With the support of the Hellenic Development Investment Bank, the Startups in Greece 2021-2022 exhibition was presented on December 7, 2021, by Found.ation and EIT Digital, in collaboration with Velocity.Partners.
The report, presents detailed data on the Greek ecosystem, the achievements of startups in the country and funding opportunities.
According to the data presented, 2021 is a particularly interesting year, during which we had new records for the ever-growing Greek startup scene. Overall, the new capital used in 2021 tripled compared to the previous year, while there was also record follow-on investment.
The report records all investments made both under the EquiFund funding programme and by Greek and international investment vehicles.
At the same time, the profile of the companies that have been backed is analysed, while the lists of the most successful Greek startups are updated and presented, both those that have received the most funding and those that have achieved the best acquisition deals
.
In his introductory speech, the Deputy Minister of Development and Investment, Mr. Yannis Tsakiris
, announced new investment opportunities, stressing that “the Ministry of Development and Investment intends to channel an initial capital of over €200 million of public funds to start-ups, with the possibility of further growth, thanks to funds from the National Fund for Recovery and Resilience. The total amount available from the state to venture capital managers at this time is €1.26 billion.”
Addressing the event from the podium, the President of EATE, Professor Charis Lambropoulos
, stated, inter alia, “if we take into account all the types of financial instruments and resources available that can be used, in addition to equity investments at the level of the investing companies, the EATE funds under management can lead to the leveraging of total investments in the real economy of over €7-€10 billion and contribute significantly to the overall development effort”.
Presenting the report, Dimitris Kalavros-Gousiou
, co-founder of Found.ation, co-founder and partner of Velocity.Partners, said that 2021 was a record-breaking year for the ever-growing Greek startup scene in terms of venture capital funding, exits and unicorns. He also pointed out that the amount of the top ten companies in fundraising is estimated at over 400 million euros for this year. Dimitris Kalavros-Gousiou, co-founder of Found.ation
Professor of the Athens University of Economics and Business and partner of Uni.Fund, Katerina Pramatari
, stressed that both in Greece and at the European level, the space around universities and research is the next to be exploited. “I believe that we have a bright decade ahead of us in this sector” she said.
TECS Capital fund partner Mr. Antonis Elias
, in his presentation, noted a collective growth of the strartups business sector, which is represented diagrammatically, with an upward curve that is still in an early stage, giving significant investment opportunities for the coming years.
Apostolos Apostolakis
, founder of Venture Friends, said that people in the startup ecosystem are experiencing strong growth and expressed confidence that we will soon have startups listed on the stock exchange, which will contribute to further growth of this sector.
The discussion was moderated by COO & Head of Strategy of the strategic communication company Socialdoo Mr. Panagiotis Kakolyris
, who said that the political environment and the economic – technological situation have created a significant window of opportunity for Greek startups.
The entire report can be viewed here
.
Here are some of the data presented in the report
:
- The total number of startups funded this year is more than 70, 30% more than last year, while the total investments secured by these startups exceed €500 million.
- The top 10 Greek startups this year raised a total of €397 million, more than double the amount raised last year.
- 2021 also saw some exits, three of which made it directly into the top 10 all-time list in terms of value. It is also the year that we are able to name the first companies to reach the “unicorns” stage in the Greek territory (PeopleCert, Blueground and Viva Wallet).
- Looking at the amounts that companies are asking funds for, there is a notable increase in the €100,000 to €200,000 range, as well as in the €400,000 to €500,000 range. This signals the creation of a new wave of start-ups that will stand out and make their mark in 2022. In terms of their market focus, almost 70% of them are focused on B2B.
- The top three sectors in which startups operate remain Life Sciences, Retail and AgriTech, with Maritime Tech and Deep Tech startups continuing to be on an upward trajectory, which they are expected to maintain in 2022.
- The participation of non-Greek investors in investment rounds of Greek companies rises to an impressive 84.9%, validating the growth of the local ecosystem and setting the stage for more extroversion.
The article Greek startups secured over €500 million in investment in 2021 was originally published on Fortunegreece.com.
