ARIS A Really Inspiring Space was pleased to participate in the International Investment Forum in Athens, Greece organised by the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with Enterprise Greece. The Forum was funded by the Interreg Balkan-Mediterranean Programme 2014-2020, in the framework of the Gazelle project (“orGAniZing accELaration for high-potential innovative SMEs”). The Forum was successfully held on the 24th of June 2022, providing the opportunity to start-ups and SMEs from Bulgaria, Cyprus, North Macedonia, and Greece to pitch in front of a broad range of audience, including investors and business angels. Also, keynote speakers held speeches on the Innovative Ecosystem in Greece, the Greek start-up ecosystem, as well as the Domestic (Greek), European and International Business Angels Market. Upon the completion of the pitches, start-ups and SMEs participated in networking activities.
Cyprus’ delegation led by Mrs Eliza Loucaidou, ARIS Manager and Director at Deloitte’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship Centre, was also joined by Rena Filippou, Senior Consultant at IEC, and business angels including Victoria Kostic-Nola, Founder of Viz Ventures and Yiannis Gavrielides, Founder and CEO of Covve, and start-ups supported by Gazelle, Verality, JJobo and IREROBOT. The Forum was organized as a side event of the Hellenic International Business Angels Summit which was held with great success on the 23rd and 24th of June 2022.
What is the Gazelle project?
The Gazelle project aims to tackle the major obstacles in the development and growth of Gazelles (innovative companies characterized by their rapid growth pace) such as access to finance through the support of the creation and the valorization of Business Angels Networks (BANs) and access to external knowledge whether this is knowledge of the market or technical expertise by boosting technology transfer strategies and facilitating the connection between universities and innovative SMEs. Main objectives are to develop and implement a pilot for a coherent mechanism for accelerating the development process for innovative companies; strengthen organizations that can support the creation of business Angels networks; and facilitate the knowledge transfer, and transfer of best practices, including the development of tools for business angels and entrepreneurs.
The Consortium led by the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry, includes the Cyprus University of Technology, the University of Athens, ENTERPRISE GREECE, Ruse Chamber in Bulgaria, and the Chamber of Commerce in Northern Macedonia. In Cyprus, ARIS has been appointed as the local Project Support Centre, supporting start-ups throughout their entrepreneurial journey, and participating in investment forums in Cyprus, Greece, Bulgaria and North Macedonia.
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