Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represent 99% of enterprises in the EU. They provide two thirds of private sector jobs and contribute more than half of the total added value created by businesses in the EU.

More specifically, Greece accounts for 99.5% of Greek businesses and employs over 86.9% of the workforce, a higher percentage than any other Member State of the Union.

Through the NSRF and its Programmes, the European Commission has consistently supported small and medium-sized entrepreneurship, both during the economic crisis and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and continues to support it throughout the current programming period.

Specifically, through Operational Programme “Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation” (EPAnEK – NSRF2014-2020) and before the outbreak of the pandemic, €2.76 billion was made available to SMEs through the contribution of the European Regional Development Fund.

General entrepreneurship Actions were published, which provided crucial support for a wide range of SMEs at a difficult point in time, due to the economic crisis, focusing on smart specialisation sectors and many different professional sectors in general, co-financing major investment expenditures. Actions for training and employment support were also published, which contribute to the development of SMEs.

Specifically, the following are being implemented:

• 26,000 investment plans to upgrade/modernise/establish approximately 22,000 existing and newly established SMEs
• 1,480 research and innovation projects of approximately 1,300 small and medium-sized enterprises

Also supported were:

• 133 start-ups & innovative enterprises with seed and co-investment capital, many of which attracted additional international investment capital.

The following are created:

• 16,400 full-time new jobs, the majority of which are still active

Additionally, training and support actions for employment were published, which also contributed to supporting the development of SMEs through the various entrepreneurship actions funded with European Social Fund resources, totalling at €326 million:

• 1,110 enterprises with startup features were established
• 7,300 tertiary education graduates were supported in establishing or upgrading a sole proprietorship related to their degree
• 4,500 full-time new jobs were created, the majority of which are still active
• 13,000 businesses providing accounting services receive aid to digitally upgrade and support for the operations and requirements of public administration and their customers.

Skills Upgrading Actions

Through the various training/certification actions for salaried employees in the private sector, which are funded with European Social Fund funds, amounting to a total of €333.8 million:

Training/Certification:

• 98,650 employees who participated in relevant training-certification programmes, with a success rate reaching 72%

Participated in training programmes (implementation under way):

• 7,000 employees started training within 2022 which they completed within 2023

Following the outbreak of the health crisis and with funds of the European Regional Development Fund and through the REACT-EU initiative additional actions amounting to €4.51 billion were implemented:

• 30,000 small and medium-sized enterprises were financed through Holding Funds with loans & guarantees to secure the necessary Working Capital
• 24,500 small and medium-sized enterprises were financed to subsidise interest on their loans already disbursed before the pandemic
• 36,150 small and medium-sized enterprises were financed with direct and non-refundable aid for securing working capital
• 311,500 small and medium-sized enterprises were financed through aid in the form of a refundable advance
• 455 start-ups (members of the ELEVATE GREECE Register) were financed for their operating expenses
• 1,457 gym/softplay businesses through start-up aid after the suspension period of these activities
• 13,700 self-employed lawyers were financed with direct and non-refundable aid for the digital upgrade of their activities.

It is obvious from the above data that the support of SMEs during the pandemic by EPAnEK was decisive in order for them to survive and later recover.

It should be underlined that support with co-financed funds concerns not only direct aid, but also the creation of important financing tools that contribute to the rapid financing of many small enterprises through their access to affordable business loans (e.g., the Entrepreneurship Fund (TEPIX II), the Enterprise Participation Fund) (EQUIFUND) and the Guarantee Fund.

However, the support of SMEs does not stop with the EPAnEK.  For the new programming period, supporting small and medium-sized entrepreneurship remains a top priority. The ‘Competitiveness 2021-2027’ Programme with a €3.9 billion budget, in the context of the new NSRF, focuses specifically on supporting small and medium-sized entrepreneurship.  To date, it has published 2 packages of Actions with a total budget of €1 billion (€700 million ‘Green Transition of SMEs’ and €300 million ‘Digital Transformation of SMEs’), in which Greek enterprises have already shown interest by submitting more than 8,000 funding applications.

The Programme’s support for small and medium-sized entrepreneurship will continue with future actions, as there are enterprises scheduled to be established (Supporting the Establishment and Operation of New SMEs and Supporting the Establishment and Operation of New Tourism Enterprises), while the ‘Research-Innovation’ Action is also expected to contribute significantly to the development of research and innovation by SMEs and their cooperation with research organisations (see here the Programming of Programme Actions).

Overall, the EU’s critical role, in combination with national funds, contribute not only to the sustainability of micro-enterprises, but also to creating the conditions for them to grow further, so that they become more competitive and sustainable, in order to contribute to the increase of employment and growth of the country’s GDP.

• address www.ependyseis.gr, stating the Cooperation Bank it wishes to be financed by.

More information about the Business Financing Action is available here