The winners of the 2017 Stelios Greek Awards for Young Entrepreneurs have been announced!

Stelios Greece Awards

Sir Stelios Haji-ioannou, founder of easyJet, of easyGroup and Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, announced yesterday, during the ceremony of this year’s Stelios Awards for Young Entrepreneurs, the 8 winning companies that received the total amount of €100.000.

  • 89 candidates
  • 8 companies in total received the amount of €100.000
  • The first winner, MELIRA GREEK HONEY of Panagiotis Alexiou, received the amount of €30.000
  • The companies AGRO KNOW, ATHENS INSIDERS, CHIMERA, CHOUREAL, ELIXIR, RELEVANCE and SEΑ YOU SOON, were awarded the amount of €10.000 each

Amongst 89 companies that applied in this year’s Awards, MELIRA Greek Honey was the first winner for 2017, a company which, building on a family know-how, produces premium, single-origin honeys, as well as a range of other products, based on pure Greek honey. MELIRA specializes in the unique blending of single-origin honeys with other bee products, such as pollen, propolis and royal jelly, highlighting their diversity based on their plant origin and their exceptional Greek pure characteristics.

Apart from MELIRA Greek Honey which received the amount of €30.000, seven more companies won the amount €10.000 each. These companies are:

  • Agro Know, a company operating in the field of Research and information development on ecological and agricultural issues.
  • Athens Insiders, a company that provides specialized tourism services.
  • Chimera, a company that produces products based on Greek wine.
  • Choureal, pastry shop specialized in profiterole.
  • Elixir, health and beauty center.
  • Relevance, a company that offers digital advertising services.
  • Sea You Soon, a company that produces beach towels.

During this year’s ceremony, Stelios Haji-ioannou said in regards to the Award: «In 2017, the tenth year of the Stelios Greek Awards for Young Entrepreneurs, a milestone for the initiative, the participation of young entrepreneurs exceeded all expectations. It is equally impressive as well as hopeful, that so many young people are defying the Greek crisis, choose to dare and actually to invest in their dreams and ultimately to actively contribute to the growth of their country. The creativity, the effort, the innovation and the dedication on their target, combined with the «healthy» business model that they presented, helped the companies which reached the final stage, to excel in the 2017 Award process. As long as there are young people with actual vision, determination and will to work and take risks, such as the candidates of this year’s Greek Awards for Young Entrepreneurs, Greece may hope that it will overcome he crisis». 

The selection process in which, as in previous years, Mr. Stelios Haji-ioannou participated actively, was completed only a few hours before the actual ceremony commenced. From a shortlist of 40 candidates in total, which prevailed in this year process, 8 winning companies were selected and announced during the Award Ceremony.

The Event was held at the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation building, at the center of Athens. Food from the Heart, another Foundation initiative, takes place on a daily basis, at the same venue. Overall, as part of this initiative, more than 25.000 snacks are distributed daily to 12 different areas in Greece and Cyprus, while a total of 9 million snacks have been offered, in the past few years.

The Award is exclusively addressed to young entrepreneurs in Greece, who are up to 40 years old or younger (born in 1977 or later), have created their companies in this country and have started their business activity in the last 7 years, reaching a minimum of €10.000 turnover annually. Their business has to employ at least two people and the entrepreneur has to own at least a 50% of the company. In case there are two business owners, they both have to hold 80% of their company. Applications with more than two candidates from the same company are not accepted.  

Overall, until today, a total of 16 businesses have been awarded, 8 of which were announced as winners in 2016. To specify, amongst 67 candidates, a record number until last year, Sun of a Beach was announced as the big winner, receiving the amount of €30.000. Seven additional companies got awarded in the same year, with the amount of €10.000 each. These companies were: Agnotis, Apifon, Glowbox, Isostevia, Mermix, Finest Roots and Sleed. In previous years, the winning companies were: Sede (in 2015), Ancient Greek Sandals (in 2014), Nanobionic (in 2013), People for Business (in 2012), Fereikos Helix (in 2011), Fasmetrics (in 2010), Zoo.gr (in 2009) and Simply Burgers (in 2008).

TV Coverage

Stelios on SKAI daily News Show «ΤΩΡΑ» with Anna Bousdoukou

Online Media Coverage

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