Greek tech reforms, innovation in focus at Boston event

Greek progress in the areas of research and technology innovation as well as the country’s growing appeal as an investment destination were discussed during a recent event organized by the Hellenic Innovation Network at the Consulate General of Greece in Boston.

During the in-person panel discussion which was attended by over 100 guests, Deputy Foreign Minister Kostas Fragogiannis and Deputy Development and Investments Minister Christos Dimas laid out government efforts to make Greece a global innovation hub for R&D, start-ups and entrepreneurial communities, as well as the role of Elevate Greece, the official platform for Greek startups.
 
“We are here to talk about what has happened, rather than making future promises,” Fragogiannis said. 

“We are here to send the message that Greece has changed, and this statement is backed by official data from the EU. We have already climbed the charts and are expecting to go even higher,” Dimas said.

Over the past two years, Global 500 companies have already invested and more intend to invest further in Greece due to changes created to incentivize these investments, the event was told. 

Giorgos Zacharia, President of Kayak, a high-growth public company based in Boston, discussed his professional journey which started as a “math geek” in Cyprus, and ultimately landed him at MIT, where he earned his PhD. 

“The talent in Greece and Cyprus is very appealing to us due to the strong educational background in Math and Science,” he said.

The two ministers stressed Greek government efforts to reverse the brain drain, luring back the talented young people who left the country during the 10-year financial crisis.
 
“Two years [ago], people were talking about Gr-Exit, now we are known for Gr-Owth,” Fragogiannis said. “For those of you who left during the economic crisis, we are not here to convince you to come back to Greece, but to inform you that the Greece you knew, has now changed and it is not the same.”