It's Greece's Time to Build
The 2025 Greek startup manifesto
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Note: Today’s main article was published in the Startups in Greece 2024-2025 report released yesterday by Found.ation and EIT Digital. This is one of my favorite reports about Greece and I love to read it every year. You can find all past issues at the bottom here.
🇬🇷🔨 It's Greece's Time to Build
Greece is entering 2025 with its best individual macroeconomic picture in more than 15 years.
Startups can really “start up” fast. Setting up a business entity in the country now takes a couple of days, down from a couple of months in the previous decade.
Liquidity is ample. Active venture capital funds in Greece are expected to double from about 15 last year to more than 30 in 2025. Angel investors are everywhere, enjoying 50% of income tax deduction for up to €300,000 of capital contributions to startups per year, with the government planning to increase the total to €900,000.
R&D is finally getting some love. More and more scientists are turning into entrepreneurs, taking advantage of friendlier regulations for university spin-off companies and new IP creation. Private companies will also soon enjoy tax deductions of 250- 315% in R&D when they collaborate with local startups and research centers.
Entrepreneurship is now in fashion. Not a week goes by without tens of startup meet-ups, accelerator pitch days, or investing conferences. Podcasts about business and innovation are multiplying, with successful Greek entrepreneurs sharing lessons from their journeys.
The Greek tech community is growing in quality. Experienced tech operators from abroad have come back while local scaleups that have graduated to the next level have given birth to new “tech mafias” investing in, advising, and even starting new companies.
Greece still has a long list of problems, but also more opportunities than people realize.
The period of deep crisis has given way to a new period of growth potential.
Anyone with an innovative idea today can find the resources to try and make it happen.
There are no more excuses.
It’s Greece’s time to build.
🏭 Economy & Business
GDP growth for Q3 at 2.4%, up from 2.3% in Q2 and 2.2% in Q1
Greece’s economic success defied all doomsayers writes the FT
Greece at the world’s top 5 performers for 2024 says The Economist
Scope upgraded Greece’s rating to BBB with stable outlook
Debt as % of GDP to be lower in Greece vs Italy by 2029 projects IMF
New buildings law deemed unconstitutional in highest court
EU funds to keep flowing by the billions by end of year
Revolut is taking on the Greek banks head on
🤖 Tech & Startups
Startups in Greece 2024-25 report is out by Found.ation
Iceye is building its new satellite radars in Greece
One of 7 “AI factories” across EU to be hosted in Greece
Evercurious VC launches €12.5M fund to invest in deep tech
Plum (fintech) raised strategic €5M round from Eurobank
Finny (financial prospecting) raised a $4.3M post-YC seed round
Embio Diagnostics (biotech) raised €2.5M in fresh funding
Butler (hospitality) raised first round from Genesis Ventures
🙌 Celebrating Greek wins
Alex Patelis completed a successful tenure as Chief Econ Adviser to the PM
Markos Markakis gets his research highlighted by MIT CSAIL
Foteini Gallou gives voice to Greek village life, publishes “Ta Horiatika'“ news
Savvas Kilatzidis and Achilleas Dimatakis honored as Farmer and Stockman of the year, respectively, by Agronews
📌 Spotlight: Greece’s innovation map
What are the hubs of innovation in Greece? The map below gives a small answer.
Attica still shows an innovation density many times larger than any other region. However, Athens is not the only Greek city where cutting edge innovation happens.
There is a unique opportunity to turn Greek cities with top university talent into innovation power houses. Thessaloniki is gradually getting there. And so do other peripheral centers such as Patra, Heraklion and Ioannina. Let’s not waste this chance.
That’s it for this week. I always love hearing from you. Make sure to hit that reply button.
Find me on X or Bluesky for bite-sized opinions.
Until next time!
Glad to see your country is back on track. I have a good friend in Thessaloniki and I was always really impressed by the Greek people. Warm, friendly and generally well educated and curious.
Really cool to see Greeks do well. I lived in Melbourne for a while and meet a lot of Greeks there. Nice hard working people.
BTW out of curiosity how is Greek's renewable transition coming along? Neighbouring Turkey has 50+% renewable generation. Do you expect Greece to be a energy exporter to the over-regulated Germans? I know Spain is probably planning something like that.