Interview of the month – Thanos Kafkalidis

Interview of the month – Thanos Kafkalidis

(Responsible for Research & European Programmes, Academy of Entrepreneurship, member of ESYNE Athens)

Tell us about yourself and your involvement in the entrepreneurship sector.

I am a political scientist and researcher in European politics. I studied Political Science in Brussels (ULB), Comparative Public Policy in the University of Edinburgh, European and International studies in the University of Athens and I speak four languages (Greek, French, English, Spanish). My involvement in entrepreneurship started a few months ago through my collaboration with the Academy of Entrepreneurship. This collaboration began by chance and gave me the opportunity to learn a great deal about the Greek entrepreneurial “ecosystem”, as well as about important global initiatives, such as the Global Entrepreneurship Week.

What is the Academy of Entrepreneurship and what does it do?

The Academy of Entrepreneurship is a non-for-profit organization founded in 2007 by the historic Athens Educational Association “IFAISTOS”. It collaborates with the Federation of Hellenic Associations of Young Entrepreneurs (OESYNE) and strives for the creation of the right conditions which will enable the development of entrepreneurship on a national and European level.

More specifically, through the implementation of specialized workshops and activities, the Academy equips young entrepreneurs and extrovert companies with the necessary knowledge and skills for the expansion of their activities, both in the domestic and the European single market. Finally, the Academy’s activities benefit greatly from its participation in projects co-financed by the EU. Recently, the Academy has become one of the main partners of the “Bridging the Gap” project, which is co-funded by the European Commission’s Lifelong Learning Programme, Leonardo Da Vinci (LdV), Transfer of Innovation. More specifically, «Bridging the Gap» will transfer and adapt a training methodology in the field of entrepreneurship which will encourage participants (especially marginalized social groups) to develop the skills and abilities that are necessary for the creation of their own company.

Since 2008, the Academy of Entrepreneurship is a National Partner of the Global Entrepreneurship Week in Greece and in Europe, and is also member of the Global network «Entrepreneur Envoy» and of the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes – EADI.

In your opinion, which are the challenges and opportunities for a young person who wants to start his/her own business in Greece today?

From my experience, I would say that the insurance contributions are a huge obstacle for a young professional who wants to be a freelancer or to start his/her own company. On the other hand, I believe there are many sectors that are suitable for the development of innovative and extrovert companies in Greece. Furthermore, our country benefits from a skilled workforce, made up of people who have returned to Greece and would like to contribute to the country’s progress with their knowledge and experience. Many of these people are entrepreneurs with new ideas who are ready to invest in and contribute to the development of the country, both economic and otherwise.

What is your advice to young entrepreneurs?

I would advise young entrepreneurs to create strong networks within and outside the country. Networks and collaborations are of utmost importance at the moment. It is something that has been missing from Greece and I think it’s time to change this. We have to “bypass” people and mentalities that always try to impede the development of innovative businesses and other ideas. Networking is possible through global meetings, participation in conferences, competitions, global initiatives (Global Entrepreneurship Week)…there are many opportunities; as long as we are willing to look for them.

In which way are you involved in Hello Tomorrow Challenge and who is the competition directed to?

I am one of the three representatives of the competition in Greece. Hello Tomorrow Challenge is a non-for-profit initiative which aims to interconnect and support the European youth who is seeking solutions to major global problems through the means of technology and science. The main purpose of the competition is to promote products and services that are based on innovative technologies such as sophisticated pharmaceutical preparations, big data for energy savings and telesurgery. The competition aims to attract creative young people from all over Europe, who will compete in 5 sectors: Bio & med tech, Energy, Big data, Hardware and Robotics, IT& Communications. Hello Tomorrow Challenge is represented  by 45 people (Ambassadors) around the globe, whose role is to bring together scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, inventors, designers and programmers at events that were organized in the participating countries throughout January. On January 22, in the Municipality of Athens’ Europe Direct information centre, the Greek representatives of the competition organized a very interesting event to raise awareness on the competition, featuring four speakers from different sectors (the public sector, the business world, the scientific community and the investor world).

The latest statistics show that there is great interest from Greece. We hope that this competition will award young people from our country.