Participation of the president of EVEA in the SEPE digital forum

The President of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Giannis Bratakos, participated in a panel on “Business 2.0 – Upgrading Competitiveness” in the context of the annual conference of SEPE for the digital economy “Digital Economy Forum 2021:” Digitalization, no longer a choice but a necessity “.

Asked about the current situation regarding the use of digital technologies by Greek companies, Mr. Bratakos said that “the reality is that our country in recent years has not been so competitive digitally. In the digital convergence index of recent years, was usually in the last 3 places, only ahead of Bulgaria and Romania, but the pandemic and the digital leaps brought by the reform logic of the last two years, forced the companies to increase their digital capacity, making significant investments in the field. “It has to do with their digital modernization. Even small retail stores have taken investment steps to digitize their services.”

The president of EVEA referred to the conditions for strengthening the competitiveness of Greek companies. “Modern networks must be built to enable the expanded use of technology. Complete the necessary infrastructure to take advantage of new opportunities. At the institutional level, it is necessary to reform and digitize the justice system and speed up the relevant At present, funds that are at stake in a dispute risk being dormant for up to 5 years, which causes hesitation for both domestic and foreign investors, so the system must be strengthened with human resources and intangible resources. and be institutionally shielded ”

Mr. Bratakos also stressed the importance of financing small and medium enterprises, as a key tool to strengthen their competitiveness. “The financial tools and especially the part related to bank lending need to be opened. Small and medium-sized enterprises remain far from bank lending, as the traditional banker, who audited sustainable investment plans, has now been replaced. , has audited the industry and the market and has been replaced by specific indicators. ”