Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras touted the positive growth rate for the fourth consecutive half, in a speech to the second Athens meeting of European small-and-medium sized businesses, organised by The Hellenic Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen & Merchants (GSEVEE), and the confederation’s small business institute.
“According to data released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority, we had a positive growth rate for the fourth consecutive half. That means, according to internationally accepted, conventional definitions, that the recession has happily ended, after 10 consecutive years,” Tsipras said.
The PM said that all the preconditions for growth are in place, as public finances are in order, and economic climate indices are recovering.
He said that it is encouraging that the balance of the opening and closing of businesses is positive, with 6,000 more businesses created than have closed down.
“We are drafting a comprehensive, long-term development plan, fit to bring our country back into the globalised environment on a competitive footing. Based on our comparative advantages, we are setting priorities on the local and sectoral levels, in order to create a new productive identity,” Tsipras said.
The PM cited the particular targets of the development law, which are based on “cultivating a culture of cooperation that can be promoted by networking, inter-connectivity, and entrepreneurial synergies”.
“We created new, targeted financing tools, cooperation between research groups, and employee training in new, necessary skills,” the PM said.
Tsipras said that 4.7bn euros have been earmarked for existing and new businesses, in the framework of the Competitiveness-Entrepreneurship-Innovation 2014-2020 programme.
“We created an institutional framework for small credits, with the aim of funding and bolstering very small businesses. They will have easy access to capital, up to 15,000 euros, in order to make their first moves and improve their activity,” Tsipras said
