1 Business Incubators and Innovation Resources Structuresin Central and East Macedonia and Thrace
2 Thessaloniki Technology Park Incubator of CompaniesIt was founded in 1994 and is located in Thessaloniki Technology Park in Thermi. As the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (C.E.R.T.H.) is one of the major shareholders it addresses to companies or individuals who are interested in the fields of Chemical and Biochemical Processes and Advanced Functional Materials Informatics and Telecommunications Land, Sea and Air Transportation Agrobiotechnology and Food Engineering Enviromental Friendly Technologies for Solid Fuels and Alternative Energy Sources and Biomedical Informatics, Biomedical Engineering, Biomolecular Medicine and Pharmacogenetics The T.T.P. Incubator provides the incubated companies with: Offices and secretarial support Telecommunications, Telematics services & Electronic information systems Implementation of educational and training programs Human resources services Financial advice and Assistance for the participation in European and National programmes It cooperates with a large number of academic, research and business organizations in Greece and in European Research Area such as C.E.R.T.H. and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
3 Technopolis Thessaloniki ICT Business Park IncubatorThe Incubator lanched in 2008 and it operates in the Technopolis Thessaloniki ICT Business Park in Pilea, Thessaloniki. Thematically, the Incubator is focused in the field of Information Technologies and Communications as well as in relevant fields and is directly linked to the Park, building on existing networks and partnerships, such as the Association of Information Technology Companies of Northern Greece (SEPVE), Association of Exporters of Northern Greece (SEVE), C.E.R.T.H and University of Macedonia. Depending on the needs of each individual company and on their development stage, it can provide a vast range of specialized services for their support. These services include but are not limited to: • Office space of various size, meeting rooms and Halls • General Services (reception, telephone, photocopier, projector of multimedia, interactive whiteboard, TVs, broadband Internet connection) • Business support services (training of young entrepreneurs, developing professional skills etc.) • Education and mentoring • Specialized services (Business plan, Strategic marketing) • Financial support • Opportunities for domestic and international networking
4 Incubation for Growth - i4Gi4G, the first business incubator of the private sector, was established in 2003 by EUROCONSULTANTS, a well-known Consulting Company in order to establish beneficial links among research and entrepreneurship. It is located at the Innovation Zone of Thessaloniki, in Pilea area. It benefits from cooperating with prominent European and international entities in order to fulfill its strategic vision, such as International Association of Science-Technology Parks and Incubators (IASP), C.E.R.T.H., International Corporate Finance Group, National Technical University. Currently it accomodates 15 companies whose subject is Informatics, Communication and Digital Economy, Industrial Applications, Environment, production of Medical Equipment and wireless Communication Systems. i4G offers the incubated companies with a vast range of services, which include: Building infrastructure (offices, meeting rooms, telecommunications) Consulting services Capital funding
5 THERMI S.A. Business IncubatorSince 2004, THERMI S.A. Business Incubator invests in new advanced technologies and innovative products. Its facilities in Thermi , a suburb of Thessaloniki, exceed 6,000sq.m., making it the largest Incubator of Southeast Europe. The list of the services offered to the incubated companies include: Renting well equipped working space and general purpose installations (conference and meeting rooms) to innovative enterprises Fund Raising: Private investors, Business Angels, Venture Capital, loans, funds. Back office Services: legal and accounting advice, secretarial support, call center, patent grant support, internet access. Value added Services: , Technical audit, financial consulting, financing Business Consulting: Monitoring of business plans, benchmarking, commercial output reports Networking: With Universities, Technology Institutions, Research Parks, Chambers of Commerce, Industrial Federations and Associations
6 Innovation Resources Structures: URENIOThe Urban And Regional Innovation Research Unit (URENIO) is a laboratory of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki for the promotion applied research and the supply of technological services in the field of innovation ecosystems and intelligent cities. It was founded in 1997 by the Professor Nicos Komninos. The current research emphasis is on the field of intelligent cities and regions, including technology parks, innovation poles and innovative clusters. It collaborates with a large number of Universities and Research Institutes, Technology Organizations and Regional Authorities and has published numerous books, articles and papers.
7 Innovation Resources Structures: South-East European Research Centre (SEERC)The SEERC was founded jointly by City College and the University of Sheffield in 2003 in Thessaloniki. It is a non-profit research center and is conducting multidisciplinary research in the fields of Enterprise, Innovation & Development, Information & Communication Technologies, and Society & Human Development. SEERC actively collaborates with major Research, Government Institutions and with businesses across the whole region and disseminates the research findings to academics, decision-makers (government), researchers (universities, research centers, incubators) and practitioners (SME leaders and managers) through conferences, advising, published research papers, monographs, and working papers. The next upcoming event that SEERC co-organises together with other institutions is the 17th Panhellenic Conference on Informatics (PCI 2013) which will take place in September in Thessaloniki
8 Innovation Resources Structures: Innovation FarmThe Innovation Farm was establish in 2010 in Thessaloniki by Argyris Spyridis, Marketing Instructor at American College of Thessaloniki. Its mission is operate as a pre-incubator and so to support and develop innovative ideas. In that perspective its people create or optimize concepts, match-make investors and inventors, help companies build innovation culture or transform their business model and provide Intellectual Property (IP) management. Innovation Farm also offers to the young people the special program Stage One accelerator, a practical introduction to the planning, formation and realization of a Pre-Seed Entepreneurial Venture. The participation in Stage One is free and the young entrepreneurs receive active support and to seek funding.
9 Innovation Resources Structures: Atlantis Research OrganizationAtlantis was established in The headquarters are in Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia. It provides consulting services to SMEs, conducts research in many fields in collaboration with researchers and professors and undertakes numerous European projects. It has been selected as Expert in the «Consultants Register» of the Hellenic Organisation for SMEs and has been included in several Short Lists of Experts of the European Commission concerning subjects as Support Measures and Initiatives for Enterprises. Atlantis has participated in the “Innovative Training on the Internationalization of the SMEs” project funded by the European Commission, sponsored the “MOBIP Pan European Partnership and Investment for Mobile Services” event and organized the open discussion “Start- up Entrepreneurship and Innovation” . Two years ago Atlantis founded the pre-incubator “Gate2Start” in order to offer specialized services and support in the start-up of new business projects. It provides young entrepreneurs and researchers with consulting services, secretarial, accounting and legal support, housing and equipment, access to capital through the network of Business Angels ATLANTIS CONSULTING, National and European funding programmes. These services are provided for free, with the provision of having the right to participate in the equity of the new companies.
10 Innovation Resources Structures: VIDAVO Health TelematicsVidavo was established in It is an incubated company in Thermi S.A., and so has the opportunity for fruitful interaction with high technology companies. Its aim is to develop novel integrated telematics solutions, in the healthcare sector and provide consulting services to health care providers. Vidavo has extensive experience in the implementation of national and pan-European research and commercial deployment projects and maintains close collaboration links with healthcare authorities, key market players and research institutes. The list of its alliances includes the NTUA Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, the AUTH Medical Informatics Laboratory, the MIT Media Lab and C.E.R.T.H. It participates in National and European Groups of Standardization / Strategy such as the CEN/ISSS Standardization eHealth Focus Group and the IEEE Biomedical Engineering Society. Vidavo has also received many awards and grants from National and European organizations for developing innovative ideas, products and inventing patents.
11 Innovation Resources Structures: SYSTASI ConsultingSYSTASI Consulting was established in January 2012 and is located in Thessaloniki. The company provides a wide range of research and consulting services to national as well as international enterprises and organizations. SYSTASI also helps companies to apply for National and European funding programs, relative to innovation. Recently SYSTASI elaborated the project “Fostering Creativity and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area as key elements for Regional Sustainable Development: CreaMED Alliance”, concerning the selection, education and training 10 SMEs in Northern Greece. The object was the training of managers to use creativity techniques as a tool for the development of their innovativeness. Currently the company assists the interested companies to submit proposals for participating in the European project CIP Eco-Innovation SYSTASI has also undertaken the project “Relocating Businesses in Industrial Zones and Business Parks” and aid businesses in their application.
12 Innovation Resources Structures: Intitute of Small Businesses (IME) GSΕVΕΕΙΜΕ GSEVEE is a nonprofit organization, founded in 2006 by The Hellenic Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen & Merchants (GSEVEE) in the city center of Thessaloniki. IME GSEVEE conducts studies and research relating to micro, small and medium Greek enterprises, (MSME) in fields like economy, innovation and growth and education of the workforce. The main objectives are among others : The diffusion of knowledge generated to and from businesses. Aiding adaptation, expansion and qualitative development of MSMEs within the new context that shape the dynamics of markets and rapid technological developments. In that perspective IME GSEVEE has established two structures for promoting innovation and entepreneurship in MSMEs: the Innovation and Clusters Unit and Enterprise Network. The aim of the Innovation and Clusters Unit is the contribution to the enhancement of SME’s innovation activity and competitiveness. In that respect, the Innovation and Clusters Unit provides direct business support services (innovation support services) that include Training, Technology brokering, Technology audits and benchmarking, Technology information and Financial assistance, Intellectual property rights and Clusters and new ventures. The basic objective of the Enterprise Network IME GSEBEE is to provide advisory support and consulting services to micro and small enterprises in the secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy.