11/9/2020 - A significant acquisition in the Greek Startup ecosystem and the contribution of EPAnEK

On August 27, 2020, the largest acquisition ever made of a Greek startup was announced. Specifically, the company Instashop of Giannis Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki was acquired by the German Delivery Hero for the amount of 360 million dollars.

Instashop operates in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) via an application (App) and, in collaboration with a highly expanded network of retailers and ensures the fast delivery of grocery products at home for the customer. Although the company operates in the MENA countries, its technology "Hub" is based in Thessaloniki, employing 19 executives.

The company was initially funded by the fund "Venture Friends" and the Jabbar Internet Group, an investment figure of the MENA region. Venture Friends participated in the second round of funding Instashop, by contributing resources from EquiFund (Fund of Funds) which operates with funds of the Operational Program Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation (EPAnEK, PA 2014-2020).

Instashop developed very quickly and in a short time became profitable and the industry leader in the region, while its position has been further strengthened by the coincidence of pandemic crisis COVID-19, as the demand for home delivery of food and health supplies surged.

The rapid growth of Instashop was expected to attract the attention of the German giant in the field of distribution, Delivery Hero, leading to the realization of this historic acquisition for the Greek standards.

With this significant investment by a world leader company, it is expected a dramatic increase in the size and capabilities of Instashop with obvious benefits for the Greek market, as the founders are Greek and the technology Hub is in our country.

This acquisition is the largest in a series of other similar acquisitions that have taken place recently in our country, which suggests that the Greek ecosystem of innovative entrepreneurship is causing an increasing interest to the international investment market. The favorable prospects that are gradually being formed in the Greek innovative entrepreneurship, create the conditions for the involvement of more and more talented entrepreneurs, thus stopping the brain drain and establishing solid development bases for the country's economy.

Undoubtedly, the design and operation of EquiFund has played an important role in the development of the ecosystem of Greek start-ups that has been observed recently. The allocation of substantial funds of EquiFund through investment Funds, which work with private sector criteria, gave unprecedented access to finance in the Greek innovative companies, offering this way the opportunity to further develop their business plans, thereby improving the chances of their success. According to the latest official data, as of December 31, 2019, more than 96 million euros have been allocated to 89 companies in all three windows of EquiFund: innovation, start-ups and growth.

The available funds of EquiFund are a total of 448 million euros and the composition of the funds is as follows: 200 million euros come from national and European resources (ERDF) through the Operational Program Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation (EPAnEK), 60 million euros from the EIF (European Investment Fund) and 31 mil. euros from the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI). In addition to public resources, the operation of EquiFund ensures the leverage of significant private funds, as more than 150 private investors have also assisted with resources of approximately 157 million euros.

Our belief is that the strategy of EPAnEK and the design of its programs will contribute to continue to receive other pleasant news from the ecosystem of Greek start-ups.