27/10/2024
European Mentor Day ,Oct 14th, 2024
Speech by Ms Theoni Alampasi
Secretary General for Financial Sector and Private Debt Management
ladies and gentlemen,
For my part, I welcome the work of the annual European Mentors Day event organized this year by the Athens Chamber of Tradesmen (EEA) and the Institute of Small Businesses of GSEVEE (ΙΜΕ GSEVEE), in the framework of the initiatives of the Pan-European Network of Early Warning of Business Risk (Early Warning Europe Network) to honor the contribution of the Business Risk Early Warning Volunteer Mentors to the implementation of the Early Warning Europe project.
The voluntary contribution of the Mentors to the rescue and development of small and medium enterprises that participated in the Early Warning Program was decisive in the success of this program. Also, the success of the European Program 'Early Warning Europe' was a catalyst, to recognize the contribution of the development of an Early Warning Mechanism to the prevention of insolvency, which is confirmed by the inclusion of Early Warning in the European Directive 2019/1023, which was incorporated in Greek legislation with Law 4738/2020.
Mentoring is a practice that has been increasingly adopted in recent years to support and strengthen individuals and businesses by transferring expertise and knowledge from experienced to less experienced individuals. Therefore, business Mentors must have proven experience and specific skills to be effective in business mentoring.
The interaction between mentor and mentee leads to creating a climate of trust and support and developing a high-performance culture by promoting the transfer of skills and knowledge.
In addition, I firmly believe that the institution of Mentoring can work more effectively in collaboration with Social Partners such as, for example, Chambers, Professional Associations, and Institutes of Institutional Social Agencies, as through the relevant Mentor volunteer registers the process of searching for Mentors with the required experience and skills.
The General Secretariat of the Financial Sector & Private Debt Management as a competent structure of the Ministry of National Economy & Finance since its establishment among others "contributes to the planning and implementation of the national strategy for the organization of an integrated mechanism for the effective management of private debt and the avoidance of over-indebtedness».
Law 4738/2020 regarding Debt Settlement and the provision of a second chance, consists of 4 pillars of which 1o pillar concerns the field of prevention.
Specifically, it is foreseen to establish a procedure for debtors (natural and legal persons) to access an early warning electronic platform as well as the provision of advisory services in the event of their classification in a medium or high insolvency risk category.
The debtor, with his application on the electronic platform, permits the access of the data concerning him, to determine the level of the risk of insolvency. By processing the financial data through an algorithm, the debtor is classified into three (3) levels of insolvency risk:
low-medium-high.
In case the debtors are classified in a medium or high insolvency risk category, it is provided for:
a) for natural persons, the provision of support services by the Borrower Information and Support Centers through the myEGDIXlive service.
b) for self-employed and legal entities, the provision of free advisory services by Debtor Support Bodies (such as the Chambers, Professional Associations, and Institutes of Institutional Social Partners I mentioned above):
In this context, a "Register of Volunteer Advisory Service Providers" is established which is observed in each Debtor Support Agency.
At the same time, aiming to further strengthen the early warning mechanism, a project financed by the Recovery Fund is underway.
This project includes:
1. Upgrading the electronic platform with changes, additions, upgrades, and improvements to the platform.
2. The training and certification of professional advisers, coming from the register of professional advisers. It should be noted that the contractor of the education project is the association of economic entities entitled "PROFESSIONAL CHAMBER OF ATHENS - INSTITUTE OF SMALL BUSINESSES GSEVEE", and the signing of the contract and the start of the implementation of the project are expected immediately.
3. Finally, the subsidization (via voucher) of the provision of advisory services by trained professional advisors to freelancers, entrepreneurs, and legal entities that will be classified in a medium or high insolvency risk category. This will begin in 2025 as a continuation of training.
The implementation of these initiatives is expected to contribute to the promotion of the early warning mechanism and the development of the Mentoring institution. It will lead to the substantial support of sustainable businesses and the prevention of the risk of insolvency.
I also personally consider the need to strengthen the institution of Mentoring to be of great importance and I believe that the implementation of the aforementioned projects is an extremely important tool regarding the targeted initiatives and actions of the state to support small and medium enterprises and promote entrepreneurship.
In closing, I would like to wish the European Mentors Day event continued success and hope for the continuation of our fruitful cooperation to achieve the best result that will have multiplying benefits for society.
