Five promising business ideas were highlighted in a competition of the Online Green Entrepreneurship Workshops, which took place within the framework of the GreenTecLab project “Empowering Startups for climate protection” and were supported by the Greek-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Technical Schools of the Chamber of Heraklion, Crete.
More specifically, according to an announcement, the first place was taken by the innovative Pill-App concept for the saving of medicines and the creation of a channel between the patient and the pharmacy, followed by: The Grove Crete (offers accommodation with the smallest carbon footprint in Crete), e-grid (aims at minimizing energy costs, increasing the green environmental footprint), The Search and Rescue Crete (promotes professional rescue in mountainous areas by helicopter) and The Cretan Nature Bungalows (provides direct contact of tourists with nature and place).
The young people, who excelled in the competition, will enjoy consulting services for one year, from mentors of the program, in order to turn their ideas into successful, sustainable Startups, while similar assistance will be received by institutions in Crete.
In the Green Entrepreneurship Workshops, which took place between 5 and 14 April, 45 young people from all over Crete participated online, while the evaluation committee was attended by Rüdiger Klatt, CEO of Fiap and Katerina Roussaki, from the Region of Crete – Observatory of Innovative Entrepreneurship.
The completion of the competition was followed by an award ceremony, where all participants were awarded certificates of attendance of the GreentecLab program, while the five most innovative ideas were given excellence.
The General Director and member of the Board of Directors of the Greek-German Chamber of Commerce and Handicrafts, Dr. Athanasios Kelemis, in his address, stressed, among other things, that the Greek-German Chamber of Commerce and the KEK Technical Schools of the Chamber of Heraklion will continue to cultivate their joint initiative to support young people to develop entrepreneurial activity through innovative ideas, emphasizing on diversification, environmental protection and vocational education.
Katerina Roussaki from the Region of Crete – Observatory of Innovative Entrepreneurship, highlighted the benefits for Crete and the local business community from the implementation of programs for the promotion of innovative – sustainable ideas with the prospect of their evolution into successful businesses.
Grigoris Avraam, member of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Heraklion and Vice President of the KEK Technical Schools of the Chamber of Heraklion, after congratulating all the participants in the program, underlined the importance of this initiative, noting that through similar actions many and important opportunities are created for the successful development of new – “green” business ideas in Crete.
The CEO of the Fiap Research Institute in Germany, Silke Steinberg, stressed that regardless of the teams that excelled in the competition all participants in the program were “winners”, as they experienced a unique experience and at the same time ensure the support of experts in their effort to implement their ideas. As he said, there will be mediation for their networking with companies and institutions in Germany, Spain and Slovakia as well as their financing.
The presentation of the competition was made by the coordinator of the GreenTecLab project in Crete, George Manousakis.
It is noted that the GreenTecLab project is funded by the European Climate Protection Initiative (EUKI) of the Federal Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection, coordinated by Fiap e.V and its partners are the University of Candith, the University of Seville, the City Hall of Candith and Pedal-Consulting from Slovakia and from Greece the Greek-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In Greece, the GreenTecLab project is under the auspices of the Ministry of Environment and Energy.
Supporters of the project for the actions in Crete are the following organizations: Academy of Entrepreneurship Training, American Farm School, Municipality of Anogeia, Municipality of Platanias, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology & Aquaculture, Region of Crete, Technical University of Crete and the Mediterranean Center for Agro-Food Skills (MACC).