Born in Kotel, Bulgaria, Bozhilov attended the Higher Commercial School in Svishtov before starting work as a bookkeeper at the Bulgarian National Bank for the Kyustendil Banking Agency in 1902. Bozhilov worked for the Bulgarian National Bank for a total of 36 years and served at various times as its governor (1922-1923, 1923-1924, 1931-1932, 1934-1935, 1935-1938, 1944).[1]