Under the microscope of international funds 15 Greek startups

By Matina Harkoftaki

The domestic scene of start-ups has been found in the investment target of international venture capital and equity funds as well as institutions, which seems to have traveled the first difficult kilometers and is preparing to take the next big step. Greek talent has attracted the interest of big names of the global investment firm, who are looking for the right project to direct their funds. So 2021 may have been described as a milestone year for the Greek ecosystem of start-ups with almost half a billion euros in funding, but for this year the bar has been set even higher. In this direction, an air of new synergies promises to bring the organization of the Tech Tour South-East Europe 2022, which takes place for the first time in Athens with the initiative of Uni.Fund and the hosting (hosted by) of the Hellenic Development Investment Bank ( ΕΑΤΕ). The conference, which opened yesterday and ends today Friday, is attended by more than 60 investors and 30 startups in Late Seed-Series A stadium from all over Eastern Europe.

The start-ups, selected, have the opportunity to present their projects and get in touch with some of the most important investors from around the world and from our country, while it is not excluded that future collaborations will be born through this event. “Out of the total of 120 startups, 30 were selected after a competitive process, of which 15 come from Greece and the rest from Eastern Europe”, notes in capital.gr the president of EATE Haris Lambropoulos and adds: “As many foreigners as “and domestic institutional investors from venture capital and equity funds as well as supranational organizations, such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Fund, have been present.”

The names of the foreign investors participating include Bulgaria VC Association, Bryan Garnier & Co, Prime Ventures, SABIC Ventures, European Circular Bioeconomy Fund, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, Almaz Capital, Debiopharm Innovation Fund, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Fil Rouge Capital and Silverpeak. From the Greek side, there are, among others, representatives of Uni.Fund, VentureFriends, Marathon VC and Metavallon VC. The 15 Greek innovative companies, which qualified to present their activity in pitch sessions are QCell, Cyrus, Bespot, Purposeful, Convert group, Advantis, College Link, BIOPIX-T, enzyquest, EMTECH, dataviva, TEKMON, Kinvent, Solmeyea and Clio Muse Tours. Apart from the Greek ecosystem, however, the presence of start-ups from the Balkans such as Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Croatia is also important, while there are many that seek to gain access and be active in the Greek market. The dynamics of the domestic startup scene was confirmed once again by yesterday’s announcement for Flexcar, which secured new funding of 210 million euros.