The Inaugural
Venture Impact Awards
Thursday, December 17, 2020
Ceremony & Winners
The 2020 Venture Impact Awards (VIA) winners announcement was held on December 17, 2020. VIA is The Hellenic Initiative’s newest program providing help and support to Greece’s brightest and most talented teams, helping them create ventures and projects that are scalable and sustainable. VIA was founded with the initial support of The Helidoni Foundation and The Charles C. Condes Trust.
2020 Winners:
Tier 1:
Wise Greece @$30,000:
Wise Greece is a multi-awarded social enterprise with a double mission. They help 100 small farmers and food producers grow and export their products, turning the profit from the sales into food supplies for people living under the poverty line in Greece.
Enaleia @$30,000:
Enaleia is a social enterprise aiming to create a sustainable marine ecosystem while creating jobs for people looking to enter the fishing sector. Back in 2016, Enaleia created the first professional fishing school in Greece.
Proud Farm @$30,000:
Proud Farm group of farmers focuses on young people who want to enter the dairy sheep and dairy goat sector. Proud Farm provides a wide variety of training and services to existing dairy sheep and goat farmers from Western Macedonia.
Tier 2:
Staramaki @$20,000:
Staramaki is a social cooperative based in a rural region in Greece that utilizes the most widely produced local product, wheat, to create a viable eco-friendly alternative to single-use plastic straws and at the same time create employment opportunities and promote social cohesion.
3S School Synergy Snacks: @$20,000
3S School Synergy Snacks is a social cooperative enterprise working with people facing intellectual disabilities. The team consists of 4 classmates (young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities) from the special vocational education laboratory of Agios Dimitrios. After graduating in 2016 and with their parents and teachers' encouragement and support, they started producing snacks at their school canteen. Today they are continuing to promote and distribute healthy nut bars in many points of sale across Greece.
Phee @$20,000
PHEE designs and manufactures unique natural products by recycling the leaves of seagrass (Posidonia Oceanica). It also has a patented technology called PHEE-board, a flat panel made from the same seagrass.
Impact Hub @$20,000
Impact Hub Athens develops tools and initiatives that offer direct service to clients, but at the same time work as platforms for other small, social and innovative entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.
Solmeyea @$20k
Solmeyea is a hybrid AgTech company intersecting with CleanTech, BioTech & Agriculture.
Tier 3:
Stevia Hellas @$10,000
Stevia Hellas Coop, is the leading dry stevia leaves producer across Europe. Established and operating in Central Greece, they cultivate stevia in Greece and manufacture final stevia products in France.
AFI @$10,000
AFI is a Civil Non-Profitable Company established in 2014 with its mission being to combat economic and social exclusion through the introduction and provision of microfinance services in Greece. AFI aims to provide access to finance and business development services to potential and existing micro-entrepreneurs,.
Apiceuticals @$10,000
Apiceutical's technology turns the output of bees into overall well-being products (that neutralize free radicals, the no1 cause of aging. Apiceuticals utilizes the "secondary" (not-often-used), but extremely powerful bee ingredients -- Propolis, Pollen, Royal Jelly -- , proposing a POWERHOUSE ANTIOXIDANT BLEND which works synergistically, offering the World's Most Antioxidant Holistic Propositions, under a PATENTED method and scientifically proven results.
Recytrust @$10,000
Recytrust has created a groundbreaking patented solution that utilizes IoT and Smart Contracts on blockchain technology. Recytrust increases operational efficiency and uncovers economic value in streams of recyclables for businesses. Recytrust helps companies manage their recycling waste effectively while generating revenue for them by auctioning off their generated waste volumes to a certified collectors network.
Incommon @$10,000
InCommOn is a non-profit civil company that promotes sustainable and participatory urban development to tackle the problems that Greek cities are facing
Elektronio Wheels @$10,000
Elektronio wheels were founded in Thessaloniki in 2015. It designs, develops and manufactures premium electric bicycles following a unique geometry.
