The ProCredit group brought together SMEs for a B2B event in Thessaloniki

“Realising the potential of the region – SMEs join forces” – ProCredit brings together more than 500 SMEs from South Eastern and Eastern Europe at a B2B event in Thessaloniki. The ProCredit group brought together SMEs from South Eastern and Eastern Europe for a B2B event in Thessaloniki. The event was occasioned by the start of ProCredit Bank Bulgaria’s operations in Greece, where the bank opened a branch in Thessaloniki in November 2015.

The Thessaloniki branch complements the strong regional presence of the ProCredit group in the Balkan countries. The ProCredit group of banks, which focuses on SMEs, is also present in the region in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Macedonia and Romania, as well as in the CIS countries Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, and is also represented in Germany.

The B2B event was attended by more than 500 selected SME clients from the ten South Eastern/Eastern European ProCredit banks as well as by selected Greek SMEs. As a banking group that specialises in providing banking services for SMEs, ProCredit is committed to promoting regional co-operation and development in this sector.

To kick off the morning part of the programme, Mr Kostadinov introduced the ProCredit group as a partner for SMEs. Next, Hans-Joachim Fuchtel, Member of the German Parliament, Parliamentary Secretary of State at the Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development, spoke about the development of the region around Thessaloniki. Mr Fuchtel’s speech was followed by a welcoming address from Konstantinos Michalos, President of the Union of Hellenic Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Greece.

A positive signal for the Greek economy was the signing of an agreement between the EIF and ProCredit to increase lending to innovative SMEs as well as small mid-caps under InnovFin – EU finance for innovators, an initiative supported by the European Commission. The European Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos attended the signing as it was the first signing in Greece. The agreement belongs to the framework of the initiative “EU InnovFin Financing for innovation”, with financing support from the European Commission’s program “Horizon 2020”, and has the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI), core of the so-called “Juncker Plan”, which has already activated investments of more than 80 bil. EUR throughout Europe.

For more informationі: http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/video/player.cfm?ref=I120738

The amount of EUR 20 million will allow ProCredit to provide finance to innovative companies in Greece. The ProCredit group had already signed a similar agreement for other countries where the group operates, and this latest signing has now brought Greece under the umbrella of the InnovFin SME guarantee scheme.

B2B meetings called “Meet your potential business partner” commenced at around noon, allowing similar SMEs from different countries to find common interests and consider cooperation. The more than 500 companies, which represented sectors such as production, trade, agriculture, mechanical engineering, textiles, IT and renewable energy, enthusiastically embraced this opportunity to engage in close dialogue.

The 19 companies came from Ukraine and had more than 100 meetings. In total the business owners had more than 3,500 meetings; on average, the around 500 companies in attendance each had seven meetings, which means seven new markets and seven new potential partners. All meetings were scheduled in advance. The breakdown of the number of businesses and meetings per country is as follows:

Country Number of companies No. of persons attending Accepted meetings Average meetings per company Albania 40 40 181 4,5 BiH 27 40 198 7,3 Bulgaria 92 172 614 6,7 Georgia 18 27 115 6,4 Greece 90 109 668 7,4 Kosovo 47 60 306 6,5 FYROM 52 60 380 7,3 Moldova 11 12 66 6 Romania 56 96 603 6,2 Serbia 85 94 603 7,1 Ukraine 19 32 104 5,5 Total 537 742 3 582 6,7 During the event, clients and visitors had the opportunity to become better acquainted with the ProCredit banks and the ProCredit group thanks to the 11 stands staffed by the ProCredit banks (ten from the region along with ProCredit Bank Germany). The stands provided information about the banks’ services, especially the attractive conditions for payment transactions between the various countries of the group. In another area of the event venue, a “Green Exhibition” presented the group’s approach to environmental management, providing examples involving both clients and staff. And last but not least, attendees had the chance to tour the newly opened modern branch in Thessaloniki with its fully installed 24/7 self-service area that is equipped with the latest technology.

During the second part of the event, ProCredit organised a round of special presentations on ProCredit’s modern approach to banking. The first, held by Mr Kostadinov and devoted to ProCredit’s green approach to finance, described how the principles are applied and lived by the group. Next, Christoph Freytag, spokesman of the Management Board of ProCredit Bank Germany, discussed the advantages of the bank’s fair and attractive services for the South Eastern and Eastern Europe region. To wrap up the afternoon part of the programme, Dr Claus-Peter Zeitinger, the “guiding spirit” behind the ProCredit group, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ProCredit Holding and owner of IPC, the largest single shareholder, presented the high standards of the group-wide staff policy as well as the training and continuing professional development programme for staff.

For the evening part of the event, ProCredit Holding invited the guests to the Nautical Club of Thessaloniki. Live music and Greek food made for a relaxed, festive atmosphere.