Athens, March 17, 2021:
Corallia, a unit of the Athena Research Center announced the official launch of the ESA BIC Greece that will support startups operating in the field of space in Greece, with the support of the Hellenic Ministry of Digital Governance and the European Space Agency (ESA).
The ceremony was honored by presence and intervention of Mr. Kyriakos Pierrakakis Minister of Digital Governance, Mrs. Elodie Viau, Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications of ESA, as well as Prof. Ioannis Emiris, President of the Athena Research Center.
The operation of the Greek ESA BIC is the result of the planning of the General Secretariat of Telecommunications and Posts of the Ministry of Digital Government for the active participation of Greece in the European Space Strategy.
The objective of ESA BIC Greece will be the support of Greek startups that are active in the development of solutions and services for the space area. The incubator will enhance the transfer of know-how from the applications of Space to applications of everyday life and will encourage the development of startups and entrepreneurship in our country.
Corallia of the Athena Research Center, which took over the operation of ESA BIC Greece following an open bidding process, will work closely with ESA to support up to 25 Greek startups for 5 years with a focus on Space technologies. As part of its obligations, Corallia undertakes the obligation to house start-ups and provide technical and legal advice as well as financial support of € 50,000 per company.
The goals of ESA BIC Greece are:
• The creation and operation of an incubator that will host Greek startups with an object related to space technologies
• The active participation of startups in the development of the Greek collaborative formation of space technologies and applications
• Job creation and encouragement of high risk venture investments
• Supporting the transfer of know-how to and from the space sector
• The use of domestic productive forces and the strengthening of competitiveness
• Creating synergies with the industry of other countries participating in ESA programs
ESA launched the ESA Business Incubation Centers in 2003 and today operates 22 ESA BICs, in over 60 locations across Europe. About 200 startups are selected each year to join the ESA BICs, and to date the institution has set up more than 1.000 companies employing thousands of highly trained workers across Europe.
More information at www.esa-bic.gr.
About Corallia
Corallia, was founded in 2005 as a Unit of the Research Center Athena with the aim of organized and systematic management and development of clusters and other structures to support entrepreneurship. Today, it coordinates two highly specialized technology clusters in Greece, with more than 100 members, the si-Cluster (Space Technologies & Applications) and the gi-Cluster (Recreational and Creative Technologies & Applications), and has been awarded the Gold Label Certificate of Excellence for their management. In addition, it manages the operation of a Business Innovation Center, with a total area of 1,250 sq.m., the innohub in Maroussi. At the same time, it implements a series of initiatives for the acceleration of Youth Entrepreneurship with important partners and supporters: one of the most important accelerators in the country, the egg-enterˑgrowˑgo program in cooperation with Eurobank, the Be your own boss Program with Prince’s Trust International, competitions open innovation such as Hackathons, etc. Corallia has developed strong links with key European policy makers as well as international strategically important partnerships.
For any enquiries, please contact us at +30.210.63.00.770 or at info@esa-bic.gr. Find more information or express interest to the ESA BIC Greece at www.esa-bic.gr. Follow our social media updates at Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube.
The press release can be found here: