Looking forwards to commercial revival

One of the parts of my job that I most love is the work we do to support British business here in Greece. Because of the deep and long recession, the market here is tough and British imports have fallen hugely. Last year, however, they rose again – by 8%: the first time in many years. British investors are also still interested in Greece, and have been investing in bank recapitalisations and pushing forward tourism projects.

After spending a lot of time in 2013 getting to know the British businesses that operate in Greece, I’ve concentrated more this year on Greek companies that have British partners, or which are simply doing something important and innovative to influence the future of the Greek economy.

Greece has the challenge of finding a new economic model, based not, as in the past, on consumption, but on production, invention, competitivity and an export-driven attitude. Everyone in Europe is looking for new sources of growth and employment. Here in Greece the search is imperative.

In November 2011, the management consultancy McKinsey & Company published a report, Greece 10 Years Ahead, the authors of which identified five “production sectors” with the greatest potential to contribute to the future growth of Greece: i.e. tourism, retail, energy, manufacturing and agriculture. In addition, they came up with eight “rising stars”, which are not of great significance now, but have big future growth prospects, such as waste management and specialized food types.

The report inspired me to get in touch with different businesses in the sectors mentioned by McKinsey – to get a better take on progress in the real economy. I’ve been impressed by what I’ve seen. In these past four months, I’ve visited:

• CORALLIA – an inspiring organisation, based in the western city of Patras and in one of Athens northern suburbs. It supports innovation clusters and is run by a professor called Makios, who has a great vision of what high-tech can bring to the Greek economy.
• SPACE HELLAS – a Systems Integrator and Value Added Solutions Provided in the field of telecommunications, IT and security. It has a close and strategic co-operation with BT.
• APIVITA – Greece’s original natural cosmetics company, inspired by the society and products of the bee. Its founders explained to me their values at their high-tech and very green HQ in the countryside outside Athens. The company is ambitiously geared towards new export markets, including to the UK.
• ELVAL – the biggest Greek manufacturer of rolled aluminium. The scale and effectiveness of its automated and mechanised operations are astonishing (everyone tells me Greece has no industrial base: not true!). ELVAL has just announced a new investment at its English factory in Bridgnorth.
• ENERGEAN Oil and Gas – an international exploration and production company for oil and gas, operating in Greece and Egypt. It’s working with BP and Trajan Oil. I had the great honour of visiting the rig at Prinos, near the northern island of Thasos, and the on-shore installations at Kavala. ENERGEAN has recently won new concessions in the west of Greece.

These businesses are showing passion, idealism and creativity, and are staying afloat in the harshest of economic climates.

With my background in the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, I’ve been really pleased also to get involved in the important food and drink sectors. At the annual HORECA fair in February, I did my bit to support the import of quality British meat and sausages. Promoting British beef, in particular, is a great privilege, and EBLEX does a great job. I’ve also made trips to Rezos Imports, who ship foodstuffs from the UK into Greece; VIKOS, a high-tech mineral-water bottling company in the beautiful hills of Epiros; and wineries with great potential in the region of Corinthia. In these sectors, the economy is gaining dynamism and self-confidence.

My visits this year have given me confidence in Greek enterprise and ambition. It’s not fashionable here to be an optimist. But this country lacks neither for entrepreneurial flair nor for vision and ideas. Singing the successes that exist is part of promoting Greece’s new economic model. Those of us who know and love Greece, and want to contribute to its revival, whether as tourists, as investors or as trading partners, all have a stake in that.