The platform is open for interested parties who want to apply for participation in VentureGarden Athens. An accelerator of early stage business ideas (idea accelerator).

The program is provided free of charge by the Alba Graduate Business School, The American College of Greece and is implemented by the Alba Hub for Entrepreneurship and Development (AHEAD), Alba's entrepreneurship center. Alba implements VentureGarden in Southern Greece. In parallel with Athens, it organizes the VentureGarden Heraklion to empower entrepreneurs in the wider area of Crete and complementary actions in other areas.

Those interested in the new cycle of VentureGarden Athens are invited to complete their application by 13 February 2022, when the application process will be completed. The number of places is limited and an evaluation process will follow to select the applicants.

Who it is aimed at VentureGarden

It is aimed at people with vision and dedication, who aspire to join the business ecosystem by starting their own business or growing their already existing company.

VentureGarden emphasizes the person rather than the idea, as both the idea and the business environment are constantly changing. Participants are encouraged to learn to leverage tools that can be applied to any idea they are inspired by. Program participants who want to implement their idea immediately they can based on the preparation they have done at VentureGarden to join incubators, to seek funding or to seek support from other ecosystem actors. It is worth noting that in recent research among program graduates in Athens and Heraklion recorded 135 new jobs and funding of 2,568,000 euros since 2014. 99% of program participants say they would recommend the program to friends and acquaintances.

Free participation in the program is ensured by its supporters. The founding national donor is The Hellenic Initiative.

The programme

The VentureGarden starts with an intensive training to develop business ideas duration of 5 weeks. After completing the training a choice is made of the participants who will continue with mentoring lasting 3 months. The program is implemented in Greek. It will be held electronically with a limited physical presence at the premises of the Alba Graduate Business School, if conditions permit. For the best possible participant experience, modern and asynchronous training and collaboration tools will be leveraged.

Already since the start of the program in February 2014, have been submitted for VentureGarden Athens more than 1,508 applications for participation. From these 413 were selected to attend the previous cycles of the program in Athens. During the 16 cycles that have been implemented, the participants attended a total of 468 hours of lessons. 130 lecturers and mentors have offered participants support. Empowering them to turn their entrepreneurial creativity into tangible results. To date, more than 1,930 hours of supportive mentoring have been provided to VentureGarden participants.

Application deadline: February 13, 2022.

Applications here.