Region of Western Macedonia, 3 – 6 October, 2018
Enterprise Greece and the Region of Western Macedonia organized a business mission for foreign embassy representatives to the region on 3-6 October 2018. The business mission was part of the Enterprise Greece’s Synergassia Program, which aims to promote the comparative advantages of the respective regions of Greece and their local products and services in the international market.
Participating in the business mission were 28 diplomats from 24 countries, which was organized with the support of ANKO – Regional Development Agency of West Macedonia, and the cooperation of the Chambers of Commerce of Kozani, Grevena, Kastoria and Florina. The visit featured a full program devoted to promoting exports from, and innovation in, the Region of Western Macedonia.
The visit began Thursday morning, 3 October, at the Exhibition Center of Western Macedonia where Grigoris Stergioulis, Chairman and CEO of Enterprise Greece, the Regional Governor of Western Macedonia, Theodoros Karipidis, and the Mayor of Kozani, Eleftherios Ioannidis welcomed visitors.
Opening remarks were followed by an overview of the region’s investment and business profile with Dimitra Pragalou, Director of Business Development for Enterprise Greece, presenting an investment profile of the region. Spyros Ignatiadis, General Manager of the Exporters’ Association of Northern Greece (SEVE), spoke about the region’s export profile, and Christos Georgiou, Research Director of the Federation of Industries of Northern Greece (SBBE), discussed the industrial profile of Western Macedonia and the prospects for innovative cooperation.
A memorandum was signed between Enterprise Greece and the Region of Western Macedonia, which foresees further cooperation in promoting the region, its business environment, and its emergence as a business center to the international business community.
Subsequently, 241 B2B meetings were held between exporting companies and the visiting diplomats in a specially designed area at the Exhibition Center of Western Macedonia. Participating were companies from the food & beverage sector, aromatic & medicinal plants, fur & leather industries, building materials (marble, wood, metal), tourism and related services.
Concurrently, George Papastergiopoulos, Head of Information and Support Services at Enterprise Greece, conducted a training seminar on the steps needed to becoming a successful exporter, which was attended by 36 small and medium-sized local businesses.
In the afternoons of Thursday, 4 October and Friday, 5 October, the diplomatic mission visited businesses in all four regional units of Western Macedonia that have a significant international presence, both inside and outside Europe, and innovative partnerships with research institutions.
Specifically, visits were made to:
Kozani
Cooperative Association of Saffron Growers
Grevena
Kastoria
Florina
At the close of the event, Mr. Stergioulis of Enterprise Greece, said that the main objective of the Synergassia Program is to create a “synergy-based business ecosystem,” adding that it “gives participants the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the region’s investment and export potential, to meet with local businesspeople, to visit businesses with successful activity and to assess their technological potential, expertise and operating standards.” Concluding, he stressed that Enterprise Greece will continue “with targeted and even greater effort, to create synergies that strengthen the country’s outward-orientation.”
The Synergassia Program of Enterprise Greece seeks to build cooperation with local authorities in the regions and municipalities of the country. The aim of the program is to promote Greece, its regions and municipalities on the global market, to strengthen the outward orientation of local economies, and to promote productive activities that both satisfy local needs and exploit local competitive advantages.
The mission to Western Macedonia included diplomatic representatives from the Embassies of Argentina, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United Arab Emirates, the United States of America, India, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Cyprus, Latvia, Morocco, Montenegro, Hungary, Uzbekistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Tunisia, Finland, and the office representing Taipei.
Please download here the investment profile of the Region of Western Macedonia