The New Economy Development Fund (TANEO), a Greek state-controlled investment vehicle, has sponsored our FSP to study Venture Capital establishment in Greece, to analyse their scope of business, their strategies, priorities and structure as well as the limitations and opportunities of the Greek Business and Financial Environment they operate in. This would help TANEO adjust their investment policy to better address expectations and practices employed by Venture Capitals.
We contacted 14 venture capital and private equity firms operating in Greece. Those are: (1) Aias Finance, (2) Alpha Trust Innovation, (3) Alpha Ventures, (4) AVC / Marfin, (5) Commercial Capital, (6) National Bank for Industrial Development (ETEBA) and National Development Co of Northern Greece, (7) Global Finance, (8) Hellenic Business Development & Investment Co. S.A., (9) InQLab, (10) Ithaki EKES, (11) National Bank of Greece Venture Capitla (NBGVC), (12) Notos Associates, (13) Parthenon, and (14) Vectis Capital. Two major results have come out of the analysis: a) Venture Capitalists can function as a leverage for business development and economic growth through investing in fastest growing SMEs, helped also by the Government (TANEO), and b) Venture Capitalists need to build strong, interactive relationships with the political, legal, economic, social and technological environment they operate in.TANEO is confronted with big challenges in the coming years, to fill the gap where other Venture Capitalists do not go, to extend its target beyond New Economy era, to cooperate with other private Venture Capitalists and to invest in high-risk sectors. The key for TANEO to address these challenges will be to cooperate rather than to compete with Venture Capital and Equity firms.
