The one-day conference organized by the NTA on the occasion of Women's Day, on the topic "Greece 2.0 & Women's Entrepreneurship: Challenges & Perspectives" was successfully completed.
Executives from the public and private sector had the opportunity to attend an interesting exchange of views on the role of women in entrepreneurship, which is constantly expanding, given the development and funding opportunities provided for in the Greece 2.0 - National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
During the conference, the experiences and opinions of women entrepreneurs were heard and the new perspectives that have been created in the framework of the implementation of the "Greece 2.0” Plan were presented.
Short greetings were given by:
Ms. Alexandra Rogkakou, NTA Interim Governor, referring to the Authority’s initiative on the occasion of International Women's Day, noted that "We, on our part, as the NTA, through our auditing work and the important preparatory work that precedes the audits, we try, within the framework of our responsibilities, to make the procedures in the Greek public administration and private entities (that in any way cooperate with the Greek public) more transparent. Through the use of modern control tools and international best practices, we strive to strengthen the conditions of public accountability and control and to contribute, as far as we can, to the reduction of bureaucracy.
Our audits are not limited to a single field but cover many sectors of society. Sectors that touch the daily lives of all of us. Such as health, education, local government, environment, urban planning services, sport, labour issues.
Ms. Sofia Kounenaki Efraimoglou, President of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) stressed that "At the Chamber, the largest chamber in the country, representing 120,000 companies with the largest contribution to the Greek GDP, we continue to undertake initiatives to strengthen female entrepreneurship. We are already integrating innovative, purely women's groups into our Incubator, with the aim of helping them to develop in a targeted way, and at the end of March we will issue a new nationwide call. My vision is to create a future where girls and women are safe online, where all people regardless of gender, enjoy equal access to business, technology and innovation. For the ACCI, promoting gender equality is not only a right but also a crucial precondition for balanced, sustainable and resilient development.
Speakers' presentations in the 1st session: Policies to support women's entrepreneurship and the role of RRF
Nikolaos Koulocheris, Secretary General for Economic Policy, Ministry of Finance, said that in order to achieve the change required, the adoption of a culture that reinforces equality and prevents discrimination and exclusion is a prerequisite. “Stereotypes are a major obstacle to women advancement in the business world not only at national but also at European level. For this reason, special attention has been given to the actions of the National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2021-2025. The National Recovery and Resilience Plan "Greece 2.0" includes a series of Actions and Policies aimed at reconciling professional, private, and family life, policies that are part of the social care sector (e.g. quality care services for children and the elderly) and policies concerning the possibility of flexible employment or other, alternative forms of employment, which also contribute significantly to the strengthening of female entrepreneurship:
1) Childcare and childcare facilities in large businesses (RRP 16945)
2) Programme development in infant, daycare and childcare centers - KYPSELI (RRP 16919 Reform 1)
3) Subsidize the opening/creation of new child care centers or new locations in existing child care centers for infants from 2 months to 2.5 years of age (infant centers) (RRP 16919-Investment 1)
4) Diversity Awareness Programme to integrate the concept of diversity in the labour market (RRP 16685)
5) Programme of grants to enterprises for the employment of 5,000 unemployed persons in the green economy sectors, with a focus on women (16747.8)
Ms. Anna Stratinaki, Secretary General for Labour, Ministry of Labour and Social Security, referring to the challenges that a woman may face in her working environment, spoke about how she is protected by the current legislative framework in case of discrimination or unequal access to the labour market.
Mrs. Irini-Eleni Agathopoulou, MP SYRIZA - PA, during her speech, spoke about how development can have a gender perspective, stressing that for this to happen, men and women should participate equally in decision-making centres, in policy development and in the allocation of resources. She also proposed concrete measures to boost women's entrepreneurship from the RRF, such as greater access to finance for women through cooperative investment funds, a significant increase in maternity leave for freelancers and the creation of public childcare facilities to free women from family care services.
Konstantina Giannakopoulou, MP PASOK - KINAL, noted that “Today the necessity, importance and economic significance of women's involvement in the field of entrepreneurship is more understandable than ever. However, it is not enough to make just statements. Obstacles and entrenched prejudices must be overcome. Women must be given the right opportunities, through an integrated strategy and a series of support measures, so that they too can contribute to the economic and social development of the country. At the same time, it is imperative that we see more women in leadership positions, on the boards of companies, in politics, in decision-making centres. Changing the paradigm is always a source of empowerment and inspiration for all women.
The discussion was moderated by Iro Rantou, Antenna (TV Channel) Journalist
Speakers' presentations in the 2nd session: Women's entrepreneurship in practice
Ms. Areti Georgili, Co-Head of Lean in Network Greece (Athens), an independent organisation of volunteers and women volunteers that officially collaborates with Lean In (founded in the US 10 years ago) spoke about the Greek business environment regarding women's entrepreneurship as it is reflected today, whether there are still issues of inequality and discrimination and how women can address these obstacles.
Maria Georgitsogianni, Chief Operating Officer of iDNA Genomics, which recently received the "Women's Entrepreneurship" Award at the "Elevate Greece 2022 Young Entrepreneurship Competition", spoke about how the idea for iDNA Genomics was born, how she managed to turn this idea into reality, as well as which groups of people need the company's services and what the contribution and benefits of genomic analysis to the quality of individuals’ life.
Ms. Celia Stasinopoulou, Attorney, Partner Omnes Legal, in the midst of pandemic and lock down, founded the first hybrid law firm in our country utilizing all modern digital tools. She spoke about how digital transformation can enhance the work-life balance of modern women.
Athena Dova, founder of Start Up “Owiwi” (is a fun and engaging psychometric tool that accurately measures prospective and existing employee's soft skills), a company that has created an innovative digital platform for job search and has 2.5 million users, spoke about her innovation "Owiwi" that creates games that are used by modern companies for the selection, evaluation and development of their human resources.
Despina Moiraraki, founder of “Despina Moiraraki S.A.”, shared her business experiences, the difficulties she has experienced throughout her professional career, relying solely on her own strengths and the challenges faced by a professional woman.
The discussion was moderated by George Kakousis, Action24 (TV Channel) Journalist.