ENTREPRENEURSHIP
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As small and medium-sized enterprises are the backbone of not only the Greek economy but also the European economy, there is a large number of European and national initiatives to support them. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Greek government developed numerous initiatives focused on strengthening entrepreneurship, placing particular emphasis on unemployed youth and women.
Using the Investment Incentives Law as a tool, the Greek government launched the digital platform “Startup Greece” in 2011, https://startupgreece.gov.gr/, a website that encourages and facilitates entrepreneurship in Greece by providing comprehensive information on how to start a business in Greece as well as opportunities for funding for aspiring entrepreneurs.
According to the government’s StartUp Greece website, a private company (PC) in Greece can have one or more legal founders. In the case of a single member private company, the name of the single partner must be submitted for publication in the General Electronic Commercial Register (GEMI) http://www.businessportal.gr/home/index_en. Under Greek Civil Code, natural persons must be at least 18 years old, while minors are only allowed to participate in the establishment of a PC only by a court order.
Anyone who is willing to establish a business in Greece has 7 business structure options:
This is the most common and preferred business entity in Greece for establishing a small and medium-sized business. LLC in Greece requires at least one shareholder and one director. This can be an individual or a legal entity regardless of their nationality.
Similar to a limited liability company, this business entity also requires only one shareholder as well as one director who can be individual or a legal entity regardless of their nationality. The only difference between these two business structures is that this entity can be set up with a share capital of just 1 euro.
This business entity requires one shareholder and 3 directors who can be individuals or legal entities regardless of their nationality. This type requires a minimum capital share.
Branch formation in Greece requires at least one shareholder and one director who must be resident in Greece. The parent company is responsible for all the activities done by the branch as the branch does not get considered as a separate legal entity.
This business entity does not perform any profit-making activities as it does not get considered as a separate legal entity and is established just to promote its parent company’s products and services and to conduct market research.
SA or Anonymous Eteria in Greece can be established by one or more persons. Under this type of business entity, the liability of the shareholders in limited to the amount of capital invested by them in the business.
It is also called as Omorthymos Eteria (OE). GP in Greece is a type of business entity in which all the partners are jointly liable for the debts of the partnership without limitation in the liability.
With more than 16,000 kilometers of coastline, more than 6,000 islands and islets, and a well-established tourism industry, Greece presents a prime investment opportunity in the Tourism sector. The country is one of the top global tourist destinations for sun and beach holidays, and also provides attractive propositions for year-round themed holidays. The competitive advantages of Greece, such as rich cultural heritage, natural beauty and geographical variety, have been attracting significant tourism investments in recent years, thus further strengthening Greece’s image as an ideal destination both for holidays and tourism-related investments.
Why Greece?
Brand Value: Greece has several destinations that are among the core preferences of global tourists, and are internationally recognized as having premium holiday appeal
Geography and Landscape – From the multitude of sunny islands and beaches to the snowy peaks and forests, Greece offers an unlimited variety of attractive destinations for year-round holidays
History and Culture – More than four millennia of recorded history and an abundance of sites, museums and locations where one can see history unfold before one’s eyes
Established Infrastructure – More than 700,000 hotel beds, more than 500 conference facilities, more than 6,000 yachting births, direct air links from major European airports to more than 20 destinations
Located at the crossroads between East and West, Greece is uniquely positioned to play a significant role in the broader region’s energy markets. The ample availability of renewable energy potential (wind, hydro, biomass, geothermal, solar & solar thermal) combined with ongoing large-scale infrastructure projects involving Greece (TAP-IGB-EastMed Gas Pipelines, oil exploration) show that Greece will be a key player in the formulation of the EU energy mix and will provide significant investment opportunities in all energy industries.
Why Greece?
Strategic Position – Greece is currently emerging as a key player in the transportation of energy from East to West through pipeline projects, electricity grid interconnectivity and alternative means of ensuring security of supply through offshore reserves (e.g. LNG terminals)
Generation Potential – Due to its climate conditions (Greece enjoys more than 250 days of sunshine—or 3,000 hours of sun—a year, and has a strong wind capacity), the country possesses significant untapped generation potential –particularly in renewables – which can enhance the EU energy mix.
Government Support and Legislation – the Ministries of Environment & Energy, and Economy & Development, have spearheaded several major investment projects over the past years, including the TAP-IGB-EastMed natural gas pipelines, the new liquefied natural gas terminal in Revithoussa, and major RES investments. This, in combination with Greece’s upgraded energy investment regulatory framework, provides exceptional opportunities for investment in all energy sectors.
The Information and Communications Technology sector is one of the most promising in the Greek economy, driven mostly by the demand for automation and digitalization in the Greek public and private sectors.
Why Greece?
Skilled Workforce – Greek engineers are included in the Economist’s global top 20 ICT human resources pool and have topped the ITU/ICT development index. Also, more than 70% of the Greek population speaks English.
Attractive Funding Opportunities – Investments in the Greek technology market can benefit from several funding opportunities provided both from public sources such as EU structural funds and PPP initiatives as well as from private sources. The framework for Public-Private Partnerships allows for the realization of bigger projects, mainly in the areas of automation of state processes, homeland security and ICT infrastructure for the public transport system.
ICT Infrastructure – Greece can cover all infrastructure needs for a major investment in ICT, including telecommunications (fixed, mobile, data, fiber-optic networks etc.), hosting and server facilities.
Research and Education – Greece possesses an extensive network of science and technology parks and higher education centers. During the past few years, Greece has seen the development of several new ICT clusters, incubators and accelerators.
Favorable Location – Greece is the EU country with the best access to leading Asian ICT markets such as China, Japan and Korea. This favorable location, coupled with our logistics infrastructure and skilled labor, makes Greece ideal for the establishment of assembly facilities for ICT products and devices.
With its highly-skilled workforce, and established R&D and manufacturing capability, the Greek Life Sciences and Pharmaceuticals industry exhibits significant growth potential both in serving its internal market, as well as in expanding its reach beyond national borders.
Why Greece?
Regional market potential for generic pharmaceuticals – The CEE market is expected to almost double in size in the fore coming years, exhibiting more than twice the annual growth rate of the rest of Europe. Greek companies are very well-positioned to tap into these markets, thanks to lower transportation costs and strong sales and distribution networks
Regional Hub for Clinical Trials: Greece has established itself as a regional hub for clinical trials and most major international pharmaceutical companies conduct clinical trials in Greece. The new legislation for clinical trials creates the platform for attracting more R&D investment in Greece.
R&D and Development know-how – Life sciences research and pharmaceuticals manufacturing have been well-established in Greece and exhibit extensive know-how and world-class collaborations
Skilled medical personnel – Greece has a significant quantity and quality of expert physicians, who are sought after in several countries and whose expertise is a strong competitive strength
Medical tourism market potential – The development of new medical tourism products combining healthcare and holidays is expected to dramatically increase based on the combined competitive advantages of Greece in the two sectors of tourism and healthcare, especially for the Middle East markets which have direct access to Greece
Greek food and agriculture has traditionally been one of the major export sectors for Greece, with a strong presence in the European and a growing presence in the US food markets and a number of companies with strong export growth. From olive oil to flour products, honey to processed meats and ready meals, Greek companies have leveraged the competitive advantages offered by Greek primary production in order to competitively enter and remain in global markets, making food and agriculture one of the most dynamic and high-growth sectors in Greek manufacturing.
Why Greece?
Brand value / positioning – Greek diet is regarded as a pre-eminent example of Mediterranean diet, which has been globally accepted as one of the healthiest and most nutritional
Geography and climate conditions – Greek geography and climate can sustain some of the most diverse, high-quality natural raw materials and produce, including such exotic ingredients as saffron and truffles
Traditional high-quality ingredients – Greece has a number of recognizable POP or other local ingredients and foods whose quality is recognized by some of the greatest Chefs in the world
Specialized know how and expertise – agriculture and food production is a traditional Greek occupation, which has led to a significant amount of food research departments, agricultural schools, trained food technologists and chemists, and skilled farmers.
Research and Innovation – Greece’s universities and research institutes focus heavily on providing assistance to the food and beverage industry. A number of highly specialized research centers such as the University of Thessaly, the Food Industrial Research & Technological Development Company (ETAT), the Institute of Agrobiotechnology and the Institute of Aquaculture, assist manufacturers and processors in developing innovative solutions to meet the needs of today’s marketplace.
Greece stands on the crossroad of three continents (Europe, Asia, Africa), connecting, since early antiquity, people, goods and cultures. For that reason, Greece has long been a strategic node for transportation in the greater region. More specifically, maritime transport is the most important mode of global freight transport, accounting for 80 per cent of global trade by volume and over 70 per cent by value. According to a recent study, container throughput in European ports is growing at 6% annually, while traffic through South-East Mediterranean ports has been growing at more than 8% annually.
Why Greece?
Competitive Freight Costs – The geographical position of Greek ports allows the offering of competitive sea freight cost for transported containers, while offering access to a set of growing economies in the broader region.
Transport Infrastructure – Continuing investment in road and rail infrastructure means that Greece’s major ports are now directly interconnected with modern road and rail links, facilitating intermodal transport of cargo onwards to their final destination quickly and cost-effectively. Under the new European Infrastructure Policy (TEN-T) more than 26 bn € will be invested in European infrastructure, including railway, road, port, airport and multimodal infrastructure projects in Greece.
Advantageous Location: Greece is part of the EU’s Orient/East-Med Corridor that connects the maritime interfaces of the North, Baltic, Black Sea and Mediterranean.
World Champion Shipping Sector: Greek ship owners control the world’s largest merchant fleet.
Know-how and skilled labor – Greek manufacturing and maritime tradition ensures the availability of skilled logistics and assembly employees for the staffing of local distribution centers.
Efficient global logistics providers: Several global 3PL providers such as Kuhne & Nagel, DHL, Schenker, Geodis, Panalpina, and Express are currently operating in Greece, Recently, a logistics network funded by the Hellenic Federation of Industries (SEV) has been created, to improve collaboration between logistics providers and the rest of the Greek economy.
