ATHENS: New entrepreneurship in Greece reflects the basic structure of the Greek economy, which is based on the operation of very small enterprises with a limited contribution to employment, according to an annual report on entrepreneurship conducted by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE).
The report, produced using 2015 data in the context of IOBE’s participation in the “Global Entrepreneurship Monitor” research program, also records the positive features of new entrepreneurship, such as the strengthening of export-driven business ventures and the fact that entrepreneurs of necessity have dropped to numbers last seen in 2008 – when the financial crisis erupted.
Greeks continue to turn to entrepreneurship mainly out of necessity and their main funding still comes mainly from family members, even though the cost of starting a business in Greece is almost twice the European Union average: The IOBE report showed that half of the new businesses that started last year required capital of more than 30,000 euros, almost twice the European average of 16,400 euros. It is even higher than the 24,000-euro average of the higher-income countries.
