All this week the European conference ‘Startup Europe Week’ is being held across Crete, in Greece. Organized by the non-profit Youth Entrepreneurship Club, with the assistance of the Europe Startup/European Committee, the Region of Crete / Regional Unit of Chania, KEPPEDIH-CAM, and a host of others. After a two day stent in Chania, the conference moved up the northern coast of Crete to debut events in Heraklion and Rethymnon.
The two-day event in beautiful Chanina saw some 400 plus visitors and 45 speakers attending the 20 plus hours of lectures and discussions aimed at promoting the startup scene on the island. Some 30 volunteers spread the word about the event via more than 300 social media engagements and media coverage. The local sponsors and media partners helped showcase 5 new Crete startups to investors. At the end of the conference “Startup Europe Week Chania” jump started into becoming one of Europe’s biggest startup events, and the biggest ever on Crete.
The good entrepreneurial news did not stop in Chania though. #SEWCrete 2017 headed eastward to Heraklion for a day, and will end in Rethymnon on the 10th.
Director of Planning, Organization and IT Heraklion Municipality Kostis Mochianakis addresses #SEW17
All the startups participating presented gripping presentations including innovative ideas like, “Supermarketnow“, an on-demand online supermarket presented by Mr. Michael Gikas. Another startup called “Enerpaint”, is an innovative phosphorescent road paint material presented by Mr. George Lentaris. Thanos Paraschos, President of Youth Entrepreneurship Club, had this to say about the event:
“There is research proving that if one out in three young people who finish their studies, attempt a step in entrepreneurship, then the economic crisis could be solved of one year. Therefore it is necessary to receive state support for this aim – not necessarily financial support – but to facilitate procedures of establishment and function of new businesses while at the same time, create the analogous economic environment of neighbor countries. This event has set the bar high for future projects of an even bigger range.”
The conference(s) put on display a wide swath of startup and entrepreneurial possibility and hurdles. Some of the key speakers included: Nicholas Myrtakis, President of Pancretan Bank; Stamatia Giasirani, Economist at Bluegrowth; Artemis Saitakis, Director of Technology Park; and many more. One example of this breadth of coverage was the presentation by
Minas E. Liapakis (Instagram above) of EyeWide Digital Marketing Agency. Liapakis sees the fantastic possibilities of digital marketing for destination management, which Argo editors have discussed many times. He Analyzed the value enhancement of local resources, as well as the problems cuased by seasonality, which is particularly pertinent for Crete. Key innovations in digital profiling, social media marketing, thematic videos and influence enhancement were among Liapakis topics.
Region of Crete, Office of European Commission in Greece, the European Parliament Office in Athens, Chania Regional Unit, Regional Unit of Rethymno, Municipality of Heraklion, Rethymno Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Commerce and Chania, University of Crete, FORTH, Technology Park of Crete, TEI of Crete, Technical Chamber West. Crete Technical Chamber Anat. Crete Economic Chamber West. Crete Economic Chamber Anat. Crete, Hotel Association of Chania, WinesOfCrete.