Greek revival that you do not watch (but it should probably be)

Most of the world now does not pay special attention to Greece. This could possibly be a mistake. The best known of its stunning islands, sun-seeded cities and deep historical roots, Greece quietly put the foundations on something less expected-modern, resistant technological economy.

While international highlight often misses this, something real happens on earth, as this editor discovered this week in dozens of conversations in Athens. The country, which once stood about the economic fall, not only modified as a “innovative nation”. It changes clever marketing into reality, with politics changes, interest in investors and a renovated sense of goal around technology and entrepreneurship.

Indeed, in sit down On Thursday evening with the Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece not only catching up. “There is a significant place for development,” he admitted, but “stars are even.”

It did not occur without effort. Greece, explained Mitsotakis, made a “conscious decision” half a dozen years ago to go beyond traditional strengths of economics, similar to tourism and hospitality. “Technology can constitute 10% of our economy. It is perfectly feasible,” he said, citing the growing creation of startups, increased capital flows and the energized and growing base of founders and VC in the ecosystem. Drawing from his own origin in Venture Capital – in 2001 he founded the first Greek incubator – he said with liquidity, which was often not heard from heads.

While Greece could also be late for a European technological event, this time could also be an advantage. Because it did not have the capital to make a bad plant, Greece avoided some overstated valuations and unsuccessful projects that burden more mature ecosystems. Thanks to the relatively clean board, the country moves quickly to make use of recent technologies – especially artificial intelligence.

Thanks to AI, the Prime Minister sees a likelihood to potentially skip forward. “We want to use technology to overcome,” he said. “Not only to catch up, but actually better than many European countries.” He pointed to the success of Greece in the digitization of public services-assuming that in some respects even Germany was significantly exceeded to pilot programs, similar to AI supported by Microsoft, which reduced the temporary review of the government agreement from hours to minutes.

This double strategy for cultivating startups while modernizing the government is the spine of the Greek ambitions of AI. Mitsotakis predicts Greece as a laboratory of responsible innovations, especially in areas similar to health, civic protection and defense. “We are not just talking about what the startup community is doing. We are clients of technology. And we want to have more mentality of the startup as a government.”

Talent is a critical component of this transformation. Greece is working on reversing brain drainage, in which 1000’s of qualified employees left during the financial crisis. “Tax falls are there – a 50% discount on income tax for seven years,” he said. But he also admitted that “people will not come back only to tax relief. They will come back if they have a good job, if they feel that they can do something satisfying and can actually develop their activities in Greece.”

For this purpose, we have recently affected our conversation changes to the “Golden Visa” program, which currently granted a residence permit for third-country residents who invest at least EUR 250,000 in the Greek start-up registered in the Greek startup register of the National Startup; We also talked about two recent programs introduced last yr, aimed at introducing qualified foreign employees and entrepreneurs to the country. (While the recent initiatives are still in preparation, they appear to reflect wider commitment to openness.) “This is a global war for talent,” said Mitsotakis. “We must facilitate either Greek talents return, or for people who can live anywhere to decide here.”

Mitsotakis also emphasized the importance of expanding technology outside of Athens, and Hubs appeared in Tesaloniki, Heraklion and other university cities. “It should also be a story about regional development.”

Despite this, the prime minister recognized the ongoing challenges, including the stunning pace of legal reform, the need for a more late capital stage and the complexity of conducting business throughout the European market. But what Greece offers now, unlike the depth of the crisis, is predictability, stability and momentum. “Does this country move in the right direction?” he asked rhetorically. “The answer is like this.”

For Mitsotakis, the ultimate goal is to make Greece progress “irreversible”. He said that although Legacy Building is not his concentration, each Mitsotakis and about 300 investors and founders who gathered for our seating-some of whom have happily returned to Greece from Bay Area, London and somewhere else-the most clear they need to ensure that the progress of the country is going on.

“We can’t [perform] Miracles, “said Mitsotakis.” We can’t make up for the lost group in a few years. But I think we went from the wrong cycle of the past and I perceive technology as a great opportunity, both for the private sector and the government. “

Below you can catch our full interview with Mitsotakis.