The Deputy Foreign Minister for international economic relations, Dimitris Mardas, discussed the issue of promoting outsourcing with the president of the Greek International Business Association (SEVE), Kyriakos Loufakis, and the director general of the Greek-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Athanasios Kelemis, at a meeting today at the Foreign Ministry.
It was agreed at the meeting to make the web platform ProGreece (http://www.pro-greece.com) available to all the bilateral Chambers. ProGreece has been developed by the Greek-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in cooperation with SEVE, to strengthen the pursuit of outsourcing cooperation between Greek enterprises and businesses in other countries
ProGreece is an interactive network of German and Greek companies. The aim of the network is to promote cooperation between Greek enterprises –withsurplus production or a desire to expand their turnover – and German companies that aim to capitalize on outsourcing. It is an effort towards collective promotion of the Greek business community in German industry, helping significantly in the Greek export sector.
Chambers interested in using the ProGreece platform can contact the Thessaloniki branch of the Greek-German Chamber by telephone, at (+30) 2310327733, or SEVE, at (+30)2310535333.
Finally, in the context of the meetings held, the programme of Mr. Mardas visit to Berlin this July was agreed upon. This visit aims to present the ProGreece platform to the Central Union of German Chambers – the German equivalent of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) – and to the German Foreign Ministry.
Greek International Business Association Export Summit IV
In the meanwhile, during the SEVE (Greek International Business Association) Export Summit IV in Thessaloniki on Wednesday, Nicholas Papadopoulos, professor of marketing and international business at Carleton University, said that a country brand serves as “a boarding pass for products to international markets, but data reveals that Greece is at the end of the line”.
As the keynote speaker of the Conference, he stressed that the image of a country is formed based on the model of FAB (Features, Advantages, Benefits), in the sense that the features and advantages you claim must promise benefit to the consumer.
During a relevant survey, 4,627 consumers in 20 countries were asked to assess the image of 18 countries and Greece came 13th among 18 countries with regard to “overall image”, 14th on “How would you assess the country’s products” and 13th on “Would you buy”.
“The reputation of Greece abroad, which was a passport for Greek entrepreneurs during the Athens Olympic Games [in 2004], has today, some 10 years later, become a problem,” SEVE President Kyriakos Loufakis commented.
According to other experts, riots and protests, blocking railway lines and ports, ongoing strikes as well as the uncertainty of the ongoing debt crisis, have all exacerbated the negative image of Greece internationally.
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