In the past decade or so, Greece has made the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Undoubtedly, Greece has been through difficult times due to its crippling public debt, high deficits, high unemployment rates, and reforms that shattered the status quo for many Greeks. But it looks like the misery of the recent past is giving its place to a more optimistic future.
Who would have thought it possible that in 2021, we would hear about Greek entrepreneurship? An entrepreneurship that is not limited domestically but that is competitive in international markets. It seems that Greece is not only the birthplace of democracy, the Parthenon, or eating a Greek salad with a sea view somewhere in the Aegean after all.
Greeks had always been entrepreneurial since Homer’s time with their domination in all the then known trading routes. This entrepreneurial mindset continued up to modern history in the 20th century.
This was when Greeks were lured into a rigid, centralized, bureaucratic system that provided easy money and stress-free lifetime employment. Then began the downward spiral for the Greek economy that put the last nail in the coffin for Greek entrepreneurship.
For decades, an unfavorable business environment led to the negligence of the private entrepreneurial sector. Greek governments imposed high taxes to sustain a non-sustainable public sector and the brand-new welfare state. At the same time, public servants received lucrative wages with questionable job performances that up until recently was considered the “Greek Dream” for many. As a result, Greek entrepreneurship diminished over time as Greeks looked up to the State for their employment.
Nearly all crises create challenges and opportunities alike. That same principle also applied to the Greek economic crisis in late 2009. As blunt as it may sound, the 2009 financial crisis was a wake-up call for many Greeks. The subsequent layoffs, the wage and pension cuts, and the eventual halt in hiring sent shockwaves to the Greek society.
However, at this point, Greeks realized that they could not count on the public sector anymore. This new condition led to Greek Entrepreneurship’s rebirth with the establishment of a relatively robust startup ecosystem. This ecosystem sees the emergence of incubators, accelerators, and technology parks all over Greece.
Specifically, the news that is coming from that front is somewhat encouraging. This decade saw the emergence of many successful startup companies, like Beat or Skroutz, that convinced the investors. Namely, between 2010 and 2018, Greek startups raised 500 million euros. Many of those companies have been acquired by some of the world’s biggest technology companies like Microsoft and Samsung.
The year 2020 will be very difficult to connect with something other than the year that COVID-19 first hit. But, as Greece is still waiting for its own unicorn to rise, it seems like it is on track to achieve it.
The Greek startup scene has a reason to celebrate as 2020 was the year that saw the highest startup exit. The acquisition of the Greek startup Instashop for $360M by Delivery Hero, a multinational online food-delivery service from Berlin, Germany.
For each Greek startup success, except for the obvious benefits that it brings to employment or to the economy in general, it also sets the example for future entrepreneurs.
Transforming a simple idea to a successful, profitable new venture is by no means an easy task to do. Each successful startup brings a new dynamic to the Greek startup scene as it serves as a role model and motivates new entrepreneurs to keep on trying. Finally, the recent startup successes raised some eyebrows in the global startup community that will attract more potential investors to Greece.
All in all, the increased interest of Greeks to create their own businesses, the existing role models and the continuous expansion of the existing Greek startup ecosystem create optimistic opportunities for the future of Greek entrepreneurship and the economy as a whole.
