Seeking to support innovation and start-up entrepreneurship outside Athens, Deloitte is expanding its StartUp Acceleration programme across Greece.
Following three successful cohorts in Patras, the programme’s fourth cohort is expanding for the first time to Ioannina and Heraklion, inviting applications from the wider regions of Epirus and Crete, respectively.
The initiative aims to broaden young entrepreneurs’ and university teams’ access to expertise, specialist guidance and collaborative networks, so that more ideas can develop into viable businesses where they originate.
More opportunities for innovation outside Athens
Developing innovation in regional Greece requires connecting local talent and university expertise with market needs.
By expanding its StartUp Acceleration programme, Deloitte is strengthening this connection, giving teams practical support to shape their strategy, reach customers and potential investors, and build partnerships beyond their local area.
Supporting start-up entrepreneurship creates new career opportunities in regional Greece, helps retain and make use of specialist talent, and encourages research findings to be turned into commercial applications.
At the same time, it strengthens local economies through new services, partnerships and businesses with the potential to grow in Greek and international markets.
From a technology idea to a viable business
The Deloitte StartUp Acceleration Program is aimed at start-ups, students, graduates and university teams with business ideas centred on technology.
It focuses on services that offer practical solutions for people’s everyday lives and the way businesses operate.
Through personalised mentoring and themed workshops, selected teams receive support in developing their business models, setting their strategy and drawing up a concrete action plan.
The mentoring is provided by specialist Deloitte professionals, as well as external experts and market leaders, and is tailored to each team’s needs.
The workshops cover key areas of business development, including marketing, funding and investor relations.
Participants also strengthen their skills in presenting their solutions to potential investors and reaching customers, using practical tools and networking opportunities through Deloitte.
The programme began at Brainzone, Deloitte’s innovation hub in Patras. Its first three cohorts have supported 11 start-ups, which have achieved significant success in Greece and abroad.
Applications open for the new cohort in Ioannina and Heraklion
The fourth cohort invites people with business ideas, start-ups and university teams from Ioannina and the wider Epirus region, as well as Heraklion and the wider Crete region, in addition to Patras and the wider Peloponnese.
Those interested can find out more about the programme and its participation requirements here and submit an application by 4 December 2026.
The selected teams will take part in a competitive process in January 2027, from which the teams to join the programme will be chosen.