1100 participants in this year’s award
Up to five winners will share €1,250,000 in prize funding
ATHENS, 15 March 2016 – The Hellenic Entrepreneurship Award (HEA) has closed for entries to the 2016 competition. 1100 hopeful entrepreneurs registered via the award website in order to compete for a share of the €1,250,000 in prize funding as well as mentorship and a range of business support services.
As in past years there have been entries from a wide range of business sectors from agriculture to pharmaceuticals to shipbuilding. Business ideas based on digital, creative and information services have the strongest representation with 19% of all entries. These are closely followed by the tourism (10%) and food and beverage (8%) sectors.
Commenting on this year’s entries, Jimmy Athanasopoulos, Chairman of the Hellenic Entrepreneurship Award, stated: “We never cease to be amazed and gratified at the diversity and quality of new business ideas coming out of Greece. While social and economic hardship endures, these brave and determined Greek entrepreneurs have each decided to take a risk to start a new venture. These are the risks without which no economy can grow and no country can revive. We thank every contestant for their creativity and self-belief. Now begins the challenging task of assessing which businesses make the most financial sense and stand the greatest chance of succeeding, thereby providing employment and making a contribution to Greece’s economy.”
The Hellenic Entrepreneurship Award, now in its fourth year, is administered on behalf of The Hellenic Initiative by the Libra Group which has committed €10 million to the programme. Between one and five winners are declared each year. Since the inaugural award in 2013, 11 winners have been declared, all of which are trading successfully and have created many hundreds of jobs in Greece.
Finalists will be announced in May and winners will be announced in early June 2016.
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About The Hellenic Entrepreneurship Award:
The Hellenic Entrepreneurship Award was founded in 2012, to support established and budding entrepreneurs by providing funding, support services and mentorship for start-up businesses. The Libra Group has committed €10 million to the programme which will help entrepreneurs in Greece to generate economic growth in their homeland. The award partners are Piraeus Bank Group which has contributed to the training and education of participants since 2014 through its subsidiary, Excelixi Center of Sustainable Entrepreneurship; the Australian based property investment and development company, Jalouise Pty Ltd., and Mr. Dimitri Goulandris.
Amongst the winners’ supporters are Antidote, Kick Athens, Lykourezos Law Offices, Microsoft, People for Business, Reed Smith, SAP Hellas, Onassis Cultural Center and White Room.
www.hellenicaward.com
About The Libra Group:
The Libra Group is an international business group comprising 30 subsidiaries active across six continents. The group has principal operations in shipping, aviation, real estate, hospitality and energy as well as a range of diversified investments. The Social Responsibility department of the Group takes numerous initiatives around education, entrepreneurship and philanthropy worldwide, including Libra Internship Program, which supports about 100 young people per year, many of whom come from non-privileged communities. The Libra Group is 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:
Christy Sotiriou
V+O Communication, Athens
Office: +30 211 75 01 213
Email: csot@vando.gr
