The Higher Incubator Giving Growth & Sustainability (HIGGS) is an initiative aimed at empowering Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) operating in Greece, through educational and support programmes, activities and events held at its premises. With a vision to become a beacon of creation, development and open dialogue, contributing to the effective and sustainable operation of CSOs, HIGGS implemented three programmes in the course of 2022, with the support of the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation and other donors, namely the “Incubator”, the “Green and Social Entrepreneurship (GSE) Incubator” and the “Accelerator” programmes, while it also organised the “Green Ideas Greece” Competition. These programmes provide CSOs with free, intensive training and specialised consultancy, along with opportunities for networking and collaboration with all stakeholders within the ecosystem.

In particular, the “Incubator” training and consultancy programme is specifically designed for CSOs which are newly established or are in the process of being established, with the aim to help them build capacity in strategic planning, establishing the organisation, commencing operations, and attracting funding. The new “Green and Social Entrepreneurship Incubator” programme is an evolution of the “Incubator”, offering seminars of a similar nature exclusively to organisations involved in social and green entrentrepreneurial activity and implementing environmental and sustainable development actions. The “Accelerator” programme is addressed to CSOs operating for a longer period of time, with the aim to provide them with support on issues related to their strategy and the development of their proposals. Finally, in 2022, the “Green Ideas Greece” competition was held to support innovative ideas for green and/or social entrepreneurship and to create sustainable partnerships among Balkan countries. In addition to the cash prize, the three winning teams received capacity building services to help them achieve their goals and represented Greece in the 11th Balkan “Green Ideas Competition”, where one of them won one of the three $10,000 prizes.

• A total of 29 organisations participated in the HIGGS programmes in 2022.
• During its 7 years of operation, HIGGS has supported 204 non-profit organisations from all over Greece, which have secured over €11,000,000 in funding, created 861 new jobs and served more than 360,000 beneficiaries.

“Our participation in the ‘Accelerator’ programme has been a unique experience of gaining new knowledge, opportunities for new partnerships and inspiration for new initiatives. The guidance and expertise provided by the HIGGS team, enabled us to implement our vision in the best way possible, and this is priceless to all of us.”

Evangelia Bista
Founder, Cancer Guidance Centre (K3) 

“The ‘Incubator’ programme has motivated us to think outside the box and discover new methods and tools, while at the same time providing more structure to our ideas and vision.”

Efi Langari
Marketing & Grants Manager, Assistance Dogs Greece 

“The aim of HIGGS is to empower Civil Society Organisations through a holistic approach that includes training and consultancy programmes, as well as other initiatives to empower green and social entrepreneurship. The implementation of these activities would not have been possible without the valuable support of the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, which enables our work to have a multiplier impact on society and the economy.”

Sotiris Petropoulos
Co-Founder, HIGGS