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Innovate in Greece by SEV & Endeavor Greece

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Julien Makalu: From civil war to Greek entrepreneurship

Julien Makalu fled his country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to escape the civil war. He found himself in Turkey with no money and a fake passport, was beaten to unconsciousness, crossed the Evros River, was imprisoned, endured extreme bullying, and even contemplated suicide.

However, he managed to survive, learned Greek in 3 months (!) and graduated from school in Konitsa with honours. Today, at the age of 28, he has created his own family, set up his own business, gotten a degree and faces life with a smile.

With Marko Veremis, they discuss the difficulties he encountered, the help he received from everyday people, and Greece's shortcomings.

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Greek startups secure €267m from 45 investors in 27 rounds

Greek startups raised EUR 267 million in 45 days. In 2023, 27 ventures has raised capital from 45 investors.

Read more here.

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Greek Startup Ecosystem Soars to 8.2 Billion Euros in 5 Years

One of the fastest-growing ecosystems in SE Europe is that of Greek startups. Despite the problems caused by the international crisis and the war last year, Greek startups' valuations in the last five years soared to 8.2 billion euros from 1.1 billion euros in 2017.

Read more here.

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Natech, the leading provider of core banking systems to small and medium-sized financial institutions, has raised EUR 10 million through a private convertible bond issue.

Austrian Post and Agile Actors are expanding their partnership, as Austrian Post has acquired an 80% stake in Agile Actors.

Blueground acquires Travelers Haven, the leading provider in the US of on-demand apartments that are available at the request of the customer, furnished according to their needs.

Greek Startup Instacar raises €55M to transform car leasing experience. The round is led by investors Velocity Partners, Autohellas/Vasilakis Group and the Olympia Group, with new investors such as Elikonos 2 S.C.A. SICAR joining in.

5G Ventures announces the co-investment of the Phaistos Investment Fund in the Greek company Pandas.io together with international investors from Europe and the US.

CNH Industrial acquires Augmenta for $110 million. CNH Industrial will continue to invest in Augmenta's team and is going to turn Athens into a CNH Industrial innovation hub.

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The state of the innovation system in Greece in 2022, as well as critical longitudinal data on the dimensions of the innovation system in the period 2015-2022 are presented in the new publication "Greece's position in the European Innovation Scoreboard 2015-2022" by the National Documentation and Electronic Content Centre.

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Several new investment funds are expected to be launched in Greece in 2023, as there is strong interest from existing and new fund managers. New funds are prepared by existing players Uni.fund, Big Pie, Metavallon, Marathon Ventures and Venture Friends. Newcomer Optimality will focus on early stage deep tech startups.

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Marco Veremis explains the IG@WORK platform

Article by Marco Veremis in about connecting industry, startups with Innovative Greeks, via the new job-matching platform IG@WORK.

Read more here.

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The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to provide Motor Oil with a 10-year loan of €40 million, co-financing the company's investment program for the development of an extensive network of electric vehicle charging stations and hydrogen stations throughout Greece.

Sunlight Group's investment in Xanthi, the pilot production line that will complement the R&D department for prototype lithium-ion cells, is expected to be completed within 2023 and will support the ambitious expansion plan in Western Macedonia for the development of industrial-scale production.

A new investment in SVUUM was announced by Olympia Group aiming to develop the most customer-centric and innovative "Hand to Hand Delivery" in Greece. The investment is implemented by Public Capital Partners, through the issuance of a convertible bond loan

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This month, we meet with Symeon Chatzigeorgiou, director of partnerships with DeepSea Technologies and talked about the value proposition of the company, but also the valuable learnings of the journey so far.

Here is what he told us.

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SEV and Innovative Greeks working group for healthcare and life sciences is organizing the 4th meetup on March 23. The meetup aims to bring together healthcare providers, such as hospitals and diagnostic centers, with start-up companies and research groups that produce technology in health services and life sciences to explore synergies and collaborations.

Find more here.

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Enterprise Greece and EBAN will co-host the Congress in Thessaloniki, 24-26 May, alongside HeBAN as an official partner. If you are interested in meeting hundreds of early-stage investors worldwide (and we know you are), act now to secure your spot!

Find more here.

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The globally-renowned MIT Global Startup Workshop (GSW) is coming to Athens, Greece on March 30-31, 2023 bringing together students, investors, entrepreneurs and fundamental stakeholders. During this two-days conference, the Startup Pitch Competition will provide a unique opportunity for innovative startups to present their venture and compete to win cash prizes and a trip to MIT.

Find more here.

Interested in a job with a fast-growing Greek startup? Are you a Greek startup looking for the right people to hire?

Check IG @WORK

Do you want to get involved in the Greek innovation ecosystem?

Join Innovative Greeks

Tell us what you want us to cover in the next issue, and who to interview or invite to speak at one of our next events. Get in touch at info@innovativegreeks.gr

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