The Program egg - enter • grow • go, designed and implemented by Eurobank and Corallia of the RC Athena since 2013, enters its 9th cycle.
Egg further strengthens its role as the most comprehensive start-up accelerator in Greece. It reinforces its support network for innovative entrepreneurship with prospects for investment growth and commercial activity through its two distinct but complementary platforms, the egg Start-Up and the egg Scale-Up, while it responds fully to the pandemic’s special conditions and exploits digital tools to secure egg’s smooth operation and business development for its participants.
General Manager Group Marketing & Corporate Communications & Chairman of egg Steering Committee, Mr. Michalis Vlastarakis, said: “Eight years since its inception, egg upgrades constantly, supporting many new companies to strengthen their business plan and develop commercially. Through the distinct platforms, egg Start-Up and egg Scale-Up, we provide multilevel support to new, innovative, entrepreneurs at all stages of their business development, enhancing their dynamics to interconnect with markets and international organizations, towards raising the necessary capital. Eurobank actively contributes to the development of the Greek innovation ecosystem, cooperates with the State for the improvement of the ecosystem’s institutional framework and the promotion of healthy entrepreneurship, supporting its extroversion and internationalization.”.
In the new, 12-month, 9th cycle, groups or individuals can participate – even if they have not already set up a company – as long as they have a certain business idea:
- The guidance of the business groups further intensifies and systemizes, aiming to accelerate the business plans’ implementation, making the most of the possibilities and benefits offered by the Start-Up platform. Business groups that will enter the cycle will be helped, initially, in setting up a company, if they have not already done so. Then, based on the stage of maturity of their business plan, they will be grouped and enter in different business acceleration flows within the platform Start-Up, corresponding to specific milestones, even on a monthly basis. The aim is to identify their real needs, and even seek synergies with the other participants as members of a development "ecosystem", enhancing chances of subsequent funding.
- Applications can be submitted for business plans from any financial sector. However, particular business plans are encouraged in competing industries, such as 5G technologies, integrated solutions to ESG (Environment Social Government) standards. Also projects that leverage years of research or make extensive use of innovation in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Cybersecurity, Travel Technologies & Modern Services, Fintech, Robotics, Virtual / Augmented Reality, Industry 4.0, Biotechnology, Medical Technologies & Methods, Agricultural Technology, Environmental Technologies, Energy, Education – Contemporary Methods & Tools are particularly encouraged.
- A comprehensive set of financing options is provided for exploiting different financing channels:
- Possible funding, under the European EASI program in cooperation with AFI (Action Finance Initiative) at the “hatching” stages within egg.
- Capital and long term loans for investment.
- Possibility of interconnection for access to funding through three (3) funds, Velocity.Partners, Uni.fund and Big Pi Ventures of EquiFund, the investment platform that invests in start – ups and operates under the auspices of the European Investment Fund (EIF).
- The Extroversion Program enhances further as well as initiatives and actions, aiming to strengthen connection of companies that join egg to real economy, performed in cooperation with acknowledged domestic and foreign institutions.
Participation applications for egg - enter•grow•go can be submitted from Monday, February 22, 2021 at 12:00 until Monday, May 10, 2021 at 15.00. The first Open Day of the 9th cycle will be held, digitally, on Wednesday March 3, 2021 at 17.00.
Interested parties can acquire further information on egg - enter•grοw•go www.theegg.gr._