Much of the world is not paying close attention to Greece right now. This could be a mistake. Better known for its splendid islands, immersed cities and deep historical roots, Greece has quietly laid the foundations for something less expected: a modern and resilient technological economy.
While the international spotlight often do not forgive him, something real on the field is happening, like this publisher he discovered this week through dozens of conversations in Athens. The country that was once in the precipice of the economic collapse did not simply rename itself as a “nation of innovation”. It is transforming intelligent marketing into reality, with political shifts, interest of investors and a renewed sense of purpose regarding technology and entrepreneurship.
In fact, in a sit-down on Thursday evening with the Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has made the case to Techcrunch that Greece is not only recovering but ready to surprise. “There is significant space to grow,” he admitted, but “the stars are aligned”.
It didn’t happen without effort. Greece, Mitsotakis explained, took a “conscious decision” half a dozen years ago to expand beyond its traditional economic strengths such as tourism and hospitality. “Technology could be 10% of our economy. This is perfectly feasible,” said, citing the growing startup formation, the increase in capital flows and an energized and growing base of founders and VCs in the ecosystem. Drawing from his background in Venture Capital – he founded the first incubator of Greece in 2001 – spoke with a fluidity not often listened to by the heads of state.
While Greece could come late to the technological party in Europe, that timing could actually prove to be an advantage. Since he did not have the capital to make bad bets, Greece has educated some of the inflated assessments and the failed initiatives that are weighing down the most mature ecosystems. With a relatively clean blackboard, the country is moving rapidly to position itself at the forefront of emerging technologies, in particular artificial intelligence.
Thanks to the AI, in fact, the prime minister sees the possibility of potentially jumping. “We want to use technology to jump,” he said. “Not only to recover, but to really do better than many European countries.” He underlined the success of Greece in digitizing public-deleting services that he had far overcome Germany for some aspects-e to pilot programs such as an artificial intelligence system supported by Microsoft who cut the revision time of the government contract from hours to minutes.
That double strategy of nourishment of the startups while modernizing the government constitutes the backbone of the ambitions to the Greece. Mitsotakis provides Greece as a laboratory for responsible innovation, in particular in sectors such as health, civil protection and defense. “We are not only talking about what the startup community is doing. We are the customers of technologies. And we want to have more than one start -up mentality as a government.”
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A critical ingredient of this transformation is talent. Greece is working to reverse the brain’s escape that have seen thousands of qualified workers leave during the financial crisis. “The tax breaks are present – a 50% discount on income tax for seven years,” he said. But he also recognized that “people will not return only for a tax break. They will return if they have a good job opportunity, if they feel they can do something rewarding and can actually grow their business in Greece”.
To this end, in our conversation, we have touched recent changes to the “Golden Visa” program of Greece which now guarantees a residence permit to the citizens of the third country that invest a minimum of € 250,000 in a Greek start-up recorded in the register of national Greek startups; We also spoke of two new programs introduced last year to bring foreign workers and qualified entrepreneurs to the country. (While the latest initiatives are still on site, they seem to reflect a wider commitment for opening.) “This is a global war for talents,” Mitsotakis said. “We must simplify the return of Greek talent or for people who can live anywhere to choose to work here.”
Mitsotakis also underlined the importance of expanding technology as well as Athens, with Hub emerging in Thessaloniki, Heraklion and other university cities. “This should also be a story about regional development.”
However, the Prime Minister recognized the challenges in progress, including the rhythm of the legal reform, the need for more capital in advance and the complexities of doing business throughout the European market. But what believes that Greece now offers, unlike the depth of the crisis, is predictability, stability and momentum. “Is this country moving in the right direction?” asked rhetorically. “The answer is yes.”
For Mitsotakis, the final goal is to make the progress of “irreversible” Greece. While the Legacy building is not its goal, it said, both Mitsotakis and about 300 investors and founders who gathered for our sit-down-alcuni of which they are happily returned to Greece from the Bay Area, in London and elsewhere, clearly want to ensure that the progress of the country continue.
“We cannot (perform) miracles,” says Mitsotakis. “We haven’t invented lost land for a couple of years. But I think we have left the vicious circle of the past and I see technology as a great opportunity, both for the private sector and for the government.”
You can take our complete interview with Mitsotakis below.