The Canvas

"The CANVAS – Debating Business Ideas" initiative aims at the development of an open and dynamic dialogue between new entrepreneurship and institutional organizations, in Greece and abroad. It was established as a non-profit entity under Greek legislation in October 2014. Its inception was the reaction to the prolonged crisis in Greece, and the joint will of its members to disrupt the old fashioned and conventional way of conducting business, in view of many arising opportunities that were left unexploited. The team’s vision is to promote a healthy, sustainable and competitive entrepreneurial environment through young leaders who can become the new role models of the Greek economy. Furthermore, these entrepreneurs will promote ideas and attitudes to overcome dysfunctions of the Greek administration such as bureaucracy, a complicated and unstable tax system and insufficient funding, among other issues. The CANVAS objective is to build a solid network of Greek entrepreneurs and SMEs that share a common vision and aspire to adopt best practices and seize business opportunities as they emerge in the current European economic environment. The focus of the entity is on the four major pillars of economic development in Greece, namely: tourism, shipping, food and energy. The projected beneficiary groups are entrepreneurs and SMEs involved in the aforementioned sectors, which have an initial presence and actively seek to strengthen their knowhow and position themselves in the European and global market, as well as, college graduates aspiring to become active components thereof.