Accelerate Greece 2026 Brings Greek and Cypriot Startups to Toronto

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Greek and Cypriot innovation is taking centre stage in Toronto as Accelerate Greece 2026 brings entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders together for a week focused on international growth.

The Hellenic Initiative Canada, together with Ergo Capital, officially launched the programme with a welcome reception on September 21, sponsored by egg | Eurobank.

Running from September 21 to 25, Accelerate Greece is designed to help growth stage companies from Greece and Cyprus explore opportunities in the North American market, connect with investors and establish relationships with experienced entrepreneurs and industry leaders.

The programme is built around a simple message: “Build it in Greece. Sell it to the world.”

Participants spend the week receiving mentorship, refining their international strategies and connecting with Canada’s business and technology ecosystem. The programme also includes participation in the NRTH Festival, formerly known as the Elevate Festival.

Two companies represent Greece and Cyprus

The 2026 cohort features DROPS Smart Hubs from Greece and MammoCheck from Cyprus, two companies developing technology aimed at addressing emerging challenges in transportation and healthcare.

DROPS Smart Hubs is developing droneports designed to create distributed infrastructure for autonomous drone operations.

Its system brings together physical infrastructure, connectivity, charging, operational management and fleet coordination, allowing drone operators and different types of aircraft to operate across multiple locations.

Cyprus based MammoCheck is developing technology that allows women to monitor breast health at home using thermal imaging and artificial intelligence.

The system is designed to track changes over time and flag potential concerns for review by healthcare professionals. The company says its technology is non invasive, radiation free and does not require compression.

MammoCheck also presented its technology on the main stage at the NRTH Festival’s opening night on September 22, giving the company exposure to Canada’s wider technology and investment community.

Building bridges between Greece and Canada

Accelerate Greece founder Peter Polydor opened the Toronto reception, reflecting on the programme’s origins in California and its expansion into Canada.

Including this year’s participants, the initiative has now brought 15 companies from Greece and Cyprus to North America, connecting founders with mentors, investors and business networks.

Steven Makrinos, representing the Hellenic Initiative Canada, highlighted the organisation’s work to strengthen links between Canada and Greece through entrepreneurship, philanthropy, education and community initiatives.

He also highlighted THI Canada’s upcoming Oloi Mazi Gala, which will celebrate a decade of impact.

The reception was sponsored by egg | Eurobank, marking the third consecutive year of the bank’s support for Accelerate Greece.

Aretaios L. Chourdakis of Eurobank spoke about the importance of connecting talent, capital, expertise and international networks to help innovative companies expand internationally.

“Accelerate Greece embodies a philosophy that is very much aligned with Eurobank’s own vision that innovation grows faster when talent, capital, expertise and international networks come together,” Chourdakis said.

He noted that Eurobank has supported entrepreneurship through egg for more than a decade, while its Venture Banking initiative provides additional support for high growth companies seeking to enter new markets and expand internationally.

George Stroumboulis: “Lead with trust”

Entrepreneur and Ideoli Group CEO George Stroumboulis was the keynote speaker at the reception, taking part in a fireside conversation moderated by corporate and technology lawyer Yonida Koukio.

Stroumboulis shared lessons from building and scaling an international business, emphasising the importance of trust, consistency, relationships and execution.

“Trust will get you invited to the table, but execution will get you invited back,” he said.

Drawing on his family’s immigrant experience and his own entrepreneurial journey, Stroumboulis discussed the importance of understanding local markets and finding the right partners when expanding internationally.

He also joined the programme as a mentor, working directly with the participating companies during their week in Toronto.

Mentorship at the centre of the programme

Mentorship remains a central component of Accelerate Greece.

Over five days, participating founders meet with entrepreneurs, executives, investors and advisers across areas including business strategy, finance, technology, sales and international expansion.

The 2026 mentor network includes John Mavriyannakis, Elliott Schwartz, Xavier Tang, Marc Weiner, Panagiota Dafniotis, Alex Seimanidis, Nagar Rahmani, Steve Kriaris, George Gretes, Sam Coleman-Shapiro, Morty Soley and Alexandros Sklavounos, among others.

The programme’s organising team includes Peter Polydor, Yonida Koukio, Heather Travis, Irene Anargyrou, Michael Coulouras, Romanos Byrilis, Steven Makrinos, Kostas Poulakidas and Evan Mamas.

Accelerate Greece 2026 is supported by Ergo Capital, the Polydor Foundation, THI Canada, egg | Eurobank, RBC, Konstantinos Antonopoulos, Ideoli Group, Panopticon and the Makrinos Family.

With Greek and Cypriot founders gaining access to Canada’s technology, investment and business networks, Accelerate Greece is continuing its push to connect companies from the region with international markets.

Build it in Greece. Sell it to the world.

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