Egg - enter•grοw•go, in collaboration with the French Embassy in Greece, organized a seminar under the scope to connect the Greek and French innovation ecosystems.
The initiative is part of the Extroversion Program of egg, Eurobank's business accelerator that aims to support the sustainable development of innovative entrepreneurship.
The scope of today’s digital event is to connect institutions, investors, innovative companies and accelerators from France, a country with one of the most developed innovation ecosystems globally, with selected Greek companies from egg’s Start-Up and Scale-Up platforms, in the sectors of Tourism, Health, Energy & Environment and Deep Tech.
Egg’s Extroversion Program, an important pillar in Eurobank's strategy to enhance extroversion of Greek healthy entrepreneurship at all stages of its development, is of special importance in the context of the current pandemic crisis that brings the Startup entrepreneurship in front of new and complex challenges.
The Financial Advisor of the French Embassy in Greece, Ms. Emmanuelle Boulestreau, speaking on behalf of the French Ambassador in Greece, Mr. Patrick Maisonnave, the Deputy Minister of Research and Technology, Mr. Christos Dimas, and Eurobank’s Deputy CEO, Mr. Stavros Ioannou were the key speakers in the event that took place digitally due to the restrictions paused by the pandemic, with strong participation of representatives of the Greek and the French innovation ecosystems. The challenges that the pandemic crisis poses for the Start-Up ecosystem globally and the new reality in the post – Covid era were analyzed in the discussion panels that followed with the participation, among others, of Ms. Marie – Claude Taillandier Thomas, Head of International & European Affairs at the Development Bank of France (BPI France).
According to Ms. Emmanuelle Boulestreau, speaking on behalf of the French Ambassador in Greece: ”In past few years, Greece has built a dense startup ecosystem and France has become an undeniable reference in Europe in terms of innovation. It is our goal to further the entrepreneurial ties between our two countries. We want this event to be the first step towards building a French Tech community in Athens by the end of 2021. We expect results such as sharing good practices, attraction of investment, implementation of common projects, and creation of jobs and added value”.
The Deputy Minister of Research and Technology, Mr. Christos Dimas said: ”For the first time in Greece we have a concrete strategic plan to enhance research and innovation. Today, together with the Prime Minister we are launching the operation of the National Register for Start-ups, through the ElevateGreece platform, which will be the central gateway of entrance for the entire innovation ecosystem. Among other things, we are creating an Invitation guide for Technology Transfer Offices (T.T.O.s) with the aim of formulating a national strategy based on best and tested practices followed in other countries. This action will highlight opportunities to exploit commercially results of our research centers and Universities. At the same time, we are improving the institutional framework of the Technoblasts (Spin-offs) so that the faculty members of Universities and the researchers can develop their research activity in innovative products and services, much more easily”.
Eurobank’s Deputy CEO, Mr. Stavros Ioannou stated: “Egg remains an ambitious project that we currently support financially to allow its transition to a second phase, more demanding and more rewarding. The Star-Up market has felt the consequences of the pandemic, some sectors much more than others. The more affected, the more they need our immediate support. Supporting innovation is a top business priority for Eurobank. For egg it is its “raison d’être”. In every story of growth, there comes a moment that standalone is not enough. Egg has reached this point. It is time to choose our partners. We would be thrilled to see partnerships from France. Assisting Greek Start-Ups to establish strong links with French counterparts and amalgamating the two respective ecosystems can be instrumental for our success and beneficial to both parties”._
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Egg, designed and implemented since 2013 by Eurobank and Corallia of the EC. Athena, pays special attention to the Extroversion Program. In the pro – Covid era, educational and business missions were carried out every year in the context of the Extroversion Program, in collaboration with the largest universities in the world, business organizations and institutions in the destination country with the aim to connect entrepreneurs with mature foreign startup ecosystems and potential customers, partners and investors. In the recent years, egg has carried out more than ten (10) extroversion business missions in major centers abroad, including Boston, Israel, Toronto, London, Barcelona and Berlin.
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The Digital Event can be attended through livestreaming.
Photo: Mr. Thibault Msika-Ulrich, Economic Attaché, French Treasury Embassy of France in Greece & Mr. Stavros Ioannou, Eurobank’s Deputy CEO
