I participated recently in an entrepreneurial educational field trip to Athens that is organized by CIIM’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center (ENTICE). This is part of a series of educational field trips that CIIM’s organizes every year (includes a second entrepreneurial field trip to Tel Aviv). The purpose of the trip was to visit various organizations (stakeholders) that makeup the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Greece as well as various successful start-up companies and entrepreneurs. Given the current state of the Greek economy and the problems that it has been facing for many years, my expectations were very low. To my surprise though, I discovered that Greece (yes, Greece!) has a well-functioning entrepreneurial ecosystem that promotes and supports innovation and the creation of new businesses that are so vital for the country.
The Need for an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
