The Regional Development Fund of Western Macedonia (RDF) and the National Center for Research and Technological Development (EKETA), as project partners finMED «Boosting the financing of innovation for green growth sectors through innovative clusters services in the MED area», and in the context of implementing the project’s actions, they implemented two Meetings – Discussions with the participation of involved organizations and business representatives, at the headquarters of the Regional Development Fund of Western Macedonia in Kozani.
The first one Meeting-Discussion took place on Wednesday 23 June 2021 with subject “Improving the design, implementation and performance of the financial tools implemented in the framework of the Operational Programs”, in which they participated the deputy governors of the Region of Western Macedonia, Mr Nikolaos Lyssaridis, Deputy Governor of Regional Development and Mr George Vavliaras, Deputy Regional Governor for Business Development, as well as representatives of the agencies planning, implementing and evaluating financial tools, Mr. Kakoudis Athanasios, Director of Programs of KEPA – ANEM, gentlemen Papaioannou Ioannis and Rigas Dimitrios, Executives of the Special Management Service of the Operational Program of the Region of Western Macedonia and Ms. Papaterpou Liana, Head of the Department of Entrepreneurship & Innovation/Enterprise Europe Network of ANKO Western Macedonia SA. During the Meeting – Discussion of the involved bodies, a substantial dialogue was developed, which focused on the design of policies to support SMEs with the primary objective of the effectiveness of the applied policies, the recognition and resolution of problems both during the submission, evaluation and management of the submitted investment project proposals. The necessity of control, monitoring and evaluation of the applied financial tools at the regional or national level was also pointed out, as through their evaluation the range of changes expected to be brought by each program is reflected, as well as any failures thereof. The results of the audit must be made available to the Administrative Authorities, the Intermediate Management Bodies and final beneficiaries, contributing to better communication and more effective implementation of the programs between the involved bodies.
Common ground is the improvement of the absorption of funds at the regional level and the necessary flexibility that the competent bodies must demonstrate in order to recognize and cover the changing needs of the SMEs that form the backbone of the Greek economy, which are particularly vulnerable to the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic and to economic crises in general.
The second one Meeting-Discussion was held on Wednesday 30 June 2021 with a focus on “Economic Enhancement Factors of Business Ecosystems”, with the participation of Mr Riga Dimitriou, executive of the Special Management Service of the Operational Program of the Region of Western Macedonia, of Ms. Papaterpou Lianas, Head of the Department of Entrepreneurship & Innovation/Enterprise Europe Network of ANKO Western Macedonia SA, Mr Vasilis Machairas from the Structure RIS3 of the Regional Development Fund of Western Macedonia, of Giouzios Dimitrios, PhD Candidate of the Department of Electrical Engineering & of Computer Engineering at the University of Western Macedonia, and a freelancer specializing in new IT technologies, and business entities Can.I.bi with activity the cultivation of industrial hemp, of Proud Farms model incubator of dairy goat and sheep farming, of PANAMAR OBEE engaged in the processing of marble, granite and natural stones, of Compulsory Cooperative of Shot Producers of Kozani with over 1.000 members and exclusive right to collect, package and distribute the Kozani saffron, the hotel unit Mimallones based in Florina and the company VISION GROUP with the activity of providing consulting services to SMEs.
Very interesting point by her Meeting-Discussion it was the narration of the experiences of SMEs from their participation in financial tools/programs, which highlighted the dialogue between the participants and focused on the prospect of further strengthening the cooperation of planning, implementation and evaluation bodies of financial tools, entrepreneurship support bodies and small and medium-sized enterprises, with the aim of optimal understanding of the financing opportunities available to SMEs, especially those belonging to and oriented to sectors of green development. In particular the discussion focused on the applied policy of the European Commission for state aid to small and medium enterprises, and especially of businesses that operate in sectors of of transport, vol processing and trading of agricultural products,
At this point the application of the rule was mentioned de minimis (de minimis aid). The upper limit of the total investments that the company can receive over a three-year period and the critical time period for which it is granted raise a problem among the interlocutors. Given the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the EU has adopted a Temporary Business Support Framework, which includes various actions to deal with its consequences, instead of de Minimis. It was recognized and marked by the participants n lack of a regional sectoral strategy as a major problem especially in a rapidly changing and highly competitive global climate.
Further, the discussion focused on the productivity and sustainability of agriculture and animal husbandry through cooperative formations with the aim of promoting actions and partnerships that demonstrate respect for the protection of the environment and adaptation to climate change.
At the end of the meeting, the operation of the RIS Support Structure was mentioned, which was created on the initiative of the RDF of Western Macedonia and its purposes include the facilitation of the interconnection between businesses and research bodies, as well as the facilitation of the interconnection of the labor market with the Smart Specialization of PDM.
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