Top 5 Greek Tech Startup Programs Every Founder Should Know About

1. Startup Universe Greece

Born as an attempt to democratise access to education and funding opportunities for early-stage startups, the SUG program provides a great network of opportunities and connections with important personalities of the Greek diaspora, corporates, investors, founders, and experts over a period of 4 weeks online.

So far the Startup Universe Greece community has hosted more than 1500 startups and more than 70 angel investors.

Discover more about the Startup Universe program and its Greek edition here.

2. Egg (Enter Grow Go)

Established in 2013 by Eurobank and Corallia, egg is among the top incubation platforms in Greece. 

Its program provides knowledge and tools to access sources of financing, choose a suitable company structure, and develop a network of leads and clients interested in your product or services. 

In the last 12 years, egg has supported hundreds of new entrepreneurs and startups, facilitating almost €60 million in financing.

3. EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program (Found.ation)

Found.ation is a technology and innovation centre offering both acceleration and R&I programs. 

Among the former types, the EIT Digital Venture Incubation Program provides financial and development support to early-stage startup founders willing to take action. The selected teams are supported with up to €30,000 alongside an 8-week online program and help developing their MVP. 

For the past 7 years, the organisation has supported over 34 Greek startups in the tech sector, actively helping Greece establish itself as a startup hub in Europe.

4. Compass Cycle (Athens Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation – ACEin)

Every passionate Greek startup team with a scalable plan and a minimum viable product (MVP) should consider submitting to the Compass Cycle. 

This annual acceleration program is offered by the Athens Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ACEin). It lasts for 7 months, during which every selected startup project will receive consulting and coaching from industry-aligned mentors. Additionally, specialized seminars and workshops are offered to boost the competences needed from each startup to thrive. Compass Cycle also provides knowledge about funding sources, and access to international events where the selected startup will be able to pitch their projects to potential investors.

5. THEA (Athens Startup Business Incubator)

Since 2014, the Athens Startup Incubator has promoted entrepreneurship in Greece in areas related to tech innovation. They specialize in consulting services, networking and business optimization by offering a three phase program to the startup they select. 

The first phase lasts for 3 weeks. During this time, the business teams are hosted to analyse the feasibility of their business idea. In the following 6 months, the teams focus on commercializing their business idea alongside a marketing strategy and a business plan. The teams get access to the THEA’s network of business angels and experts. Finally, the teams’ business startups are established and continuous support is offered by Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry.