

HQ country

Bulgaria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. EU Funded Project Partnerships: Generates revenue through participation in EU Creative Europe Programme, Erasmus+, and other EU funding mechanisms as project coordinator or partner, providing consultancy, training, and incubation services.
2. Consultancy Services: Strategic advice and creative consultancy services for cultural organizations, foundations, municipalities, and creative businesses.
3. Training and Capacity Building: Conducts professional development programs and training workshops for creatives, cultural and heritage professionals, with support from National Culture Fund.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Intercultura Consult provides strategic advisory, creative consultancy, research, and structured innovation incubation services to cultural and creative industries (CCI) across Europe. The firm coordinates EU-funded projects (Creative Europe, Erasmus+), designs and delivers micro-incubators and training programmes for cultural organisations and creative professionals, and produces research publications on audience development, cultural policy, and cross-sector innovation. Its core clientele includes museums, cultural centres, municipalities, foundations, and creative businesses primarily in South-East Europe, with selected engagements across the Nordic/Baltic region, Italy, France, and Ireland.

Product overview

Intercultura Consult is a creative consultancy firm offering a portfolio of research publications, incubation programs, and professional development services for the cultural and creative industries. The portfolio includes national studies (Humans at Play, Collaboration and Innovation), innovation incubator programs (Collab4HySustCCI, Time Perspectives, Reconnect), training initiatives (Vitality, Gamebadges), and policy research papers. The firm also provides strategic advisory services and supports cross-sector collaboration for cultural organizations, creative businesses, and public institutions across Europe.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 15 cultural and creative organisations successfully incubated through Collab4HySustCCI programme
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• Metropolia UAS (Finland)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Lead partner in Gamebadges project (2024-2026) creating competency maps and micro-credentials for the game industry. Intercultura Consult serves as associate partner contributing to skills mapping and validation frameworks.
• Materahub (Italy)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Coordinating partner of the Collab4HySustCCI project, a Creative Europe funded initiative bringing together cultural and creative organisations across South-East Europe for cross-sector collaboration, knowledge exchange, and innovation incubation. Materahub leads the international consortium including partners from Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and Denmark.
• Nova Iskra (Serbia)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partner in Collab4HySustCCI project focused on cross-sector innovation and capacity building for cultural and creative industries in South-East Europe.
• Syn+ Ergasia (Greece)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partner in Collab4HySustCCI project contributing to innovation incubation and knowledge exchange within the Greek cultural and creative sectors.
• The Flying Theatre (Denmark)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partner in Collab4HySustCCI project bringing Scandinavian perspective to cross-sector innovation in cultural and creative industries.
• Le LABA (France)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Lead partner in European Stories Knowledge Alliance project (2019-2022) awarded the European Language Label. Project developed community-based tourism strategies and training for cultural heritage mediators across France, Bulgaria, Ireland, Italy, and Romania.
• Université de Plovdiv Paisii Hilendarski (Bulgaria)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Academic partner in European Stories project contributing research and educational expertise to community-based tourism and cultural heritage mediation.
• Consorzio Materahub Industrie Culturali e Creative (Italy)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partner in European Stories project focusing on cultural and creative industries development in Italy.
• Momentum Marketing Services Ltd (Ireland)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partner in European Stories project representing Irish perspective on cultural tourism and community engagement.
• Roscommon Leader Partnership (Ireland)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partner in European Stories project contributing to rural community development and local tourism strategies.
• Universitatea Nationala (Romania)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partner in European Stories project representing Romanian expertise in cultural heritage and tourism.
• ELIA - European League of Institutes of the ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Professional network of European arts institutions with which Petya Koleva worked closely on cultural leadership and arts management, contributing to transformative cultural policies.
• Pact for Skills - Creative and Cultural IndustriesflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLarge Scale Partnership for the Creative and Cultural Industries (CCI) member, part of European Commission's Pact for Skills initiative to upskill and reskill workforce in cultural sectors across Europe.
• Municipality PlovdivminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociated partner in Collab4HySustCCI project, 2019 European Capital of Culture city supporting cultural innovation initiatives.
• Sofia Development AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Sofia-based cultural initiatives, collaboration on urban cultural policy development referenced in research.
• Cultural Futures LLPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational consultancy specialising in cultural policy and futures, collaborated with ICC on EU-funded projects including Baltic/Nordic cultural and creative industries initiatives.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Materahub: Italian cultural and creative industries hub that coordinated the Collab4HySustCCI consortium with Intercultura Consult; offers comparable incubation, training and EU-funded project services in the same CCI niche.
• KEA European Affairs: Brussels-based consultancy producing the landmark "Economy of Culture in Europe" study and advising EU institutions on CCI policy; comparable EU-policy advisory and research positioning.
• BOP Consulting: London-based cultural and creative industries consultancy advising governments, foundations and cultural organisations on strategy, evaluation and policy — a closely comparable European CCI consulting peer.
• Cultural Futures LLP: Specialist consultancy on cultural policy and futures, with whom Intercultura has previously collaborated on EU-funded Baltic/Nordic CCI projects; overlapping service lines and customer base.
• ECAS (European Cultural Association / similar CCI consultancies): European cultural association network providing training, project coordination and policy advocacy for the cultural sector — overlapping with Intercultura's EU project implementation and capacity-building role.

Others

• IETM (International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts): European network supporting performing arts professionals with policy, funding access and peer exchange; partially comparable network-driven capacity-building model in the same CCI ecosystem.
• European Cultural Foundation: Pan-European cultural foundation that has directly funded Intercultura (e.g., Generation project); an ecosystem funder rather than competitor but highly comparable in CCI policy and grantmaking priorities.
• ELIA (European League of Institutes of the Arts): Network of European arts institutions with which Petya Koleva has collaborated on cultural leadership; adjacent professional network relevant to Intercultura's CCI innovation work.

Emerging players

• ENCATC (European Network on Cultural Management and Policy): European network for cultural management education and research; comparable capacity-building and professional training offerings for the CCI sector.
• Culture Action Europe: European cultural policy network and advocacy platform representing cultural organisations; partially overlaps with Intercultura's audience-development and policy-engagement work.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/intercultura-consult

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Intercultura Consult