EOMMEX, Greece
EOMMEX, the Hellenic Organisation of small and medium sized enterprises and handicraft is the official SMEs Support organisation in Greece directly tied with the Ministry of Development.
Established as a private law legal entity by Law 707/1977, EOMMEX's mission is the active contribution to the shaping of policies for SMEs, the design, promotion, implementation and co-ordination of institutions, measures ,actions and development programmes for the creation and growth of small and medium-sized enterprises within the framework of government policy in Greece and in Europe.
In 1984 new activities were added to EOMMEX's competence, mainly of a credit and financing nature. At the same time during the period 1984-1990, EOMMEX developed a policy of establishing and operating subsidiary companies, either as technological or development sectoral institutes or as innovation centres with the aim of specialising in the services provided to the SMEs in a particular sector and an overall goal of devolving the responsibility for their operations to the bodies relating to their activity, with EOMMEX participating in the Boards of Directors via one of its representatives.
Recently, by means of Presidential Decree 159/97, issued in implementation of Law 2414/96, EOMMEX was transformed into a Societe Anonyme with a public benefit character which operates in the public interest on the basis of private economy rules and with the goal of the advancement, promotion and support of the development of small to medium-sized enterprises in Greece in the secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy within the framework of the applicable government policy using every appropriate means.
EOMMEX, as co-ordinating body, will monitor and evaluate the activity of the local support mechanisms for SMEs, while promoting cooperation between the members of the network it will contribute to the avoidance of the problems that arose in the past such as the fragmentation of actions on SMEs.
The developmental work of EOMMEX, which has been judged successful and universally recognized, supporting the development of approximately 40,000 SMEs in the manufacturing , service (and recently) in the trade sector, may be characterised in many cases as innovative and can demonstrate successful applications:
- In the technical or financial support of SMEs in introducing New Technologies & Innovations into their daily operations,
- in the development of the institution of Subcontracting,
- in reinforcement for the creation and development of New Enterprises,
- in the Collective organisation of SMEs in order to successfully carry out large orders or in order to achieve economies of scale,
- In assisting the Marketing operation of Greek SMEs (the creation of company identity, the way in which Greek SMEs are presented on the international market, specialized market research, assistance to SMEs for their participation in special exhibitions abroad, etc.), missions for Joint Ventures
- in the drafting and implementation of special Training and Educational programmes, in publications covering all entrepreneurial aspects
- in the organization of special national and international Conferences and related events for SMEs and their operational subjects,
- In the introduction, development and support of the Entrepreneurial Spirit to the wider socio-economic environment.
- In the participation, implementation and project management of EU Development programmes globally
- In the introduction of the SMEs observatory centre
Strategic Orientation
The new strategic orientation of EOMMEX is:- To be the basic vehicle of the State for the policy on SMEs with an overview, advisory, co-ordinating, and management role.
- To develop activities which will exploit Community resources for economic development and contribute to the creation of institutions, structures, and infrastructure for the country in the service of meeting the needs of SMEs
- To be creator and multiplier of development institutions and activities and catalyst for the activation of the private sector with the aim of exploiting these institutions and activities
- To promote and apply support and connection activities for the manufacturing, trade, services and tourism sectors, and
- To contribute at the same time, in a real way, to the reinforcement of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as to micro enterprises (MEs).
Strategic Goals
- support for design of the National Policy
- promotion of support measures for SMEs and MEs
- improvement of the Entrepreneurial Environment
- development of New Enterprises and the entrepreneurial spirit among Young people & Women
- reinforcement of the Competitiveness of enterprises
- creation and development of the network of support structures for SMEs
- participation in Donor Aided development programmes
Contact
Theodore Kokoris
EOMMEX
16 Xenias Street
11528
Athens
Greece
Tel: +30 210 7491379
Fax: +30 210 7491312
e-mail: kokoris@eommex.gr