Elevate Greece Electronic Portal
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in the presence of Minister for Development & Innovation Adonis Georgiadis, Deputy Ministers Christos Dimas and Yannis Tsakiris, and General Secretary for Research & Technology Athanassios Kyriazis, today inaugurated the platform Elevate Greece.
The platform is a new electronic portal where interested start-ups can register to become officially certified as start-ups by the state, provided they demonstrate two basic criteria:
a) innovation
b) scalability
Speeches
In their speeches, the Minister for Development & Investment, the Deputy Ministers and the Secretary-General made the following remarks:
Adonis Georgiadis:
“When we received the mandate from the Prime Minister to oversee the Ministry for Development and Investment, and the initiative was taken to move the General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT) to our Ministry, many at the time may not have understood the significance of the decision. But a year and-a-half later, even the most skeptical must be convinced that it was a correct decision and made in the public interest.
People would come by our office and say: ‘we are start-ups, we are innovation companies’. But, in fact, no one really knew who was and who wasn’t. Mr. Dimas took the initiative for this project, and I thank him very much for that. With Mr. Tsakiris we managed to secure European funds to make all this a reality, and Mr. Dimas undertook to build the platform that will serve as the online portal where all innovation and research start-ups can be registered. Based on this registry, the government can pursue a consistent policy and exploit the genuine comparative advantage of our country: Greece’s brilliant minds. These are the talented scientists and engineers who have stayed here and whom we must convince to remain in Greece with good jobs, as well as the brilliant Greek minds that have left and whom we are making efforts to have return. All of this is the product of hard work.
And today is an historic day because through this platform, many companies – companies that today you’ve never heard of but which, after a few years, we may be talking about with admiration – will have started off through Elevate Greece by receiving the state support they need and which we are duty-bound to give.”
Christos Dimas:
“Until now, the Greek state did not know how many start-ups there are in Greece, in which sectors they operate, how many employees they have, and how large their turnover is. Elevate Greece is a much-needed tool for the state to provide targeted support for start-ups by offering specialized incentives and benefits. I would like to personally thank the official supporters of Elevate Greece for their supreme efforts in making this initiative a reality. Good luck!”
Yannis Tsakiris:
“Elevate Greece has significantly strengthened the Greek start-up and innovation ecosystem today. New financial instruments, such as the Co-Investment Fund with Angel Investors, the Grants to Equity program − the details of which will be finalized these next few days in cooperation with the Hellenic Development Bank − and the Fund for Technology Transfer, will follow and will complement this initiative. Soon, in order to meet the increased liquidity needs created by the pandemic, start-ups will acquire a new soft financing product or alternatively a repayable aid program, financing 50% of their annual wage costs, with a maximum aid of €100,000. With a budget of €120 million from European funding, we aim to strengthen more than 1,200 start-ups across Greece. The invitation, in cooperation with the Hellenic Development Bank, is expected in November.”
Athanassios Kyriazis:
“Today marks the establishment of a new productive model of development for the country, with guidelines for research, development and innovation. GSRT is proud to implement the promotion and incentivization of young entrepreneurs with the creation of the national start-up register Elevate Greece.
We are launching this project with the ultimate goal of uniting and mapping the start-up innovation ecosystem, strengthening and linking companies to provide incentives and support, operating the platform as a pole of attraction for investors and specialized start-ups, and drawing useful metrics. This represents another recognition of the role of the GSRT in research and innovation.”
Registration and deadlines
Interested start-ups can apply through a simple process at the link elevategreece.gov.gr. For 2020, registration will be open till the end of the year. For 2021, applications are expected to be submitted in three cycles: 1 January to 30 March, 1 May to 30 July and 1 September to 30 November.
In order for a start-up to apply to Elevate Greece and be included in the Register, it must meet the following conditions:
- Have the legal form of PC (IKE), LLC (EΠE), or SA (AE) (excluding sole proprietor PCs and LLCs).
- Not exceed 8 years of completed operation.
- Not employ more than 250 employees per annum.
- Last reported turnover should not exceed €50 million.
 innovation</strong></p>
<p><strong>b) scalability</strong></p>
<hr />
<p> <strong>Speeches</strong></p>
<p>In their speeches, the Minister for Development & Investment, the Deputy Ministers and the Secretary-General made the following remarks:</p>
<p><strong>Adonis Georgiadis</strong><strong>:</strong></p>
<p><em>“When we received the mandate from the Prime Minister to oversee the Ministry for Development and Investment, and the initiative was taken to move the General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT) to our Ministry, many at the time may not have understood the significance of the decision. But a year and-a-half later, even the most skeptical must be convinced that it was a correct decision and made in the public interest.</em></p>
<p><em>People would come by our office and say: ‘we are start-ups, we are innovation companies’. But, in fact, no one really knew who was and who wasn't. Mr. Dimas took the initiative for this project, and I thank him very much for that. With Mr. Tsakiris we managed to secure European funds to make all this a reality, and Mr. Dimas undertook to build the platform that will serve as the online portal where all innovation and research start-ups can be registered. Based on this registry, the government can pursue a consistent policy and exploit the genuine comparative advantage of our country: Greece’s brilliant minds. These are the talented scientists and engineers who have stayed here and whom we must convince to remain in Greece with good jobs, as well as the brilliant Greek minds that have left and whom we are making efforts to have return. All of this is the product of hard work.</em></p>
<p><em>And today is an historic day because through this platform, many companies – companies that today you’ve never heard of but which, after a few years, we may be talking about with admiration – will have started off through <strong>Elevate Greece </strong>by receiving the state support they need and which we are duty-bound to give."</em></p>
<p><strong>Christos Dimas</strong>:</p>
<p><em>"Until now, the Greek state did not know how many start-ups there are in Greece, in which sectors they operate, how many employees they have, and how large their turnover is. <strong>Elevate Greece</strong> is a much-needed tool for the state to provide targeted support for start-ups by offering specialized incentives and benefits. I would like to personally thank the official supporters of <strong>Elevate Greece</strong> for their supreme efforts in making this initiative a reality. Good luck!”</em></p>
<p><strong>Yannis Tsakiris</strong><strong>:</strong></p>
<p><strong>"<em>Elevate Greece</em></strong><em> has significantly strengthened the Greek start-up and innovation ecosystem today. New financial instruments, such as the Co-Investment Fund with Angel Investors, the Grants to Equity program − the details of which will be finalized these next few days in cooperation with the Hellenic Development Bank − and the Fund for Technology Transfer, will follow and will complement this initiative. Soon, in order to meet the increased liquidity needs created by the pandemic, start-ups will acquire a new soft financing product or alternatively a repayable aid program, financing 50% of their annual wage costs, with a maximum aid of €100,000. With a budget of €120 million from European funding, we aim to strengthen more than 1,200 start-ups across Greece. The invitation, in cooperation with the Hellenic Development Bank, is expected in November.”</em></p>
<p><strong>Athanassios Kyriazis</strong><strong>:</strong></p>
<p><em>"Today marks the establishment of a new productive model of development for the country, with guidelines for research, development and innovation. GSRT is proud to implement the promotion and incentivization of young entrepreneurs with the creation of the national start-up register <strong>Elevate Greece</strong>.</em></p>
<p><em>We are launching this project with the ultimate goal of uniting and mapping the start-up innovation ecosystem, strengthening and linking companies to provide incentives and support, operating the platform as a pole of attraction for investors and specialized start-ups, and drawing useful metrics. This represents another recognition of the role of the GSRT in research and innovation</em><em>.”</em></p>
<p><strong>Registration and deadlines</strong></p>
<p>Interested start-ups can apply through a simple process at the link elevategreece.gov.gr. For 2020, registration will be open till the end of the year. For 2021, applications are expected to be submitted in three cycles: 1 January to 30 March, 1 May to 30 July and 1 September to 30 November.</p>
<p>In order for a start-up to apply to <strong>Elevate Greece</strong> and be included in the <strong>Register</strong>, it must meet the following conditions:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong> Have the legal form of PC (IKE), LLC (EΠE), or SA (AE) (excluding sole proprietor PCs and LLCs).</strong></li>
<li><strong> Not exceed 8 years of completed operation.</strong></li>
<li><strong> Not employ more than 250 employees per annum.</strong></li>
<li><strong> Last reported turnover should not exceed €50 million.</strong></li>
</ul>/sddefault.webp)