Aegean Startups is the digital accelerator of innovation and entrepreneurship of the University of the Aegean. Through their digital platform, competitions and complementary actions, Aegean Startups highlight and support ideas for start-ups but also for actions with a social impact, with an emphasis on the Aegean area. Aegean Startups are attended by students, graduates and staff of the University of the Aegean and other universities, mentors, business angels, companies and organizations of the Aegean and citizens of Greece and the world, in order to promote local development and quality of life in the islands of the Aegean area with original ideas, common resources and coordinated cooperation. For the first time, the social impact of the proposed actions and ideas is analyzed, in accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The platform supports the collaboration of groups and individual students or researchers from different departments of the University of the Aegean or society, emphasizing not only awards, but systematic assistance and finding resources for start-ups, in the long run. For the first time in academia, Aegean Startups bring future entrepreneurs in contact with angel investors, venture capital at a very early stage, while also providing financial opportunities through crowdfunding. Teams and ideas distinguished at Aegean Startups continue to grow in connected incubators and business accelerators in Greece, Europe and the USA.
The platform gathers the needs of local businesses and organizations so that start-ups respond to demand (demand-driven entrepreneurship) and achieve their direct contact with the market (instant market traction). The platform also includes an open database with data on the economy of the Aegean islands and educational material for young entrepreneurs, specially designed for small and very small Aegean businesses.