The Greek Star

What is the “egg - enter·grow·go”?

The “egg - enter·grow·go” is a holistic entrepreneurship acceleration programme, reaching out to young teams with creative and innovative ideas. It is a joint Corporate Social Responsibility initiative by Eurobank, one of the Big Four banks of Greece, and Corallia, a unit of the “Athena” Research Centre.

Through the programme, participating teams will have free-of-charge access to a reliable network of mentors and partners with experience in start-ups’ acceleration; a focused, hands-on educational programme on business development; and value-added, one-stop-shop services to support business operation and growth. Each cycle of the programme lasts 12 months. So, for an entire year the participating teams will have at their disposal a complete range of business incubation, acceleration and co-working infrastructures and services. This includes a series of support actions and tools, such as mentoring by distinguished and acclaimed persons from the entire range of business and scientific sectors, building infrastructures comprising fully functional and properly equipped office clusters, as well as one-stop-shop services, concerning all key start-up and operation issues faced by each participating team (such as accounting and company management services, human resource management services, corporate identity and communication services, copyright and legal protection services, IT technical support services, as well as financial advice and networking with investment funds). In addition, they will receive business training through a pre-set, three-month intensive training programme (business bootcamp), which is of a hands-on nature and aims at equipping the participants with the necessary learning tools for their further career as young entrepreneurs.

We have just concluded the first phase of the “egg - enter·grow·go”, the enter phase, i.e. the selection of the 22 business teams that will participate in the next phase, the grow phase. The evaluation process was carried out with the participation of 50 distinguished executives as evaluators, deeply knowledgeable in entrepreneurial issues, in order to ensure that the 191 proposals that were submitted would be judged in an impartial and transparent manner. The programme is restricted to persons of age 18-35, who are either graduates or undergraduates (more info at www.theegg.gr, email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ).

What sectors does the “egg - enter·grow·go” focus on?

For the first cycle of the “egg - enter·grow·go”, we had decided to accept proposals from any business sector. Experience from related activities in start-ups suggested that we should expect an over-representation of ICT and e-business. However, we have received proposals from a wide range of business sectors and this is also reflected on the 22 qualifying teams: four of them will work in Information & Communication Technologies and Applications, three in Construction Materials, Construction and |Real Estate Management, three in Tourism, Hospitality and Catering, two in Agriculture, Fish Farming and Stock Raising, two in the Creative and Cultural Industry, two in Energy and Renewable Energy Sources, two in Transportation and Logistics, one in Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical products and Medical devices, one in E-Business and Social Networking Services, one in Health Services and one in Food and Beverages. We were really encouraged by the variety and, more importantly, the quality of the business plans that were submitted.

Who are the “egg - enter·grow·go” sponsors?

A series of leading enterprises and organizations from the Greek and international markets participate in the “egg - enter·grow·go” programme as sponsors and supporters, offering free-of-charge, high-quality services and infrastructures of crucial importance to the participating entrepreneurial teams. They come from a variety of sectors including telecommunications, PR industry, professional services, ICT and office machines, software, business education and other. Specifically, the Sponsors team comprises Advocate Burson-Marsteller, ALBA, Cisco, OTE, Microsoft, PwC and XEROX, while the Supporters team comprises the CEO Clubs, Critical Path, the Hellenic Management Association (HMA), KEMEL, the Entrepreneurship Club, MP Legal, Polycom|Imageflow, Tribe, the Federation of Hellenic Food Industries (SEVT), the Federation of Hellenic Information Technology Enterprises (SEPE) and TUV Hellas.

What defines a successful incubator's performance?

For us, turning the 22 teams into 22 viable enterprises.

What role do mentors play during the incubation process?

Mentors can not only provide professional expertise but also support the teams in managing their ambitions, skills, expectations.

What is the importance of incubators in the Greek economy today?

It is an evolving trend in Greece. Because of the high rates of unemployment, or even the change of perception about entrepreneurship among the younger generation, young people show an increasing interest in starting their own business. Incubators may contribute to the new – healthier – beginning of the Greek economy.

The questions were answered by Lyda Modiano-Leon, Deputy General Manager/Head of Corporate Communications at Eurobank, member of the egg Steering Committee.

A new programme offering 10,000 positions for young people in tourism, with training and placement at businesses, was presented jointly on Thursday by Labour, Social Insurance and Welfare Minister Yiannis Vroutsis, Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni, and president of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) Andreas Andreadis.