Encouraging results from the programme to support innovation and startups INVENT ICT, after the completion of the third cycle. 75% of the participants have managed to set up a business, creating new added value and new jobs.

Specifically, 32 projects managed to separate themselves from the "incubator", while dozens of innovative startups with excellent returns have emerged. They have raised funding, which in total exceeds 1.1 million. euro. Of these, 340,000 came from NSRF, 700,000 from venture capitals (venture capital). The remaining 100,000 came from competitions and other programs and 20,000 from Business Angels.

INVENT ICT, promotes the development of high value-added products and services by deep tech startups. At the same time, it contributes to the creation of an ecosystem of youth entrepreneurship. The aim is to be a helper in restarting the economy and strengthening the country's extroversion.

It is a project that connects research, business, polytechnic schools and the ecosystem of startups. It creates significant added value, experience and legacies for such collaborative models that thus promote the essence of innovative entrepreneurship, translating research into corporate schemes.

In the 3 cycles of the program, more than 134 proposals were submitted for inclusion in the pioneering program by research teams, which benefited multiple times with:

• personalized coaching and mentoring
• participation in international and national events
• networking with program partners and potential customers
• seminars and training Workshops
• Access to finance

The ideas of INVENT ICT

Drones and satellites for the cultivation of estates, lights, heating and shutters that open... on their own, heat chambers that keep food at an ideal temperature from the store to the customer's door, coffee residues that become a usable raw material from cosmetology.

These are just some of the start-ups that are evolving into innovative businesses.

The teams that participated in the project submitted proposals for research results that can be commercially exploited. They concern IT and communication technology solutions in different sectors, such as health, travel, agriculture, infrastructure, etc.,

The Joy Foundry team created the Keyonic platform which can manage building facilities with just one click from mobile. Scientia Maris develops software, which is necessary for engineers to design sustainable projects in the marine environment and to state authorities (ministry directorates, regions and municipalities) for integrated coastal zone management. Airbots Agri-Tech incorporates cutting-edge technologies such as drones and satellite information into agriculture by reducing the environmental footprint. Coffeco utilizes the organic residues of coffee by extracting the nutrients hidden in them. HyBox has built a food heat chamber to be delivered to the customer without loss of temperature.

Taking stock

The participants, taking stock of how much they benefited from it, submitted to a video their experience, demonstrating the importance of proper guidance to up-and-coming startups.

"We had guidance in our first steps." "You're part of a strong network, the people who are on the network offer you a lot of opportunities." "He showed us how to find the market, he helped us to focus on the marketing and business part." These statements were made by representatives of the teams during the event for the completion of the 3 cycles. (You can see the video here ).

The assessment of the third cycle, after More than 850 hours of support, reflects the fact that the Invent ICT - incubator is a reference point for connecting entrepreneurs, investors and startups from the national and international ecosystem and a key communication channel between business and academia (over 370 participants in the groups). Also, the incubator provided technological solutions through the utilization of important research results and more broadly the knowledge produced in polytechnics, universities and research centers.

The program was implemented by the Research and Entrepreneurship Interconnection Structure EPI.noo of ICCS of the National Technical University of Athens and the Industry Disruptors - Game Changers (ID-GC) with the assistance of the Association of Mobile Telephony Companies (EEKT).