Applications for the 8th Envolve Award Greece open
Envolve invites start-ups in Greece to participate in the 8th annual competition, offering winners interest-free funding, mentorship and business support services
Envolve Entrepreneurship has announced the launch of the 8th Envolve Award Greece business start-up competition, inviting entrepreneurs and businesses around Greece to submit applications. Each award winner will be offered wide-ranging business support, including interest-free funding, mentoring, and business support services provided by Envolve’s broad network of supporters.
The Panel of Judges will look for business plans that demonstrate innovation, financial discipline, sustainability and job creation predominantly in Greece.
The online application portal will remain open until March 3rd, 2021 and any start-up or innovative early-stage business in Greece can apply at envolveglobal.org/envolve-awards, regardless of the industry they operate in.
Alongside the main Envolve Award Greece competition, the general public will vote for their three favourite business ideas through the #GetEnvolved Award. Winners in this social media-based public vote will share an additional cash prize of €6,000.
Commenting on the launch of the 8th Envolve Award Greece competition, Jimmy Athanasopoulos, Chairman of Envolve Entrepreneurship, stated:
“We launched these awards in 2012 against the backdrop of an acute financial crisis in Greece. We sought to demonstrate that Greece was home to profoundly innovative and hard-working entrepreneurs – and this has been borne out by the thousands of superb award applications we have received over the years. Today all businesses face a new set of challenges in the form of a global pandemic. Yet our faith that Greek business will prevail remains unbowed, and we fully expect to see more examples of exceptional creativity, determination and business acumen among this years’ applicants.”
Since its establishment by Libra Group, on behalf of The Hellenic Initiative, Envolve Award Greece has received applications from more than 5,500 teams and has declared 31 winners. These businesses are active in 19 business sectors, have created over 1,800 jobs, while they have attracted investments of more than €120 million and their aggregate valuation exceeds €300 million.
The last cycle of the award declared four winners, Collaborate Healthcare, Finclude, MOJOOLS and Rodi Pharmaceuticals, which operate in the sectors of Healthtech, Financial Services, Fashion and Pharmaceuticals. The winners were declared during a live ceremony broadcast to thousands of viewers around the world, hosting representatives of the Greek government and entrepreneurs. (https://bit.ly/EAGeng).
Alexandros Nousias, Country Director of Envolve Entrepreneurship in Greece, commented: “Despite the challenging environment, our most recent winners are pursuing their commercial dreams with courage and perseverance. Now, more than ever, new businesses need support and we stand by them. Since our establishment, the Greek startup ecosystem has grown tremendously, leading to a more mature environment that has attracted a broad community of supporters willing to lend their insight and expertise to businesses taking their first steps.”
Envolve continues to offer support in stimulating the entrepreneurial spirit through its three main pillars: education, resources and awards. One of its running projects in education is the recently launched entrepreneurship competition with special focus on sustainable development for students in Greek schools, under the auspices of the Ministry of Education (https://envolveglobal.org/el/education/school_contest/.
Envolve’s award programme, enjoys the backing of many organizations that have stepped forward in support of the Envolve Awards, both in Greece and the U.S.A. Supporters in Greece include Amazon Web Services, Antidote, Atraktos, Epixeiro.gr, Atradius, I.A.D.R., Intracom Telecom, Ioannis Vassardanis & Partners Law Form, Jalouise PTY LTD, Lykourezos Law Offices, Microsoft, Moore, People for Business, 1 Business World, Performance Coaching, Prisma Consulting, Reed Smith, SAP Hellas, V+O Communication, Veltio and White Room.