Eight Greek start-ups and newly-formed businesses received the annual Envolve Award Greece (formerly called the Hellenic Entrepreneurship Award) in a ceremony earlier this week in Athens.
The winners of the competition, which was created in 2012 by the Libra Group on behalf of The Hellenic Initiative, will not only be given interest-free funding, but also dedicated mentors to assist them in their development.
The winning firms will also receive a wide range of business support services from Envolve’s network of partners, spanning legal, accounting, marketing, IT, HR and much more.
In addition, Envolve’s team will assist the winning start-ups in growing their business and expanding their networks.
The organization encompasses the former Hellenic Entrepreneurship Award (HEA) and the American Entrepreneurship Award (AEA) – programs which have declared 43 winners since 2012, supporting job creation and economic growth in Greece and the U.S.
Envolve Award Greece has declared 8 winning startup businesses for 2018. They will all receive funding, mentorship and business support. The new #GetEnvolved award category invited the public to vote for their favourite contender among the finalists. https://t.co/aa5mRBgylZ pic.twitter.com/gfhKfRdwtY
— The Libra Group (@thelibragroup) December 11, 2018
Jimmy Athanasopoulos, Chairman of Envolve Entrepreneurship, praised the “dynamic growth of the Greek entrepreneurial spirit”, congratulating the applicants “who dedicated their time and had the courage and self-belief to evolve their ideas into solid business plans.”
“We are looking forward to working with the new teams and help them realize their business dreams,” he added.
Starting this year, the winners will also benefit from enriched mentoring services, since Envolve has created many new partnerships with local and global organizations and professionals.
These connections comprise what Envolve calls the “External Mentors Network”, which will enable more experienced business leaders to pass on their knowledge to the new entrepreneurs.
Christopher Upperman, the CEO of Envolve Entrepreneurship, stated “Envolve’s mission is to offer a platform for start-up businesses to grow through its three main pillars of support, namely Education, Resources and Awards. Our international network is available to our finalists and winners, and today we welcome all 15 startups to our family.”
This year, Envolve Entrepreneurship encouraged the public to vote for their favorite finalist by introducing the new“#GetEnvolved Award”. The public voted through Envolve’s social media channels during the week leading up to Monday, December 10th.
The top two businesses with the most-liked videos among the Envolve finalists in Greece Finalists were Geomiso and CollegeLink. These companies received awards of €3,000 and €2,000, respectively.
Alexandros Nousias, the Greek competition director, commented that he thanked all partners and supporters of the Award and that the organization “stand(s) by their side. He stressed that Envolve shares their “same vision for Greek entrepreneurship and its potential.”
The list of winners for 2018 include “apifon”, a technology company which develops business messaging services for companies to grow their audience and create multichannel campaigns using SMS, RCS, Email, Viber and other chat apps.
“BookingClinic.com” creators won for their online platform which serves patients in need of treatment or operation at a clinic, providing transparent information, ratings, costs and the option to book a treatment easily, while saving patients time and money.
The “CollegeLink” platform was awarded for the creation of an online entry-level HR Job Board which connects talented young adults with job opportunities. Through CollegeLink, companies can attract and recruit the best next generation talents which match their hard skill requirements and unique culture.
“Ferryhopper” is a new service which 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.
“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.
The “PD Neurotechnology” group develops Wearable Medical Devices and overall solutions for continuous monitoring and supporting treatment of Movement Disorders. Their first application is the “PD Monitor”, a sophisticated expert eco-system for patients with Parkinson’s Disease. It is the only product in the world which holistically monitors the disease.
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