$915,000 Awarded To 57 Greek Startups Since 2020
For the 5th consecutive year The Hellenic Initiative (THI) celebrated the achievements of Greece’s most promising startups, highlighting the ‘good’ done by emerging for-profit ventures as well as their commercial potential. On December 16, eight startups received a total of $110,000 at the annual Venture Impact Awards (VIA) event. Since 2020 THI has awarded 57 winners with $915,000 in cash prizes, making a real difference for them, especially during the pandemic.
At the Conference Center in Athens of the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation of THI Board member Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Giannis Dionatos, publisher of Startupper.gr, once again served as the MC.
THI Board member Jeremy Downward provided an overview of VIA’s significance. “In 2012… Greece was in dire straits… fortunately, THI was in a position to help.” He continued: “the evolution of the startup system in this country has been absolutely remarkable.” The 20 finalists “were extremely strong… and we now see real pride in being Greek and doing something here in Greece… which is now a country engendering true innovation.”
A record 82 applicants were rewarded for their contributions to society and the economic future of Greece, already ‘giving back’ in various ways, demonstrating human, social, or environmental impact, including through job creation.
The winners at the $20,000 level were Coffee-Eco, MindTheHack, and SciDrones, and $10,000 cash prizes were won by Adam Health, Billys, Caius, Dataphoria, and Robenso.
Michael Printzos, THI Country Head, Greece, welcomed the guests and introduced Dimitris Geogakopoulos, who helped spearhead the VIA. He is Co-Founder of the Helidoni Foundation, VIA’s anchor donor along with the Charles C. Condes trust.
Harriette Condes Zervakis sent the following message: “The Charles C. Condes Trust congratulates the 2024 Venture Impact Award winners. We applaud the young people and businesses who have chosen to make their fortune and their future in Greece. Thank you to THI staff and the THI Directors for their unwavering support of Greek enterprises.”
Founded in 2012, THI is a global non-profit organization that brings together Diaspora Greeks and Philhellenes to invest in Greece through programs focused on economic development and crisis relief. Since its founding, THI has raised more than $37 million and has grown to be the largest Greek Diaspora organization in the world. More information is available at thehellenicinitiative.org.
- Coffeeco is at the forefront of Greece’s circular economy.
- MindTheHack was founded with a vision to revolutionize the cybersecurity landscape, their intuitive platform setting a new standard.
- SciDrones integrates drones and A.I., transforming raw remote sensing data into actionable insights for pollution monitoring and infrastructure mapping.
- Adam Health is revolutionizing men’s health care, developing a wearable sensor that monitors users during sleep.
- Billys is a comprehensive building management software platform that simplifies property management.
- Caius’ innovative A.I. products, map forests, digitize areas, protect ecosystems, and promote sustainability, ecotourism, and rural development.
- Dataphoria’s platform provides data-driven insights that help companies meet their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals.
- Robenso exploits recent technological advancements to develop integrated systems that facilitate industrial recycling.
George P. Stamas, THI’s Board President, stated, “Venture Impact Awards is a powerful symbol of THI’s commitment to Greece’s talented youth. As we stated in our new video, “united, there is no dream too grand, no challenge too great – let’s dare to dream – together!”
Andrew N. Liveris, THI’s Board Chairman, stated: “THI remains committed to assisting Hellenic startups when they need support the most – at the start – and rewarding those striving both for commercial success and to benefit society.”
