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Description
While conventional Business Models focus on monetary value creation for companies’ shareholders, Sustainable Business Models (SBMs) focus on creating social, environmental, and economic value, as well as on minimising businesses’ impact. Sustainable Business Models Innovation (SBMI) is considered a process of transition from conventional Business Models to the implementation of SBMs. This process aims at positive or reduced negative impacts for the environment, society and at long-term prosperity of the organisation and its stakeholders.
In Greece, SMEs (which account for 99.9% of businesses, 64.4% of employment and 51.8% of total value added) have suffered from the prolonged recession of 2010-2018 as well as subsequent COVID-19 related impacts. The adverse economic environment has affected all aspects of entrepreneurship in the country, especially for small and micro-SMEs, including access to low-cost capital, R&I and investment capabilities, employment, and overall competitiveness. As a result, only 18% of Greek firms have taken measures against climate change, compared to 45% in the EU. The lack of environmental investment is even more stark amongst Greek SMEs with 11% investing in climate change measures and energy efficient investments making up only 3% of total investment.
As SBMs and CEBMs are, and will be more so in the future, an important competitiveness factor for businesses, there is a widening competitiveness gap between Greek SMEs and large or multi-national enterprises. This gap results in a vicious circle for small and micro-SMEs, whereby limited competitiveness and profitability, narrows available resources for transition into SBMs and CEBMs, resulting to further widening of the competitiveness gap, to further loss of profitability, and so on.
This project aims exactly at narrowing this gap, by improving the conditions for the adoption of Sustainable and Circular Economy Business Models by Greek Small and Micro-SMEs.
Summary of project results
While conventional Business Models focus on monetary value creation for companies’ shareholders, Sustainable Business Models (SBMs) focus on creating social, environmental, and economic value, as well as on minimising businesses’ impact. Sustainable Business Models Innovation (SBMI) is considered a process of transition from conventional Business Models to the implementation of SBMs. This process aims at positive or reduced negative impacts for the environment, society and at long-term prosperity of the organisation and its stakeholders.
In Greece, SMEs (which account for 99.9% of businesses, 64.4% of employment and 51.8% of total value added) have suffered from the prolonged recession of 2010-2018 as well as subsequent COVID-19 related impacts. The adverse economic environment has affected all aspects of entrepreneurship in the country, especially for small and micro-SMEs, including access to low-cost capital, R&I and investment capabilities, employment, and overall competitiveness. As a result, only 18% of Greek firms have taken measures against climate change, compared to 45% in the EU. The lack of environmental investment is even more stark amongst Greek SMEs with 11% investing in climate change measures and energy efficient investments making up only 3% of total investment.
As SBMs and CEBMs are, and will be more so in the future, an important competitiveness factor for businesses, there is a widening competitiveness gap between Greek SMEs and large or multi-national enterprises. This gap results in a vicious circle for small and micro-SMEs, whereby limited competitiveness and profitability, narrows available resources for transition into SBMs and CEBMs, resulting to further widening of the competitiveness gap, to further loss of profitability, and so on.
This project aimed to narrow this gap, by improving the conditions for the adoption of Sustainable and Circular Economy Business Models by Greek Small and Micro-SMEs.
Activity 1: Acquisition of new knowledge and capacity building
Instructors for the “Train the Trainers” were selected. The coaching curriculum, training and mentoring was formatted, and the “Train the Trainers” sessions were successfully completed within phase one of the project. The training was conducted by Oslo International Hub. The personnel trained (from Triaena and ACCI) developed core competencies to assist micro-enterprises and start-ups in transforming their conventional Business Models to Sustainable and Circular Economy ones.
Activity 2: Training, Mentoring and participation in relevant events
22 startups were selected to participate in the training and mentoring offered. Specifically, partners conducted an introductory training seminar on SBMI to the startups (40 hours in total) and offered them one to one mentoring services (600 hours in total), so each company develops its own transition roadmap to enhance their current business characteristics in terms of sustainability and circularity. In parallel, TRIAENA and ACCI worked with their Norwegian Partner, IDN, to promote networking opportunities to all startups based on their profiles. The partners also selected 6 out of the 22 startups to accompany them to Startup Extreme fair in Hemsedal, Norway so they would have the opportunity to build bilateral partnerships with their peers in Norway.
The project contributed to an increased capacity for business development, for the participating startups. It also increased the capacity of Triaena and ACCI to offer targeted support to businesses in the future.
In total:
- 22 members of staff (18 ACCI members and 4 TRISYNC members) received training on Business Model Transformation.
- 22 Startups received training (40 hours group training) as well as targeted mentoring and coaching services (600 hours in total) to transform their business models towards sustainability and circularity, so they are now in position to
- understand their strengths/weaknesses, and exploit opportunities to further develop their business and secure a sustainable competitive advantage or/ and a first mover advantage for their business,
- apply and promote more responsible and regenerative ways of doing business.
- The 2 women-led startups that attended Startup Extreme received mentoring support from the Women Investors Network-WIN in Norway to make their business more marketable and attract funding from women investors. In addition, the rest of the startups that did not attend Startup Extreme and especially the women-led ones, (women-led startups accounted for 45 % of total project participants), networked with WIN representatives through online meetings and received consultation on how to boost gender equality and female entrepreneurship, as part of embracing a more sustainable business model.
- The Consortium started the necessary procedures for the development of an accreditation of the INSPIRATION Training & Mentoring Curriculum and Program addressed to all SMEs, and the certification of the INSPIRATION trainees. The process will be concluded after project completion.
Summary of bilateral results
IDN’s role as a partner in this project worked as a catalyst for the project’s successful completion. Since IDN possesses extensive knowledge and expertise on co-funded projects that promote sustainability and circularity, the Norwegian partner’s contribution was nodal to project success, in all project phases.The Consortium also collaborated successfully with the Women Investor Network in Norway.•The WIN representatives attended online meetings with all startups, aimed at strengthening women in business, as employees, leaders and decision-makers, as well as assisting them in making their company more marketable, and attractive to Norwegian women funders.•WIN representatives along with Consortium, accompanied the six selected startups to the Startup Extreme fair in Hemsedal, Norway. All six startups and especially the women-led ones, were offered extensive consultation by the WIN representatives, so they further cultivate a business culture that practically embraces gender equality and promotes female entrepreneurship, while undergoing SBMI.