The first three places in the “Innovation & Technology” Competition, organized for the 14th consecutive year by the National Bank, as part of the NBG Business Seeds program, were won by innovative businesses supported by the Athens Young Business Incubator – THEA. of EBEA.

The President of EBEA, Mrs. Sofia Kounenaki Efraimogloucommenting on their success, emphasized that “Supporting innovative and start-up entrepreneurship is a goal worth investing in. During the last five years, the value of the Greek innovation system has multiplied. Start-up entrepreneurship steadily increases its share in GDP and is strengthened both in number of companies and in capitalization. As EBEA, we have been essentially supporting this course for a decade and we are proud of this effort. And the pride becomes even greater when we see groups that have been supported by the Athens Youth Business Incubator – THEA. of EBEA to grow stronger, spread their wings and achieve significant successes. This success practically proves that THEA. is a cell of creativity and innovation, a useful and essential ally in the realization of the goals of the groups it supports. EBEA places special emphasis on internationalization, networking, supporting access to foreign markets and funding sources and contributes to making innovation a strong pillar of development for our country.”

The three innovative businesses supported by the Athens Young Business Incubator – THEA. of EBEA and distinguished themselves in the 14th “Innovation & Technology” Competition are the following:

The first winning team was Genosophy, which was awarded during the event with a cash prize of €20,000. The GENOSOPHY® research team developed a specialized algorithm based on the analysis of DNA genetic controls and proposes innovative health and wellness solutions aimed at improving the health of the population. The aim is the prevention and management of mainly diet-dependent diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, etc.

The second winning team was Irida.Ai with the Forest Protect product, which was awarded with a cash prize of €10,000. Forest Protect is a sophisticated forest protection system that combines artificial intelligence and equipment such as radar, cameras and sensors to detect fires at a very early stage. With a number of innovations, such as the energy autonomous vehicle and modern technologies, it provides preventive protection and detects potential risks in time. It seeks the overall protection of forests, offering a critical contribution to the preservation of the environment.

The company emerged as the third winning team Vivestia, which was awarded with a cash prize of €6,000. Vivestia is a platform for the promotion and rental of hotels, luxury accommodation and yachts, which utilizes the technology of Virtual Reality Tour Models as an exclusive means of promotion. Through the platform and the virtual tour models, the real condition, size and quality of each accommodation is highlighted. The aim is to offer a substantial promotion advantage to tourist accommodation and to strengthen the confidence that visitors show in the accommodation selection process, now having all the information at their fingertips through a confirmed and innovative way of promotion – material (rich media content).