Tales of Greek Businesses Defying Crisis

Despite the financial crisis that has been plaguing Greece and making media headlines over the past six years, there is another “face of Greece” consisting, among others, of both established and emerging entrepreneurs who defy the economic crisis and prosper against the odds. In this spirit, a project titled Greek Crisis Success Stories was recently launched by Greek Liberties Monitor and Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom aiming to tell the tale of a different Greece: of innovative entrepreneurs and business people that toil in the country daily, creating value and jobs, sustaining the local economy, fighting through the problems and creating hope for something better in Greece.

To communicate these success stories, a series of videos were made, one for each of the six companies presented in the first series of the project, as well as a documentary video with all of them combined, speaking about their projects with glimpse of their products, employees and endeavours. Thus, the initiators of the project aim to rebrand Greece by turning attention away from the crisis and showing Greece through the eyes of successful entrepreneurs who can add value to the country’s trademark.

Specifically, the six videos of the Greek companies presented in the first series of the project are:

EPSA: a soft drinks and fruit juice company that was founded in Volos, 1924. In 2011, the company innovated by creating the first Greek organic soft drinks, “EPSA organic carbonated orangeade” and “EPSA organic carbonated lemonade”, while it was the first company in its sector to put in the market soft drinks with sweetener from the stevia plant instead of sugar.

EZA: a company with a 30 years’ brewing experience that is producing, importing and distributing national and international beer brands in Greece and abroad. EZA applies successfully an integrated system of state-of-the-art production and environmental care processes, collaborating successfully with more than 2.500 stores (hotels, restaurants, cafes) with impeccable service and highly esteemed products.

GAEA: the company was founded in 1995 and its name didn’t come about by accident; in ancient Greek mythology, Gaea was Mother Earth—a symbol of fertility and the goodness of the earth. As such, the company has the vision to introduce the world to the benefits of the Greek Mediterranean diet by combining exquisite Greek products based on olive oil with its penchant for tradition and simplicity and thus, to become international ambassador not just of top-quality olive oil products, but of a better, healthier, more fulfilling way of eating—and living.

INCELLIGENT: a Greek startup that enables network operators advance their retention processes, optimize network management, monetize big – data and become IoT ready. The company addresses to TelCos, but also to operators of the networks of special hotspots as smart cities, airports and malls.

KYON (Kύων, /ki:on/ in ancient Greek, dog): it all started when the founders of the company realized it was difficult to find healthy and nutritious dog treats that were free from preservatives and additives to feed their own dogs. Then, they came up with six different recipes, combining only the finest human grade ingredients sourced from local producers all over Greece.

TAXIBEAT: a company that began as a mobile application company which helps passengers quickly find the best taxi for their transportation and lets drivers connect to passengers through a fair reward system. The aim is to create a smarter, faster, and more effective transportation platform for all. Keeping that in mind, Taxibeat invests in two main areas: technology and customer support.

The six companies presented in the first series of the project employ altogether more than 350 employees, while they export their products to more than 35 countries and have a gross profit of more than 30 million euro annually. The initiators of the project “Greek Crisis Success Stories” are currently in pre-production for the second series, which will show more such companies, and different aspects and innovative approaches to entrepreneurship in Greece.

Watch video: Greek Crisis Success Stories (in Greek)