Encouraging messages for the future of the economy and business from the president of BSE

Many interesting conclusions emerged during the EASE event entitled: “Economy & Business – A dialogue with the Chairman of the Board of SEV Mr. Dimitris Papalexopoulos” which took place at the Amphitheater of OTE Academy. Mr. Papalexopoulos spoke with the Chairman of the Board of EASE Mr. Vassilis Rabat about the prospects and challenges of the Greek economy, the dynamics of Greek companies and the problems they face.

In his introductory position, Mr. Papalexopoulos referred to 10 key socio-economic points in which changes have been observed in Greece in recent years. In more detail, he said that citizens have realized the need for reforms and society itself has realized their importance while society’s attitude towards entrepreneurship, which creates new jobs, has improved. He noted the importance of consolidating the country’s western orientation and the rapid digitization of the state, especially in the last 2 years, and noted that there has been significant progress in the tax framework, which has stabilized significantly, while stressing that there is strong activity in start-ups. , as a strong startup community has emerged which is expected to triple in the next 5 years, according to data.

Continuing, the Chairman of the Board of SEV commented positively on the quality and quantity of foreign investments, stating that they are an occasion for the development of new specialized staff in key areas of high demand such as programming and Artificial Intelligence technologies, while special reference was made to the inability to find skilled and the well-known Brain Drain phenomenon. It is important to cultivate the relations between universities and companies and to strengthen the startup ecosystem of the country, Mr. Papalexopoulos underlined, characteristically mentioning the BSE initiatives for apprenticeships and internships with Greek universities, such as the National and Kapodistrian University.

In conclusion, he stressed that the brand name of the country has been significantly improved, which had received a strong blow in recent years, while he closed his position by referring to the strengthening of the productive fabric of the country.

A dialogue followed between the President of EASE, Mr. Vassilis Rabat and the Chairman of the Board of SEV, Mr. Dimitris Papalexopoulos. Initially, Rabat referred to the results of an EASE survey, CEO Index, which showed CEOs’ concerns about issues such as pandemics, inflation and energy prices. Mr. Papalexopoulos’s assessment is that the pandemic will be controlled in the near future, but he expressed his concern about the energy crisis, as he stated that many investments are needed in green growth and new practices which, however, require time to be adopted by companies. He added that the costs for the transition to renewable energy sources are high and governments should take care not to increase inequalities in society.

Regarding the issue of climate change raised by Mr. Rabat and whether Greek companies can grow in the climate of uncertainty it causes, the Chairman of the Board of SEV commented that the issue requires coordination and consensus worldwide and that the EU .Ε. is moving in the right direction but there are still many moves to be made by the companies themselves to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Regarding the revenues from the Recovery Fund, both Mr. Rabat and Mr. Papalexopoulos jointly pointed out that the main issue is to absorb the available resources in such a way as to further strengthen the development course of the country.