In December 1862, merchants Petar Popov, Iliya Dyukmedjiev and the brothers Yanko and Petar Karadonchovi founded the "Bulgarian Commercial Parasailing Company "Providenia" in Constantinople in December 1864. This is the first ever Bulgarian joint-stock company. Its purpose is to organize the transport of Bulgarian goods and agricultural produce by sea to Ottoman and Western European ports. For this purpose, a newly built steamship was purchased from England, later named "Azis", after the then Ottoman sultan. For a period of about a year, from February 1865 to the beginning of 1865, the ship made voyages in the Black and Mediterranean seas, however, the income did not fully cover the company's expenses, it failed to pay off the ship and lost its ownership of it. In April XNUMX, the company itself declared bankruptcy.

Providenia Company issues 1250 shares worth 10 Ottoman liras. These are the oldest Bulgarian securities.