The global elite of startup entrepreneurship met in Thessaloniki
The EBAN Annual Congress, Europe’s largest and most recognized international business angel event, was hosted this year in Thessaloniki, Greece. More than 300 Business Leaders, Early-Stage Investors, Business Angels, Accelerators, Entrepreneurs, Seed Funds, and Startups met in person at the Ioannis Vellidis Convention from 24 to 26 May.
The EBAN Annual Congress is a first-class opportunity for young entrepreneurs to seek investors and network. Every year the congress gathers hundreds of delegates from all over the world, including business angels who encounter accelerators and startups, with their first concern to advance their plans successfully. EBAN, Enterprise Greece, and the InvestEU Portal organized this year’s angel event.
During the three-day congress, the participants had the opportunity to better understand key aspects of angel investments, to share startup ecosystem growth hacks, and to discuss how to enable a thriving startup ecosystem and a sustainable environment for investors.
Various workshops and discussion panels were organized with specialized speakers on topics of interest to startups and those who wish to become business angels.
The entrepreneur-focused workshops organized by EBAN shed light on how investors should think and how entrepreneurs can scale up their startups. There were panel discussions focused on early-stage investing in the Middle East and North Africa, science and deep tech investing, and financial tools for boosting innovation and entrepreneurship.
On the last day of the conference, the guests toured the BEYOND Expo exhibition that was organized at the same time in Thessaloniki and aimed to turn the city into a technology and innovation hub for the wider region. The congress ended with the gala and awards dinner, which was another opportunity for further networking.
The Greek startup ecosystem
Each year the congress is organized in a different country to allow each region to highlight its ecosystem of startups and outline the investments taking place.
This year Greece was at the centre of the congress. During the workshops and discussion panels, the conditions prevailing in the country for startups and which sectors are worth investing in were presented.
“The European Angel Investors met in Thessaloniki and had the opportunity to delve into the thriving Greek startup ecosystem, which presents great opportunities and enormous potential,” said Janne Jormalainen, President of European Business Angel Network.
The Managing Director of Enterprise Greece, Marinos Giannopoulos, pointed out that 2022 was a milestone year for Greek startups.”Last year was a milestone for the Greek startup ecosystem. Greek startups absorb around 40% of venture funding in the region, more than 50 companies were founded, while around three-quarters of this funding came from abroad. In total, Greek startups attracted more than €325 million in funding,” he said.
“The Greek startup ecosystem has come of age,” said Mr Giannopoulos, who added that “besides the vibrant startup scene, Greece has all the ingredients to become a leading global technology and innovation center in the coming years. It already hosts research and development hubs for international companies such as Chubb, Pfizer Deutsche Telekom, and NTT among others, the country has also attracted data center investments from leading global players Google, Microsoft, and Amazon”.
Startups to use investment funds wisely
The Founding President of EBAN, Peter Jungen, noted that the situation in Greece is interesting, apart from the political developments and due to the recovery of the country’s economy.
He noted, however, that a large part of business angels’ investments in startup companies, at a rate of seven out of ten, yield a different result. At the same time, he pointed out the instability in the international economy and the reduction of investment funds in the US, China, and other countries. However, he underlined the optimistic messages from increased investments in some high-tech sectors, such as artificial intelligence.
The president of New York Angels, Mark Schneider, pointed out the need for startups to use business angels’ investment funds wisely, taking steady and methodical development steps so they don’t run out of funding during their research activity.
4i Magazine was in Thessaloniki to cover the congress proceedings and meet entrepreneurs and investors in Greece’s second-largest city to network and obtain new knowledge. The participants were quite optimistic about the future of startups in Europe as well as in Middle East countries, considering that such meetings lay the foundations for the improvement of the startup ecosystem, innovation, and progress.
European Business Angels Network is the pan-European representative for the early-stage investor community gathering over 100 member organizations in more than 50 countries today. EBAN fuels Europe’s growth through the creation of wealth and jobs. Established in 1999 by a group of pioneer angel networks in Europe with the collaboration of the European Commission and EURADA, EBAN represents a sector estimated to invest 11.4 billion Euros a year and play a vital role in Europe’s future, notably in funding SMEs.
