ENVOLVE AWARD GREECE 2018 FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
- 15 finalists are in line to receive funding, mentorship and business support services
- For the first time, members of the public will take part and vote for the “#GetEnvolved Award”
Athens, Greece, 3 December 2018 – Envolve Entrepreneurship has announced the 15 finalists of Envolve Award Greece 2018 (formerly the Hellenic Entrepreneurship Award) who are competing for interest-free start-up funding, mentorship and business support services.
This year’s finalists are active across a wide spectrum of sectors in the Greek economy, including ICT, Digital and Information Services, Health and Social Care, Tourism and Transportation. Through Envolve’s regional road trip across Greece, entrepreneurs from all over the country have been encouraged to participate in this year’s contest. In fact, this year’s finalists represent 5 different cities in Greece. The experienced panel of judges, comprising a number of senior executives from Greek and multinational organizations, found selecting the final candidates to be particularly difficult as the overall quality of applications was very high.
This year, Envolve Entrepreneurship is encouraging wider public engagement with the award programme through the new “#GetEnvolved Award”. Now the public can vote for their favourite finalist via Envolve’s social media channels (www.facebook.com/envolveGR and www.instagram.com/envolveGR). Public voting opens today, Monday, December 3rd and will conclude on Monday, December 10th. The first two start-ups with the most likes from its Envolve Award Greece Finalist video will receive the prize of €3,000 and €2,000, respectively, regardless of the results for the 2018 award competition.
Alexandros Nousias, Country Director of the Envolve Entrepreneurship in Greece, commented:
“This year’s competition shows that there is a wealth of talent and excellence in business ideas with dynamic growth prospects in our country which, with judicious support where needed, can be the new success stories to boost the Greek economy. Envolve has actively supported start-ups in Greece over the past six years, and has provided approximately €5,000,000 in interest-free funding to 19 award winners. Today the combined valuation of past winners is nearly €100 million and over 1,600 jobs have been created. We congratulate all those who submitted an application for this year’s awards and wish them success in their efforts to build sustainable ventures and contribute to the Greek economy.”
Envolve’s mission rests on three 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. This in turn leaves businesses better placed to make a competitive application for one of its awards.
The award program, 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. Supporters in Greece include, Antidote, Atradius, Epixeiro.gr, I.A.D.R., Intracom Telecom, Ioannis Vassardanis & Partners Law Form, Kyvernitis Travel SA, Lykourezos Law Offices, Microsoft, Moore Stephens, People for Business, Reed Smith, SAP Hellas, Onassis Cultural Centre, V+O and White Room.
The Envolve Award Greece 2018 Finalists are:
- apifon: apifon is a technology company that develops business messaging services for companies to grow their audience, create and send multichannel campaigns (SMS, RCS, Email, Viber and other chat apps), measure performance and enable marketing automation to increase revenues and improve customer experience.
Website: https://www.apifon.com
Applicant: Konstantinos Stroumpakis. - BookingClinic.com: BookingClinic.com is an online platform that serves patients in need of treatment or an operation at a clinic, providing transparent information, ratings, costs and the option to book a treatment easily, while saving time and money.
Website: https://www.bookingclinic.com
Applicants: Vasileia Chatzistergiou, Liana Gouta, Thomas Chatzistergiou, George Hatzinikolaou, Konstantinos Chatzistergiou, Christoforos Moisiadis, Christos Tzelis, Niki Chatzinikolaou. - CollegeLink: CollegeLink is an online entry-level HR Job Board that connects talented young adults with job opportunities. CollegeLink is a “Candidate 1st” service that offers each young candidate the right educational and self-development tools in order to pursue successfully their optimal career path. Through CollegeLink, companies can attract and recruit the best next generation talents that match their hard skill requirements and unique culture.
Website: https://www.collegelink.gr
Applicants: Stefanos Alkides, Imelos Yannis, Valerios Chatzigeorgiou, Elisavet Malo, Michalis Mavrommatakis, Anastasia Karagkiozoglou, Katerina Iliopoulou. - DIVING STATUS: DIVING STATUS is a certified underwater services company that supports the shipping industry by providing in-water inspection, maintenance and repair services to overseas commercial vessels. Apart from maintaining the seaworthiness of the ships so that they can operate safely and remain on schedule, such maintenance services also reduce the fuel consumption of vessels which leads in reducing their operating costs. At the same time, CO2 emissions are reduced, resulting in a greater environmental protection.
Website: https://divingstatus.com
Applicants: Lixourgiotis Ioannis, Lixourgioti Efi, Giazlas Georgios. - Ferryhopper: Ferryhopper revolutionizes online ferry booking, providing a complete search and booking engine with a unique, customer-centric user experience. It is the only platform to provide users with indirect connections through corresponding islands, making ferry travelling in Greece easy and simple. Through Ferryhopper, ferry trips can be planned effortlessly by booking tickets quickly, comparing prices instantly and securing the cheapest fare.
Website: https://www.ferryhopper.com
Applicants: Christos Spatharakis, Vasileios Lahanas, Panagiotis Sarafis, Aiden Short, Maria Chatzistavrou - filisia:filisia works on the intersection of Educational Technology and HealthTech. The company creates award-winning, evidence-based systems that help people with conditions such as autism, intellectual disabilities and dementia to learn a variety of important life-skills in engaging and inclusive ways. The systems also contain lesson plans and provide rich data reports, reducing preparation and administration work for teachers and therapists.
Website: https://www.filisia.com
Applicants: Georgios Papadakis, Eirini Malliaraki, Alexandros Binopoulos, Dav Shiel. - Geomiso: Geomiso is the world’s first ‘isogeometric’ analysis and 3D design software. The company develops, markets and supports 3D design and engineering simulation software used to design products and predict how they will behave in real-world environments, without having to build test products or conduct crash tests. This is the world’s first two-in-one 3D design and isogeometric analysis software, which merges computer-aided design with computer-aided engineering into a single procedure, thus empowering engineers to deliver faster more accurate results with no geometric errors.
Website: https://www.geomiso.com
Applicants: Panagiotis Karakitsios, George Karaiskos, Athanasios Leontaris, Panagiotis Kolios, Stella Skrivanou, Alexandros Karakitsios. - massiveGRID: massiveGRID offers superior managed cloud services as the high-quality provider with its own proprietary technologies and secure infrastructure, with an ambition to become a global leader in premium cloud services.
Website: https://www.massivegrid.com
Applicants: Bill Stoidis, Aggelos Vlavianos, Theo Theoharis. - MyJobNow: MyJobNow is a ‘mobile-first’ hiring marketplace for the blue-collar sector. Leveraging mobile technology, MyJobNow is a recruitment tool that offers improved matching for Employers and Job Seekers with parameters such as interests and job seekers’ physical location (via GPS).
Website: https://www.myjobnow.com
Applicants: Stefanos Katsimpas, Agamemnon Papazoglou, Alexandros Papaspyridis. - PD Neurotechnology: PD Neurotechnology develops Wearable Medical Devices and overall solutions for continuous monitoring and supporting treatment of Movement Disorders. The first application is PD Monitor, a sophisticated expert eco-system for patients with Parkinson’s Disease, being the only solution globally that holistically monitors the disease and all nine of its symptoms. The second phase of the technology will address Multiple Sclerosis. PD Neurotechnology is led by globally recognized Greek scientists, with an R&D team located in Greece, and along with the design and production base, it aims to boost the human capital and innovation capacity of the country.
Website: http://www.pdneurotechnology.com
Applicants: Dimitrios Fotiadis, Anastasios Manos, Nikos Moschos, Spiros Konitsiotis. - SEATRAC: TOBEA Ltd designs and manufactures innovative solutions for improving the quality of life for people with disabilities. It started with SEATRAC and accessibility on the beach before moving onto new innovations.
Website: https://tobea.gr
Applicants: Ignatios Fotiou, Stavros Katsiaounis, Niki Papageorgiou, Persefoni Bertzou, Natalia Laina, Panagiota Kelverkogou, Giorgos Krimpenis, Kostas Korkotzilas, Amalia Mina. - TENACIOUS GREEK: TENACIOUS GREEK’s vision is to provide everyone, everywhere, with premium quality, Greek gourmet ready-to-serve meals. Made from the best ingredients Greek nature can provide, they are slow cooked for an average of fourteen hours under the strict guidance of top Chef Dimitris Stamoudis and packaged without the use of additives, preservatives, or other chemical agents, while insuring a long shelf life.
Website: https://www.tenaciousgreek.com
Applicants: Zoe Cotsis, Theofilos Kallitsas - Think Silicon: Think Silicon is developing and licensing one of the most power efficient graphics technology in the world. The company specializes in designing extremely small, ultra-low power, high-performance Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) for smart IoT display devices and Artificial Intelligence (AI) inference accelerators for machine learning vision applications for IoT/Edge end nodes. With this technology, the battery life of wearable devices is extended from days to weeks.
Website: http://www.think-silicon.com
Applicants: George Sidiropoulos, Iakovos Stamoulis, Georgios Keramidas, Ulli Mueller. - TPL: TPL offers a turn-key solution that enables online retailers to expand their businesses globally. The company has developed a cloud-based platform that creates an international online marketplace by placing vendor products onto multiple online sales channels such as Amazon, eBay, Google etc. Additionally, a 3PL service is offered to bring the products to customers wherever they are located globally, reducing the logistical complexity of international shipments.
Website: https://tpl.gr
Applicants: Spyridon Kotsalidis, Vasilios Nakos, Nikolaos Tsamis. - Upsell: Upsell’s Exclusivi platform helps hotels drive their revenue, reviews, repeat bookings and cost reductions at scale, with the power of AI. Guests get a unified experience across touchpoints: mobile apps integrated with the leading hotel systems, smart Wi-Fi portal with 1:1 targeting, TV apps and kiosks, chatbots and POS. They are all powered by a multilingual CMS, AI-powered recommendations, targeting and campaign management dashboard, internal communication tools, restaurant booking platforms and TripAdvisor-integrated reviews. In parallel, it links with leading Destination Management Companies, offering guests an end-to-end travel experience.
Website: https://exclusivi.com
Applicants: Babis Kourtzis, Ioannis Tzikas, Aris Filokostas, Erika Maessaka, Manolis Anastasiou.
The winners will be announced on Monday, 10 December 2018 during the annual award ceremony in Athens.
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About Envolve Entrepreneurship:
Envolve Entrepreneurship is an entrepreneurship support organization, founded by the Libra Group; it provides education, resources, and award programs for start-up businesses globally. The organization encompasses the former Hellenic Entrepreneurship Award (HEA) and the American Entrepreneurship Award (AEA) – programs which have declared 35 winners since 2012, supporting job creation and economic growth in Greece and the USA. Striving for a global society where all business owners can prosper and grow, Envolve is committed to developing and cultivating entrepreneurial ecosystems, by ensuring business support services are more readily available to diverse entrepreneurs.
To learn more about Envolve, please visit http://envolveglobal.org.
Past Envolve Award Greece Winners
2017 Winners: Allcancode (www.allcancode.com, Fresh Strips (www.freshstrips.com, NOMADA Honey Soda (www.nomadahoneysoda.com), Tech Talent (www.techtalent.jobs) and Quizdom Education
2016 Winners: blueground (www.theblueground.com), bubbllz (www.bubbllz.com) and Raymetrics (www.raymetrics.com)
2015 Winners: Heliix (www.heliixinc.com, Smart Guide and Yoleni’s (www.yolenis.com)
2014 Winners: Anassa Organics (www.anassaorganics.com), e-satisfaction (www.e-satisfaction.gr), Open Circle (www.opencircleproject.com) and RTsafe (www.rt-safe.com)
2013 Winners: Casa Parlante (www.casaparlante.gr), Different & Different (www.differentanddifferent.gr), rabt (www.rabt.co) and Stella Mare (www.stellamare.gr)
About the Libra Group:
The Libra Group is a privately-owned international business group that is active in 35 countries across six continents. It is focused on six core sectors: aviation, energy, hospitality, real estate, shipping and diversified investments. The group is wholly-owned by the Logothetis family.
For more information, visit the website: www.libra.com
About The Hellenic Initiative:
Our Mission: Investing in the future of Greece through direct philanthropy and economic revitalization. We empower people to provide crisis relief, encourage entrepreneurs, and create jobs.
We are The Hellenic Initiative (THI) – a global movement of the Greek Diaspora.
Visit our website:
http://www.TheHellenicInitiative.org/
http://onegreece.org
Like us on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/thehellenicinitiative
Follow us on Twitter:
@THI_OneGreece
For further information, please contact:
Giannis Syrmopoulos
V+O Communication
Τηλ: +30 2107249000 (247)
Email: gsy@vando.gr
