Startups in Greece 2021/2022: Venture Financing Report

Found.ation, in collaboration with EIT Digital published for the fifth consecutive year an extensive report, with the aim of recording funding opportunities and the profile of startups in Greece.

2021 is a very interesting year, during which we had a new record for the growing Greek startup scene. Overall, the newly deployed capital this year almost tripled compared to the year before, while there was a record number of follow-on investments.

This year’s report is supported by the Hellenic Development Investment Bank (HDBI) and sponsored by egg – enter • grow • go and Oracle for Startups.

Mr. Yannis Tsakiris, Deputy Minister of Development & Investments, states: “The Ministry of Development and Investments intends to channel an initial sum of over €200 million of public funds to the startup entrepreneurship, without ruling out a further increase, thanks to the possibility of raising additional funds deriving from the new NSRF.  The aggregate amount provided by the state for the open calls currently available to the fund managers is €1.26 billion.”

As mentioned in the statement of the President of HDBI, Dr. Haris Lambropoulos: “If we consider all kinds of available financial instruments and resources that can be deployed on top of equity investments at the level of investee companies (i.e. bank lending, resources from the RRF “Greece 2.0”, investment incentives, various European programmes, etc.), the funds under management of HDBI can lead to the leverage of total investments in the real economy of more than €7.0 – €10.0 billion (depending on the assumptions) and contribute significantly to the overall growth effort.”

The report records all the investments that have been made within the framework of the EquiFund financing program and analyzes the profile of the companies that have been supported. Also, the lists of the most successful Greek startups are updated, both of those that have received the most funding in 2021 and overall, as well as those that have achieved the best acquisition agreements. For the fourth consecutive year, Found.ation partnered with Velocity.Partners VC, one of EquiFund funds, with the aim of analyzing and highlighting the characteristics of Greek startup companies that are in the early stages of their development (pre-seed and seed stages), to understand their needs, to identify the problems they face in seeking funding and to build their profile.

Some of the most important elements of the report:

• The top 10 Greek start-ups this year raised a total of 397 million euros, more than three times the amount raised last year.
• The total number of startups funded this year is about 70, 30% more than last year, while the total investments secured by them exceed €500 million.
• In 2021 there were also a total of six (6) exits, three (3) of which entered directly into the list of top 10 of all time. It is also the year we met the first unicorns of the Greek territory (PeopleCert, Blueground and Viva Wallet).
• Significant offers were recorded this year for startups outside the local ecosystem founded by Greeks. Greek start-ups in Europe and the US, have secured significant funding from internationally renowned VCs.
• Examining the amounts that companies request from the funds, there is a significant increase in the area of ​​€100,000 to €200,000, as well as to €400,000 to €500,000. This marks the creation of a new wave of start-ups that will stand out and leave their mark in 2022. In terms of market focus, almost 70% of them focus on B2B.
• The top three areas in which start-ups are active remain Life Sciences, Retail and AgriTech, with the startups of Maritime Tech and Deep Tech continuing to be on the rise and are expected to maintain this trend in 2022.
• The participation of non-Greek investors in investment rounds of Greek companies rises to an impressive 84.9%, validating the development of the local ecosystem and creating the ground for more extroversion.

In the coming years, we will need to focus on the sustainability of the local startups community, in order to create a thriving ecosystem that will further stimulate growth.

Dimitris Kalavros-Gousiou, co-founder of Found.ation and partner at Velocity.Partners states: “2021 has been a year of new records and heights for the ever growing Greek Startup Scene when it comes to venture funding, exits and Unicorns. It is also the year in which yet another transition in venture financing for our emerging market is starting to take place.” The statements of representatives of funds and angel investors that are also hosted in the report are on the same wavelength.

Download the full report (in English).