With 145 speakers, 19 panels, and 12 workshops, the conference on the theme of “Innovation in Northern Greece and the bodies that support it 3.0” was attended by 500 participants

“Innovation in Northern Greece and the bodies that support it 3.0”, attended by 500 participants and featuring 145 speakers, 19 panels and 12 workshops, was held in the heart of Thessaloniki at the City Hall on 27-28 May – at long last a truly live event covering a range of highly topical and interesting themes. The Conference was opened by the Mayor of Thessaloniki Konstantinos Zervas, the Chancellor of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Nikos Papaioannou, and the Deputy Minister of Interior responsible for Macedonia-Thrace Stavros Kalafatis.

Representing NBG, Assistant General Manager of the bank’s Network Division Anastasia Nazidou noted: “It is with great pleasure that we are able to be with each other here in Thessaloniki after two years of virtual gatherings due to the pandemic.” She then talked about the digital transformation of the bank currently in progress: “In the field of digital banking we have become the benchmark for the Greek market. I note our pioneering activity in digital business onboarding and digital business lending, overall enhanced customer experience in mobile banking, and our leading position in corporate payment systems (APIs). Likewise, we’ve moved ahead with strategic partnerships – most notably with EVO in the field of cards and payments – while we aspire in the coming years to bring further innovations to the Greek market within a rapidly growing business sphere. Regarding our gathering here in Thessaloniki, we’re proud at NBG to be playing a part in the growth of the Greek innovation ecosystem. We gain strength through our synergies – a total of 235 bodies and institutions, companies, universities and research institutes have participated in public discussions in the four workshops held this year. The result clearly reflects innovation growth in Athens, Thessaloniki, Heraklion and Patras”.

The conference program included 19 thematic panels and 12 workshops, with speakers from government bodies, chambers of commerce, academic and research institutions, venture capital funds, and prominent business players of Northern Greece.

Konstantinos Kanavos, Manager of Business Banking & Key Accounts Segments at NBG, Spyros Arsenis, Head of NBG Business Seeds, and Christoforos Hatzopoulos, Head of SME Products & Retail Loans, took part in the panel discussions.

The conference was jointly organized for the third year by NBG Business Seeds, the Municipality of Thessaloniki, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, OK!Thess, TECS Capital, the Athens Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ACEin) of the Athens University of Economics and Business, the Archimedes Center of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Endeavor Greece, Uni.fund, Metavallon, Bayer Hellas, and the Hellenic-American Chamber.

We look forward to seeing everyone again in 2023 at the next Innovation conference!