2022 was a pillar of the Light Hub’s activities.
This year saw the inauguration of the collaborative space of the incubator, where all the activities of the year unfolded. Partnerships increased, as a cooperation agreement was signed with Lancom. The purpose of the above synergy is to strengthen, develop and consolidate the modern business culture of cooperation and exchange of ideas. Furthermore, the highlights of the year include the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Light Hub and the National Centre for Research and Technological Development (NCRTD) .
In 2022, the first cycle of training of the core programme was completed and the teams are now at the stage of “incubating” their business idea. In addition, the second cycle of the programme has started. In this new groups on request took part and started the first stage of the programme by attending the training modules.
In summary, the teams and individuals who joined on request in the first stage of the second cycle of the Light Hub’s business development programme attended 30 hours in 6 weeks, of which the first week had daily lessons, culminating in the presentation of business ideas to the scientific committee. In the following five weeks the courses unfolded both in Alexandroupolis and in Xanthi at the Xanthi Tech lab facilities.
From the start of the programme, until today, teams and individuals have had the opportunity to receive the necessary skills to transform their idea into a business model which they will present in a comprehensive presentation to Light Hub executives, to renowned speakers with international experience and to start-up founders. The programme continues creatively into the New Year on 20 January.
At the same time, two new training programmes were created and launched in the premises of the Light Hub called PIVOT and the Interreg SEA Transnational Accelerator.
The PIVOT programme is a practically oriented programme providing tools with applied knowledge with the aim that the participants will “PIVOT” in development. Upon completion of the programme, those who attended all the modules in person received a certificate of attendance and are now in the mentoring phase. The program was designed by the entrepreneurship support structure of Evros Chamber Light Hub, in line with the ATHENS 2021-2025 project and its purpose is to provide entrepreneurial skills and modern tools to small businesses in Evros.
The third programme launched in 2022 is the Interreg SEA Transnational Accelerator. The aim of the training programme was to prepare the applicants in eight sessions to present their business idea to experienced and independent judges, competing for one of the three final prizes. The programme is divided into three stages of which the third is only for the finalist teams to prepare them for the final presentation.
Now the beneficiaries will present their ideas at the American University of Bulgaria in the New Year to move on to the next stage. The SEA project is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and national funds of the countries participating in the Interreg V-A Cooperation Programme “Greece-Bulgaria 2014-2020”.
The Light Hub, is the entrepreneurship support structure created by the Chamber of Evros. It was included in the operational programme “Eastern Macedonia-Thrace” and is co-financed by Greece and the European Union.
