The Hellenic Initiative funded three Greek tech startups to travel to Orange County, California and participate in the week-long, Accelerate Greece program, in conjunction with Eureka FEST 2018. Accelerate Greece is a free acceleration program for Greek entrepreneurs, whose purpose is to build the next wave for successful Greek tech companies. The program offers companies the chance to travel to California and participate in a week-long program designed to help Greek companies gain tools and networks needed to access the North American market.
Through workshops, breakout sessions, mentorship, networking and pitching opportunities to investors, the program equips entrepreneurs with the necessary skills to excel in their field. Additionally, due to its regional proximity, the program brings entrepreneurs close to some of the most significant tech investors in the world. To top it all off, Accelerate Greece takes place in the Eureka Building; a 41,000 square-foot creative office, coworking and event campus in Irvine designed to offer startups a community, accelerate innovation and support local entrepreneurship.
Through the grant of THI, 3 Greek tech start-ups participated in the acceleration program. Firstly, Pulse and Opinion; a startup providing innovative digital strategy services, communication and consulting. Secondly, Biocos; a company offering Bioinformatics solutions in the applied and basic research field and, finally, JoinCargo; an online shipping platform were the companies attending this year’s program with all their traveling and lodging expenses covered.
Michael Printzos, THI’s Program Director, stated: “The Hellenic Initiative is proud to support the three Greek startup companies participating in the Accelerate Greece program. One of the founding purposes of THI has been to connect the Greek Diaspora with their home country and give the opportunity to Greeks all across the globe to learn and be inspired by one another. Accelerate Greece is an ideal example of bringing together Greek communities for the purpose of promoting innovation and development, a truly forward-thinking and refreshing initiative”.
“Greece is home to some of the most innovative minds in tech I have ever met. We created Accelerate Greece to support Greek technology companies looking to build their companies in Greece but sell to the world. There are no fees for the companies to participate in the program and they get to benefit from the world-class mentors and advisors we have at Ergo and from our wonderful partners at THI.“ – Peter Polydor, CEO of Ergo Capital and Founder of Accelerate Greece
