National Bank of Greece is once again supporting and actively participating this year as a Founding Partner in the Panathēnea Festival 2026, which is being held for the second year from May 27 to 29, actively fostering dialogue on innovation, technology, entrepreneurship, and Artificial Intelligence.
According to the relevant press release, the Panathēnea Festival is one of the most important events, an international institution for the innovation and technology ecosystem, attracting investors, professionals, and startups from the new digital economy from around the world to Greece.
National Bank of Greece, the first bank to support the event from its very inception, reaffirmed as a Founding Partner its ongoing commitment to supporting innovation, startup entrepreneurship, and digital transformation through initiatives and experiences centered on Artificial Intelligence and the startup ecosystem.
As part of its presence at the Festival, the Bank is presenting two tech-innovation-focused booths dedicated to innovation, entrepreneurship, and Artificial Intelligence, offering interactive experiences from both modern banking and the world of startups and investments.
At the National Bank of Greece’s interactive booth, visitors have the opportunity to learn more about the bank’s digital services and modern banking solutions. Through an interactive brand activation, they can evaluate real startup ideas by stepping into the investor’s shoes and deciding whether—and to what extent—they would invest in each proposal. Then, the actual startup behind each concept is revealed.
The experience is framed by“Sophia,”National Bank of Greece’s AI chatbot, while the booth’s large LED screen serves as a key element of the activation and a display surface for branded content. Notably present is NEXT, National Bank of Greece’s offering designed specifically for young people.
At the same time, at a booth specially designed for the NBG Business Seeds program—which is also the longest-running institution for innovation in Greece— startuppers and friends of the Ecosystem can connect with the Bank’s experienced executives and learn more about support opportunities (such as the 16th Annual Business Seeds Competition, currently in progress), other support and financing programs through the Bank and its partners, test their ideas, network, etc.
It should be noted that National Bank of Greece is co-organizing and hosting a total of six side events at its premises, in collaboration with leading international technology companies, entrepreneurship and startup support institutions, investors, venture capital funds, and other organizations. The topics of the side events include investment and early-stage entrepreneurship, technology and AI, as well as issues related to the environment and broader social impact (ESG).
Speaking on a panel titled "From Pilots to Scale: The AI Challenge," the Assistant General Manager of Innovation and Digital Partnerships, Mr. George Marinos, emphasized the importance of transitioning to a new era of work, where Artificial Intelligence is no longer a parallel innovation project but a fundamental element of how large organizations operate, compete, and evolve.
More specifically, Mr. Marinos emphasized that: “Over the past two years, at National Bank of Greece, Artificial Intelligence has moved from the experimental stage to large-scale production, with applications in customer services, internal operations, and software development. This progress was based on a deliberate and systematic strategy. We established a robust governance framework to ensure clear priorities, effective management, and high security standards.
At the same time, we invested in our people and in developing internal expertise by conducting more than 3,000 training sessions across the full spectrum of our activities. Today, National Bank of Greece possesses not only the technological infrastructure but also the skills and organizational structure to effectively leverage Artificial Intelligence. It is this combination that allows us to pioneer and actively contribute to shaping AI in the Greek banking market.”
Through its participation in the Panathēnea Festival 2026, National Bank of Greece is actively demonstrating its role in shaping the innovation and technology ecosystem in Greece, making substantial investments in initiatives that enhance the banking experience.