Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis with Deputy Minister Dimas and Minister of Development and Investments Georgiades visiting the abandoned warehouses of CHROPEI where Athens Innovation District will be constructed
Greece has a growing and flourishing Research and Innovation (R&I) ecosystem based on its excellent human capital of innovators, researchers and entrepreneurs, its developed infrastructure and a pro-business pro-innovation Government, which steps up efforts to streamline and organize the ecosystem. For this purpose, it has recently created Elevate Greece as an official registry for startups. “Elevate Greece acts as the national startup registry with the aim to map the players and the actors of the ecosystem” explained Mr. Christos Dimas, the Deputy Minister for Research and Innovation. “It monitors progress, it offers important networking opportunities, it addresses local and global investors and allows the Greek state to tailor-make specific measures for the ecosystem” he continued. The Government has recently presented a new tax incentives scheme for angel investors and announced funding opportunities for startups facing economic difficulties due to the Covid19 pandemic.
According to Dimas, the pandemic brought difficulties as well as opportunities for many startups, that took advantage of the situation in order to create new products and services. “Unfortunately some traditional sectors were badly affected but we have seen more innovative, health-related and digital sectors grow exponentially.” Some notable highlights include developments in technology tools and solutions for everyday life, as well as Covid19 related technologies, more particularly analysis of sewage water to understand the level of viral infection in specific areas – a global-scale Greek contribution.
We have recently signed a bilateral agreement with the US, which set the framework for technology, research and innovation organizations to find synergies in their respective fields
Mr. Christos Dimas, Deputy Minister for Research and Innovation
The Government of Greece is focusing its efforts in attracting more US investment from technology companies to set up bases in the country. “We have recently signed a bilateral agreement with the US, which set the framework for technology, research and innovation organizations to find synergies in their respective fields,” said Dimas. “In the last year, we attracted a large number of US investments in the technology field with the most notable being Microsoft, which plans a US$1billion investment to create a regional digital data center in Greece.”
American interest grows for the upcoming Innovation District in Attica as well, an important project and the first of its kind in Greece, where the government aims to transform an abandoned site to a Center of innovation for Athens, Attica and the region. “There is a lot of interest for the public tender for the Innovation District as well as its administration. Construction is planned to begin in early 2022 and by the time it’s ready, the district will attract local and international talent and add great value to the Greek economy.
Projects and investments in Research, Development and Innovation will also get a boost by ‘Greece 2.0’ the Greek Post-Covid19 Economic Recovery Plan. “Greece 2.0’ will focus on R&D and Innovation, digitalization, applied research as well as big investments in green technologies to deal with the climate crisis” highlighted Dimas.
Greece is an excellent country in many aspects, not only for the standard of living and political stability but also as a place to grow and nurture startup ideas. The Government takes firm measures to make the country attractive not only to investors but also to workers with new tax incentives, improved financial conditions and active promotion of remote working for ‘Digital Nomads’, the global digital workers who can settle in Greece and work from anywhere around the country, not requiring physical presence in their office.
“Greece is here for business and we are capable of competing internationally, with our excellent human capital of innovators, researchers and academics ready to find solutions at a local, national and global scale” Dimas concluded.
