Information & Communication Technology
Quick Index:
Investing in the Greek ICT Sector
The Information and Communications Technology sector is one of the most promising in the Greek economy, driven mostly by the demand for automation and digitalization in the Greek public and private sectors.
According to recent data by the Federation of Hellenic Information Technology & Communications (SEPE) for 2020, the value of the ICT market in Greece is expected to reach € 5,676 billion.
Greece possesses a skilled workforce, educated in high-quality technical institutions with global experience and entrepreneurial talent. Adding to this, is the focus that has been placed on the support of ICT initiatives through dedicated publicly- and privately-run structures (incubators, R&D centers, co-working spaces etc.) and the country’s solid ICT infrastructure.
The ICT sector in Greece offers several opportunities for investment in high-end, value-added services with a global reach, leveraging the availability of skilled labor, the existing know-how and research capabilities, the strong IT and telecoms infrastructure and the outstanding living and working conditions.
Business opportunities such as the establishment of software development labs, or microchip and MEMS design centers, data centers and R&D labs can be established with full state support and staffed with highly qualified available employees, leading to high returns in a very short time.
Overall, the number of ICT business opportunities is expected to increase significantly over the next years driven mostly by:
- the strong requirement to further automate and digitize the public sector, which is driven by several major public procurement projects in the ICT field
- the quick adoption of new technology by the Greek public, including for example new communication devices (smartphones, tablets), broadband telecommunications and smart TVs
- the significant growth of technology clusters, incubators, accelerators and VC activity focused on new ventures in ICT, and the large number of entrepreneurs, who are actively leveraging this infrastructure
- the several innovation and research activities currently being pursued in Greek polytechnic institutions and public RTOs in such areas as cloud computing, location-based services (LBS), nanotechnology and intelligent systems
During the last few years, Greece became the center of several important investment initiatives announced by some of the largest companies in the global ICT industry such as Nokia-Siemens, Oracle ZTE, Samsung Huawei, SAP, Unisoft and others.
The Greek startup ecosystem was brought into the spotlight during the financial crisis and it keeps growing ever since. In recent years, the Greek startup scene saw a stage of consolidation with new successes and a lot of balancing out. Greece is home to many aspiring entrepreneurs who are working on promising new ideas and innovative business models. Recently, foreign investment funds have invested in three or more Greek startups such as: Intel Capital, Index Ventures, Accel, Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia, BainCapital, DFJ Greycroft. Greek startups have been acquired by major companies in the industry such as: Microsoft, Apple, Splunk, Amazon, Samsung, Teradata, Daimler, Citrix, Vmware, DellEMC, Salesforce.
Why Greece
Skilled Workforce – Greek engineers and scientists are ranked by the Global Talent Competitiveness Index in the top positions in education level, skills and human resources in the ICT sector worldwide. Also, more than 70% of the Greek population speaks English.
Attractive Funding Opportunities – Investments in the Greek technology market can benefit from several funding opportunities provided both from public sources such as EU structural funds and PPP initiatives as well as from private sources. Supporting R&D and innovation activities, as well as creating new technology initiatives is always a central pillar in the design of entrepreneurship support programs.
ICT Infrastructure – Greece can cover all infrastructure needs for a major investment in ICT, including telecommunications (fixed, mobile, data, fiber-optic networks etc.), hosting and server facilities.
Research and Education – Greece possesses an extensive network of science and technology parks and higher education centers. During the past few years, Greece has seen the development of several new ICT clusters, incubators and accelerators.
Favorable Location – Greece is the EU country with the best access to leading Asian ICT markets such as China, Japan and Korea. This favorable location, coupled with the country’s logistics infrastructure and skilled labor, makes Greece ideal for the establishment of assembly facilities for ICT products and devices.
Main investment opportunities
- Data Centers
- Call Centers/Service Centers staffed by Multilingual staff
- Mobile Marketing & Advertising
- Software Development
- Information Security Services
- Smart cities
- Assembly and distribution of ICT devices
- B2B Cloud Services
- Innovation and Research Activities
