Envolve announces 8th Greece Award Winners

June 25, 2021

On Wednesday, June 23^rd, Envolve Entrepreneurship announced the three winners of the 8th Envolve Award Greece, a contest for start-up and early-stage businesses in Greece. The winners’ announcement took place in ATRAKTOS and was streamed live via Chorus Call Hellas’ webcasting services.

This year’s competition winners are Carge, Momcycle and obko, bringing the total number of winners to 34 since the programme was launched in 2012. They span diverse sectors, namely Technology, Retail Tech and FinTech.

The three winners of the competition will share interest-free funding, mentorship, as well as a wide range of business support services from Envolve’s network of partners. The winners were selected by the Panel of Judges and Envolve’s team from a diverse group of 10 finalists. At the live-streamed event, the trophies were presented by the guest speakers. The ceremony hosted government officials and business leaders: Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Minister of Digital Governance, representing the Presidency of the Government – Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis; Christos Dimas, Deputy Minister of Research & Technology, and Zetta Makri, Deputy Minister of Education. Speakers from the innovation ecosystem included Myladie Stoumbou, Regional Director for Partner Business Development at Microsoft; Peter Economides, Brand Strategy Consultant; Fotis Karydas, Journalist and Communications Consultant; Marina Hatsopoulos, Board Chair at Levitronix Technologies, and Christos Spatharakis, Co-Founder & CEO at Ferryhopper.

In accordance with the government’s public health directives, only the finalists and guest speakers were invited to the event, which was sponsored by ATRAKTOS, Chorus Call Hellas, Brookstreet Equity Partners LLP, Red Bull, Action 24, Epixeiro.gr, Aria Hotels, Ferryhopper, TYCO, MINU Athens and Marocaine.

Jimmy Athanasopoulos, Chairman of Envolve Entrepreneurship, stated: “Today the 8^th Cycle of the Envolve Award Greece closed with the announcement of three Winners. We are filled with pride to again have the opportunity to gather and celebrate the best of Greek entrepreneurship. We would like to thank our guest speakers who inspired us with their motivational words and everyone who connected with us through our livestream. We welcome all our finalists and winners to the Envolve family!”

For a third consecutive year, the public was given the opportunity to vote for their favourite business idea, electing three winners of the “#GetEnvolved Award”. The winners of these cash prizes are: 
1^st #GetEnvolved Award winner: Project Patenting, receiving a cheque for €3,000, sponsored by Brookstreet Equity Partners LLP to celebrate entrepreneurship in the name of late George V. Bolos, co-founding partner of Brookstreet Equity Partners LLP, General Manager of the Olympic Games 2004, respected CEO and serial entrepreneur. The award was presented by his daughter, Miss Natalia Bolou.
2^nd #GetEnvolved Award winner: Tourmie, receiving a cheque for €2,000.
3^rd #GetEnvolved Award winner: bindbops, receiving a cheque for €1,000.

Alexandros Nousias, Country Director of Envolve Entrepreneurship in Greece, commented: “Congratulations to the Envolve Award Greece winners who have demonstrated courage, dedication, and creativity. We are excited to be a part of their business adventure, and we hope that our award will shine a light on their achievements and help them grow at a faster rate. The winners and finalists of this cycle represent forces for change in the Greek economy and are shining examples of our country’s potential.  We would also like to thank our long-term partners and supporters for actively participating in this cause, and this year’s event sponsors for making this ceremony feasible during a challenging period.” 

Envolve’s mission rests on three main pillars: education, resources and awards. The non-profit organization provides education for start-up and early-stage businesses, leveraging partnerships that increase the availability of entrepreneurship resources. The award programme, which was founded in Greece by the Libra Group on behalf of The Hellenic Initiative, enjoys the backing of many organizations that have stepped forward in support of the Envolve Awards both in Greece and the USA. Since 2012, Envolve has declared 34 award winners in Greece, operating in 19 sectors. These winners have contributed to the Greek economy with the creation of more than 1,800 new jobs and have a combined valuation exceeding €340 million.

The network of supporters in Greece includes: Alexander Innovation Zone, Amazon, Antidote, Atraktos, Atradius, Ensemble, Epixeiro.gr, I.A.D.R., IED, Intracom Telecom, indima.gr, Ioannis Vassardanis & Partners Law Form, Jalouise PTY LTD, Lykourezos Law Offices, Microsoft, People for Business, Prisma Consulting, Reed Smith, SAP Hellas, Startup Elevator, Vestbee, V+O Communication and White Room.

The 8^th Envolve Award Greece Winners are:

Carge: Carge provides e-mobility solutions, which help electric vehicle drivers seek, book, plug, and pay at thousands of charging stations across SE Europe. It is the only mobile app globally that uses intelligent algorithms for grid balancing through direct connection with each car.
Website: https://carge.co/
Applicants: Eleftherios Karabatsakis, Peter Benos.

Momcycle: Momcycle is an online marketplace dedicated to pre-owned children’s products. Momcycle offers parents a user-friendly tool with multiple functionalities, allowing them to convert items they no longer need into cash and buy their favourite brands at great discounts. It features curated listings, the highest security standards for transactions and a seamless shipping procedure. Through Momcycle, parents can prolong their products’ useful life-enhancing sustainable consumption.
Website: https://www.momcycle.gr
Applicants: Ileana Ismyridi, Niki Lalioti.

obko: obko is a data-driven application, which integrates a user’s entire financial life and behaviour to scale up premium financial services to the mass market, services that currently only affluent banking customers enjoy. obko introduces a revolutionary suite of services through automation and AI, including a Personal Assistant, a Financial Coach and a Relationship Manager, to simplify the users’ daily financial tasks, optimize spending and savings habits and receive meaningful and personalized financial guidance.
Website: www.i-am-obko.com
Applicants: Giorgos Gavriil, Vasilis Linakis, Nikos Konstantinidis, Evi Efstathiou.

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