Since April 6, 2017, June 27 has been established by the UN as "Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day" with the aim of highlighting the importance of SMEs in sustainable development on a global scale.

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 99% of businesses in the EU. They provide two-thirds of jobs in the private sector and contribute more than half of the total added value created by businesses in the EU.

In particular, in Greece, Small and Medium Enterprises reach 99.5% of the country's businesses and employ over 86.9% of the workforce, a percentage higher than any other member state of the Union.

The European Commission, through the NSRF and its Programs, has consistently supported small and medium-sized entrepreneurship both during the financial crisis and during the COVID 19 pandemic and continues to support it during the current program period.

Specifically, through the Operational Program "Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation" (EPANEK - NSRF 2014-2020) and before the outbreak of the pandemic, 2.76 billion euros were allocated to SMEs with the contribution of the resources of the European Regional Development Fund.

General entrepreneurship Actions were published which provided key support to a wide range of SMEs at a difficult time due to the economic crisis, focusing on smart specialization areas and more broadly many different professional sectors by co-financing significant investment costs. At the same time, training and employment support actions were also published, which also contributed to supporting the development of SMEs.

Specifically, the following are implemented:

• 26,000 investment plans to upgrade/modernize/establish approximately 22,000 existing and newly established small and medium enterprises
• 1,480 research and innovation projects of around 1,300 small and medium enterprises

Also subsidized:

• 133 start-ups & innovative businesses with seed and co-investment funds, many of which attracted additional international investment funds.

Creating:

• 16,400 new full-time jobs, the majority of which are still active

In addition, training and employment support actions were also published which also contributed to supporting the development of SMEs through the various entrepreneurship actions financed with resources of the European Social Fund totaling 326 million euros:

• 1,110 businesses with start-up characteristics were established
• 7,300 higher education graduates were supported to establish or upgrade a sole proprietorship related to their degree
• 4,500 new full-time jobs were created, the majority of which are still active
• 13,000 companies providing accounting services are being strengthened for their digital upgrade and to support the operations and requirements of the public administration and their customers.

After the outbreak of the health crisis and with resources from the European Regional Development Fund and through the REACT-EU initiative, additional actions totaling 4.51 billion euros were implemented:

• 30,000 SMEs were financed through Portfolio Funds with loans & guarantees to secure necessary Working Capital
• 24,500 small and medium enterprises were financed to subsidize interest on their loans already taken before the pandemic
• 36,150 small and medium enterprises were financed with direct and non-refundable aid to secure working capital
• 311,500 SMEs were financed through aid in the form of repayable advances
• 455 start-ups (members of the ELEVATE GREECE Registry) were funded for their operational costs
• 1,457 businesses of gyms - playgrounds through support for re-starting, after the suspension period of the specific activities
• 13,700 self-employed lawyers were financed with direct and non-refundable aid for the digital upgrade of their activities.

It is obvious from the above data that the support of SMEs during the pandemic by EPANEK was decisive in order for them to survive and then to recover.

It should be emphasized that the support of co-financed resources is not only about direct (direct) support, but also about the creation of important financial tools that contribute to the rapid financing of many small businesses with their access to affordable business loans (e.g. through the Entrepreneurship Fund (TEPIX II), the Business Participations Fund (EQUIFUND) and the Guarantee Fund (Guarantee Fund).

However, the strengthening of SMEs does not stop with EPANEK. With the new programming period, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises remains a top priority. The "Competitiveness 2021 - 2027" Program with a budget of 3.9 billion euros in the context of the new NSRF focuses precisely on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises. So far it has published 2 sets of Actions with a total budget of 1 billion. euros ("Green Transition of SMEs" 700 million euros and "Digital Transformation of SMEs" 300 million euros) in which Greek businesses have already shown interest by submitting more than 8,000 funding applications.

The Program's support for small and medium entrepreneurship will continue with future actions as business establishment actions are planned (Strengthening the Establishment and Operation of New Small and Medium Enterprises and Strengthening the Establishment and Operation of New Tourism Enterprises) while at the same time the Action "Research-Innovate" is expected where contributes significantly to the development of research and innovation by SMEs as well as to their collaboration with research bodies (see here the Programming of the Program's Actions.).

Overall, the pivotal role of the E.U. in combination with national resources they contribute not only to the viability of very small businesses but also to the creation of the conditions for them to develop further, so that they become more competitive and sustainable in order to contribute to the increase in employment and the growth of the country's GDP.