Investments of more than 5 billion euros have already been launched by high-tech companies over the past three years in Greece, which clearly indicates that they are “here to stay” in order to create a solid foundation for developing stable and well-paid jobs, as well as for returning Greek scientists working abroad and seeking employment opportunities appropriate to their qualifications to return to Greece. It is worth noting that a common feature of these investments is decentralization, since they are not limited to Athens, but many have their bases outside the capital, while choosing Thessaloniki, Patras and Ioannina.

It should be noted that for the first time, all companies that have announced and are making relevant investments in the areas of the Ministry of Digital Governance gathered at TIF at booth 12, demonstrating that the team of the Minister of Digital Governance Kyriakos Pierrakakis pays special attention to the so-called “innovation ecosystems”. For this reason, appropriate initiatives have been taken to facilitate the establishment and stay of these companies in Greece.

However, in addition to the centralized presence of all international investors in TIF, contacts have also been established with other companies that are considering the prospect of developing a productive presence in Greece, as well as contacts have been established with representatives of local government and civil society organizations. who have extensive investment programs in the Recovery Fund and NSRF, and also had an opportunity for osmosis with Greek educational institutions and research centers.

In particular, companies that have invested in Greece:

Nova recently announced an investment of €2 billion by 2027 to develop 10Gb/s digital infrastructure. The company’s investment plan provides for laying 22,000 km of a fiber-optic network covering more than 70% of the country’s regions and 4.5 million individuals and legal entities. At the same time, the company is preparing new investments to expand its 5G network and further develop pay-TV.

It has launched an investment, announced in October 2020, of one billion euros over a decade and foresees the construction of three data centers in the Mediterranean region through which cloud computing services will be offered. The licensing process is expected to be completed soon so that construction work can begin in 2023 and infrastructure operation will begin in 2025, creating 300 new jobs over time.

Since June 2020, the company has been operating the International Center for Digital Transformation and Digital Skills in Thessaloniki with the aim of strengthening innovation and digital skills, accelerating digital transformation, promoting digital culture. The center will be the starting point for innovative technology solutions that Cisco is developing with its partner ecosystem, start-ups, and the country’s educational and research institutions for Southeast Europe.

Amazon Web Services is making an investment of 150-200 million euros, which includes the transformation of Naxos into a smart island. Among other things, test flights are being conducted using drones to transport biological material and medicines, as well as to support the Coast Guard project. The American company is coordinating the implementation of an ambitious program with the participation of the ministries of digital governance and shipping and local government.

Janina was selected by Germany’s TeamViewer — a company that develops remote connectivity and collaboration solutions — in early 2020 to install the Research and Technology Center, initially with a capacity of 18 employees. Very soon, this number has tripled, and the goal is to further develop a total of 200 jobs. It is very important that most of the jobs are filled by Greeks who used to work abroad and, seeing a satisfactory job opportunity, are returning to Greece.

OTE is implementing a €3 billion investment program with a time horizon up to 2027 to reach 3 million households and businesses with a fiber optic network that will reach the home or office. Recently, OTE also announced the provision of Internet access at speeds up to 1 Gb / s over fiber. It is noted that in a parallel development, Deutsche Telekom moved to Thessaloniki from Ag. In St. Petersburg, 270 IT managers will manage the Telecom IT hub. The center is expected to employ 1,000 people by 2027.

Vodafone is investing 600 million euros in both optical fiber development and 5G network expansion to connect more than 800,000 businesses and households by 2024. In addition, it is implementing an infrastructure modernization program for one million residents in ten Aegean and Ionian islands.

In 2020, the company established a center in Thessaloniki with 20 employees, which has been gradually developed with the addition of executives and is currently housed in ultra-modern 1000 m2 premises in Pylaea.

The Deloitte Alexander Competence Center, Deloitte’s exemplary center of excellence, opened its doors in Thessaloniki a few years ago and today employs 800 dedicated scientists. The company’s intention is to further expand its presence with executives from Thessaloniki and more broadly from Northern Greece.

The company has chosen Patras to host the PwC Technology and Innovation Centre, which opened a few months ago. The center aims to become a catalyst for a wider technological modernization of Patras and the region as a whole.

The Finnish company has a long-standing presence in Greece and is making its presence known through its involvement in important digital transformation projects as well as the development of the market built around 5th generation mobile telephony. With the conditions that have been created for the country to become a technology hub for the wider region, the company has decided to expand its R&D centers in Athens.

^{Source: RES-IPE}