Reuters: The startup scene in Greece is starting to take off

After years in which Greece was almost as well known for its financial problems as for its beaches, the recent deals highlighted a small but thriving start-up scene that developed after the crisis, Reuters reports in a post today.

The acquisition of a minority stake in Viva Wallet by JP Morgan last month valued the company at over $ 2 billion, offering Greece its first technological “unicorn” after a steady growth in the sector over the past seven years.

This agreement is expected to be followed this month by acquisition of Accusonusa startup founded by a pair of mechanical and amateur musicians whose sound software is used by artists such as Bob Dylan and Shakira.

Funding for technology-based startups based in Greece jumped to almost $ 1 billion last year, according to a report by Marathon Venture Capital, more than doubled by 2020 and almost tenfold by 2015, when Greece was facing bankruptcy and the possibility a chaotic exit from the eurozone, notes Reuters.

The agreements gave impetus to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who based on the work of previous governments and the EU with tax cuts and funding reforms aimed at diversifying an economy dominated by tourism and shipping.

“Greece is not just a country based on tourism and its beautiful beaches,” he said during a visit to Viva Wallet’s offices last week, adding that the government was optimistic that technology would be a “growing part”. “of the country’s GDP.

The Hellenic Business Association (SEV) estimates that the startup sector totals 6 billion euros, or 3% of GDP, without stating how much technology startups represent. It has set a goal for the technology sector to reach 10% of GDP within the next decade, said last month the Co-Chair of the BSE Innovation Committee, Markos Veremis.

Despite the climate of optimism, Greece remains low in the European Commission’s digital economy and society index for 2021, with a low score on connectivity, internet use and digital public services.

It is nowhere near other European start-ups, such as London, which raised a record $ 25 billion in funding in 2021, according to a Dealroom report, and also faces stiff competition from other southern European countries, such as Portugal, which hosts the largest European technology conference, the Web Summit.

But there is an increasingly active network of entrepreneurs and investors, as well as workers with experience working abroad during the crisis years.

“What started as an underground movement is now at the heart of Greek society,” said George Tziralis, a Marathon partner who sees technology grow and reach 7% of shipping’s contribution to the economy in the coming decades.

Momentum

When Viva Wallet was founded in 2000 under the name Realize, startups were almost unknown. Since then, the company has evolved and now operates in 23 European countries.

“There is a lot of momentum for the growing Greek economy and Greek startups need to benefit,” Makis Antipas, co-founder and Chief Information Officer of Viva Wallet, told Reuters.

The ten-year crisis that began in 2008 forced many young Greeks waiting to work in public or family businesses to emigrate either to northern Europe or to innovate.

As examples of successful startups based in Greece, Reuters cites the Beat taxi app, the Skroutz e-commerce platform and the start-up Pollfish market research firm.

Greece had “raised generations of people who dreamed of working in the public sector or declaring successful entrepreneurs by wasting public money,” said Panos Zamanis, vice president of the Hellenic Start-up Association. It took a crisis to break those stereotypes, he added.

“We are not yet in the position we deserve, but we must not forget that our country was slow to enter the map of innovation and suffered from a dramatic economic crisis,” he said.

Since taking office in 2019, a year after Greece exited the largest economic bailout program in history, the Mitsotakis government has made digital transformation a priority, Reuters notes, adding: It has introduced corporate tax breaks and reforms. to simplify the formation of a company and the issuance of stock options.

The improved environment is reflected in high-profile foreign investment, including the decision of the Microsoft to build a data center in Greeceand there are hopes for more investment.

Tom Smith, founder of GWI, a startup that opened offices in Athens in 2018, said payroll taxes and national insurance were “still very high”, but welcomed the moves that would make Greece more attractive.

“When you combine climate change, increased investment, tax policy change and an amazing lifestyle, it’s a very attractive offer,” he said.