This chapter examines youth entrepreneurship in Greece, analysing entrepreneurial activity rates, motivations, and the capacity of young entrepreneurs to create impactful businesses. It reviews the entrepreneurship support system, including business support infrastructure, entrepreneurship education, start-up funding, and integrated support programmes.
Challenges for Young People in Greece to Reach Financial Independence
Abstract
The environment for youth entrepreneurship in Greece remains challenging, particularly regarding access to finance and scaling start-ups. Nevertheless, conditions have improved substantially compared with the years of the sovereign debt crisis (2009‑2014), when prolonged recession, regulatory complexity and limited investment significantly constrained business creation and growth. In response, the government launched a series of reforms to streamline licensing and administrative procedures, expand the use of digital services and introduce greater standardisation across economic activities. This includes the recent Law 5297/28.04.2026, which contains a large suite of measures such as streamlined licensing and operating regimes for some types of businesses (e.g. preschool care and education facilities; elderly care facilities) and the implementation of EU Regulation 2023/2411 on geographical indications for craft and industrial products. The aim of these types of reforms is to increase predictability for entrepreneurs and reduce the time and cost associated with starting and operating a business.
The business ecosystem has also benefited from a significant increase in public investment aimed at supporting the competitiveness and modernisation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This includes the deployment of resources through EU cohesion policy and the Recovery and Resilience Facility. Under the “Competitiveness 2021–2027” programme, nearly 9 800 projects have been approved with eligible public expenditure exceeding EUR 840 million, supporting the green and digital transformation of businesses. At the same time, more than 100 000 SMEs have benefited from dedicated Recovery and Resilience Facility programmes promoting digital adoption. These broader SME measures seek to expand market opportunities for existing businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs, including young people.
Young people in Greece show high levels of interest in entrepreneurship and self-employment, which contrasts with older generations. A recent Flash Eurobarometer (#513) survey showed that more than half of surveyed young people (15‑30 years old) indicated a preference for self-employment over working as an employee in 2022 compared to about four‑in-ten young people on average in the EU (European Commission, 2026[1]). This is consistent with other surveys such as the Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Student’s Survey (GUESSS) that covers nearly 260 000 university students across 57 countries. The most recent survey shows that more than 21% of responding university students in Greece indicated an interest in being an entrepreneur directly after completing their studies relative to about 16% of students globally (Sarri and Laspita, 2024[2]). Within five years of leaving university, the GUESSS survey suggests that entrepreneurial intention among young people in Greece increases by more than 60%.
The share of working youth who are self-employed is among the highest in the EU yet has declined over the last decade. In 2025, 11% of young people in Greece (20‑29 years old) were self-employed, which was down from about 15% in 2014, but nearly double the EU average in 2025 (6%) (Figure 2.1, Panel A). This high rate of self-employment is partly due to high levels of self-reported interest, likely driven by high perceived levels of income relative to salaried and wage employment, perceived control and flexibility over tasks, hours worked and working time, and an expectation among many young people that they will carry on a family-run business. However, one of the strongest drivers of high self-employment rates among young people in Greece is the lack of job opportunities. About one‑in-three young people who self-reported starting or managing a new business (i.e. less than 42 months old) indicated that they did so because they could not find a job. This was double the OECD average for this period (17%) (OECD/European Commission, 2023[3]).
Despite high levels of youth self-employment, the share who create jobs for others is equal to the EU average. In 2025, about 18% of young self-employed workers (20‑29 years old) had employees, which was equal to the EU average (Figure 2.1, Panel B). However, this share was well below the average for all self-employed workers (15‑64 years old) in 2025 (32%). This underlines the fragility of youth-led businesses as smaller businesses are more likely to offer lower quality working conditions (e.g. financial well-being, health and safety, work autonomy) (Brieger, Kruse and Potter, 2025[4]) and more likely to stop operations.
Once in the market, a high share of young Greek entrepreneurs operate in agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors. In 2025, more than half of young self-employed workers under 24 years old worked in this sector (51%) (Eurostat, 2026[5]). This was more than four times greater than the EU average, reflecting the industrial structure in Greece. However, it was also 70% higher than the overall share of Greek self-employed workers in this sector. This high concentration of young self-employed workers in this sector can be explained by both structural factors (e.g. small family-run farms dominate the farming sector) and cyclical factors (e.g. the debt crisis has greatly reduced opportunities in other sectors such as construction). In addition, the EU Common Agricultural Policy has offered many grants and tax incentives to “young famers” to attract them into the sector as independent operators rather than employees (European Commission, 2026[6]).
Source: Eurostat (2026[5]).
Surveys suggest that on average, young Greek entrepreneurs are less ambitious than those in other OECD countries and EU Member States. Over the period 2019‑2023, 8% of young Greek entrepreneurs reported that they expected to create at least 19 additional new jobs with their start-up (Figure 2.2). This level was below the EU average (11%) and half of the OECD average (16%). This can be explained by several factors, including a high share of young Greeks that report a “fear of failure” as a barrier to entrepreneurship (53% over the period 2019‑2023) (GEM, 2024[7]). This is the highest share among OECD countries and EU Member States and signals a strong risk aversion among young people. Other factors include difficult market conditions, relatively little capital available to fuel firm growth, and a negative cultural view towards entrepreneurship. For example, more than one‑third of people report that “entrepreneurs only think about profit” (European Commission, 2023[8]). This share was the second highest among EU Member States.
Further, young Greek entrepreneurs are less likely to report that they are introducing new products and services. One‑third of young Greek entrepreneurs reported that they had introduced new products or services between 2019 and 2023 (Figure 2.3). This was below the averages for the OECD (47%) and EU (49%) during this period. These low rates of basic innovation are consistent with low levels of ambition and capital constraints.
Share of early-stage entrepreneurs (18‑30 years old) who expect to create at least 19 jobs over the next five years, 2019‑2023
Note: Early-stage entrepreneurs are those who are actively involved in starting a business or who is the owner-operator of a business that is less than 42 months old.
Source: (GEM, 2024[7]), Special tabulations for the OECD of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) adult population survey for the years 2019 to 2023.
Like all entrepreneurs, young entrepreneurs face many challenges in successfully launching and growing a new business. The obstacles faced by young entrepreneurs are often inter-related and include a lack of entrepreneurship and business management skills, undercapitalisation, and small and ineffective professional networks (OECD/European Commission, 2020[9]). A fundamental explanation is that young people typically have little work experience and therefore have not had the opportunity to build the savings and collateral needed to acquire external funding nor to develop networks of partners, suppliers and professional service providers that are needed to access resources (e.g. provide advice, test ideas).
In Greece, many young entrepreneurs highlight difficulties accessing external finance as the greatest barriers faced in business creation. In 2022, nearly 45% of young Greek respondents to an EU-wide entrepreneurship survey indicated that a lack of start-up funding was the greatest barrier to entrepreneurship (Figure 2.4). This was above the EU average (37%) and among the top 5 countries where this barrier was most frequently cited. There are many factors underlying this result, including difficulties for lenders and investors to assess the risk of youth-led start-ups due to a lack of financial history and the high cost of administering small loans (OECD/European Commission, 2022[10]). These challenges are amplified in Greece by a difficult lending environment for small businesses as new bank loans to SMEs have not yet recovered to pre‑pandemic levels (OECD, 2026[11]).
Another common obstacle faced by young entrepreneurs is a lack of entrepreneurship skills. These skills include both general workplace skills (e.g. teamwork, problem solving) and additional skills that reflect the demands of running a business (e.g. financial planning, opportunity recognition, risk management). Young Greeks are about as likely as the EU average to identify a lack of entrepreneurship skills as a barrier (Figure 2.4). International surveys suggest that financial literacy, signalled by one‑third of young Greeks, is a particular challenge (European Commission, 2023[8]). This is clearly correlated to the challenge of access to external finance. Those with greater financial knowledge about potential sources of funding can pursue more opportunities and make more informed and strategic decisions that improve their credit-worthiness (Cumurovic and Hyll, 2019[12]; Hussain, Salia and Karim, 2018[13]).
Share of early-stage entrepreneurs who report introducing new products and/or services (18‑30 years old), 2019‑2023
Note: Early-stage entrepreneurs are those who are actively involved in starting a business or who is the owner-operator of a business that is less than 42 months old.
Source: (GEM, 2024[7]), Special tabulations for the OECD of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) adult population survey for the years 2019 to 2023.
2022
Source: (European Commission, 2023[8]), Flash Eurobarometer 513: Social entrepreneurship and youth, https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/surveys/detail/2670.
2.4.1. Strengthening the business environment
Overall, entrepreneurship policy has placed a strong focus on strengthening the business environment and improving access to finance in recent years. This includes efforts to simplify regulatory processes (as noted in section 2.1), further develop a digital infrastructure, create more business support centres, reduce business taxes, boost incentives for the growth self-employed activities and micro-businesses, and continue with insolvency proceedings reforms (OECD, 2024[14]). Most recently, measures under Greece’s Recovery and Resilience Plan have sought to leverage the green transition as a source of growth. This includes, for example, targeted training (e.g. management, green upskilling, monitoring environmental impact) for the self-employed or workers in very small enterprises (OECD, 2024[14]). While not all of these actions are targeted at young people, they stand to benefit from an improved business environment and many of the new schemes given their lack of experience operating as entrepreneurs in the market.
Reforms that seek to strengthen the business environment have been complemented with tax reforms, including some targeted at young people up to 30 years old. Individuals up to the age of 25 benefit from a 0% introductory income tax rate on annual income up to EUR 20 000, while those aged 26‑30 are subject to a reduced introductory tax rate of 9% from the first euro of income. By lowering the tax burden during the early stages of economic activity, these measures aim to strengthen incentives for employment, self-employment and entrepreneurship, while helping young people accumulate the resources necessary to establish an independent economic footing.
2.4.2. Building entrepreneurship skills
Targeted policies and schemes to support young entrepreneurs, including those who have not yet started a business, have been strengthened over the past 15 years. Many schemes and initiatives were launched through the Youth Guarantee Implementation Plans, including entrepreneurship training programmes, business counselling and financial support schemes. Many of these have been aimed at young people who are not in employment, education, or training (i.e. NEETs). One of the largest initiatives has been the Entry Voucher to the Labour Market, which offered a subsidy of EUR 2 400 (or EUR 2 700 for those who have completed higher education) for training, including entrepreneurship training. Since 2012, more than 160 000 young people have benefited from this scheme. European Union Structural Funds play a strong role in supporting the implementation of these schemes, notably the European Social Fund (ESF) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). A recent priority has been to increase and diversify the entrepreneurship training offers delivered through the Public Employment Service (DYPA), offering training modules on digital and green entrepreneurship.
Schemes targeted at NEETs have been accompanied by advancements in entrepreneurship education, both in mandatory and higher education. For example, the Skills Labs initiative at school level includes dedicated entrepreneurship modules that seek to foster entrepreneurial mindsets and develop entrepreneurship skills among youth (Box 2.1). Athens University of Economics and Business has been a leader, introducing entrepreneurship curricula more than 15 years ago. Informal learning opportunities such as hackathons are also increasingly offered by universities. For example, the Netcompany Hackathon is a joint initiative between the University of Macedonia, the University of Thessaloniki and the International Hellenic University. The week-long hackathon seeks to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship and provides winning teams with financial support to implement their projects.
Investments in entrepreneurship in higher education are complemented with schemes that promote and support innovative entrepreneurship more broadly. These include, for example, the national initiative Elevate Greece which was launched by the Ministry of Development and Investments to identify and support promising start-ups as well as boosting the innovation ecosystem. There are also similar actions at the regional level. For example, the Region of Central Macedonia has established the RIS3 One Stop Liaison Office to facilitate networking between researchers and the business community. It seeks to identify opportunities to commercialise research, invest in lab equipment and research infrastructure, and help manage intellectual property.
2.4.3. Improving access to finance
A long-standing challenge has been the supply of finance for young entrepreneurs, particularly for those launching high-potential start-ups. The National Action Plan for Demography 2025-2035 highlights the importance of addressing barriers, including the lack of start-up finance, that lead highly skilled young people to seek opportunities abroad. Some progress has been observed over the past decade as the amount of non-bank venture and growth capital increased substantially from EUR 37 million in 2015 to EUR 500 million in 2021 and EUR 555 million in 2024 (with a significant downturn in 2022‑2023) (OECD, 2026[11]). The growth in capital available to entrepreneurs is likely due to the economic recovery since the financial crisis, a strengthened regulatory environment and the creation of public funds (including matching funding mechanisms) such as EquiFund, which is an initiative launched by the national government with support of the European Investment Fund. The private sector also plays an important role in providing debt financing to young entrepreneurs, including dedicated loan products for young people looking to start a business from unemployment or unstable employment conditions. For example, Eurobank provide financial and non-financial support to young entrepreneurs through the enter-grow-go (egg), which is an incubation and acceleration programme. In addition, Eurobank has supported more than 23 000 high-school graduates over the last two decades through the Moving Education Forward initiative that seeks to encourage continued learning and provides financial incentives to young entrepreneurs.
2.4.4. The role of the NGO sector
The NGO sector is very active in supporting young entrepreneurs, including organisations that are supported by international donors. Many of these initiatives are training programmes, of which many are targeted at NEETs. These initiatives range from small local projects to large, well-established programmes such as Junior Achievement Greece, which offers entrepreneurship training, leadership programmes and several business competitions. There are also a number of networks that are developing international linkages through affiliated networks to help young Greek entrepreneurs expand into new markets. Examples include Start-up Universe (for young entrepreneurs), Start-up Greece (formerly Youth Entrepreneurship Club until 2022) and the Hellenic Association of Entrepreneurs (EENE). NGOs also play a role in facilitating access to finance for young entrepreneurs. For example, microfinance institutes such as Action Finance Initiative (AFI) and foundations such as The People’s Trust provide small loans to entrepreneurs, often accompanied by non-financial services (e.g. training, coaching, mentoring, networking). AFI, for example, offers up to EUR 12 500 with about 80% of loans being attributed to young entrepreneurs between the ages of 20 and 30 years old. Although the impact of NGO-led initiatives is variable, there are some examples of high-quality initiatives. Young Entrepreneurs Succeed! (YES!) is one of the youth-dedicated entrepreneurship support programmes that have been designed and tailored to the specific needs of young people, particularly unemployed youth (for more information see Box 2.1).
These efforts by all actors have contributed to the rapid development of the national entrepreneurship ecosystem over the past decade. Entrepreneurship ecosystems play a vital role in fostering the creation and growth of new businesses by facilitating access to resources for entrepreneurs and setting the “rules of the game.” Ecosystems are comprised of a set of inter-related actors, including entrepreneurs, governments, research institutions, business support organisations (e.g. incubators), investors and skilled workers. The Greek ecosystem now includes 29 accelerators, 35 incubators, 9 European digital innovation hubs, 30 co-working spaces and 29 active venture capital funds. In addition, universities are an important driver of the development of the Greek ecosystem since many have opened incubators and business and technology transfer offices, which support the commercialisation of research and university spin-offs. For example, Athens University of Economics and Business has supported 7 spin-offs within its first two years of operation. The university also operates the Innovate Collaborate Accelerate (ACEin) incubation programme, which has supported more than 550 teams and incubated more than 120 teams over the last decade. ACEin also offers an acceleration programme “Compass Cycle”, which provides entrepreneurship coaching and mentoring over a seven‑month period.
The Young Entrepreneurs Succeed! (YES!) project is a support scheme funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment. It aimed to improve the employment situation among unemployed youth (20‑29 years old), particularly those who are not in employment or in education (NEETs) in Greece, Italy, Poland and Spain. Interventions included a range of youth-dedicated training schemes, which address specific issues identified in the local context and align with priority areas in each country. It was based on the scaling trust-based partnership model and was co‑ordinated through eight partner organisations, including the Development Agency of Karditsa (ANKA) in Greece.
Between 2018 and 2022, YES! supported 1 600 young NEETs across the four project countries. In Greece, ANKA delivered 14 training courses for a total of 600 hours of instruction (online or in-person) with the aim to support skills development and empower young people through entrepreneurship. While the primary target group for the programme were NEETs, young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and groups, such as in Roma communities, also received targeted support. Courses covered nine different topics (e.g. digital skills, social entrepreneurship, sector specific training, etc.) and ranged from 3‑6 weeks.
Overall, more than 200 young people participated in the programme in Greece. Evaluation evidence of the programme shows that the programme was partly effective in developing young people’s self-efficacy and helped to generate positive economic impact by facilitating young people’s integration into the labour market through employment or self-employment.
Source: Agricultural University of Athens (2019[15]), D1.1 Country Report: Greece and Parola et al. (2021[16]), Impact Assessment Report 2021 (1): Greece.
While a relatively high share of young people are entrepreneurs or self-employed, an above‑average share report starting a business because they cannot find a job. This points to strong entrepreneurial intent and awareness among young Greeks, which can be beneficial for boosting start-up activities and helping to create a more flexible workforce. Translating that intent into high-growth firms is the next stage as few young Greek entrepreneurs report introducing new products and services and as a result, few expect to create a substantial number of jobs. The maturing support ecosystem would be expected to increase the quality and impact of start-ups by young people.
The entrepreneurship support system has been substantially strengthened over the past 15 years with investments from the government as well as the private sector. Successes include a growing support infrastructure (e.g. incubators) and expanding entrepreneurship education at all levels. These improvements will help more young entrepreneurs create viable businesses. Nonetheless, there is scope to strengthen the connections between financial and non-financial support offers as many are currently offered in isolation. Research suggests offering financial and non-financial support, such as entrepreneurship training or coaching, is more likely to support sustainable creation compared to only offering finance or entrepreneurship training individually (OECD/European Commission, 2023[3]). This integrated approach has also been found to lead to stronger employment outcomes among young people when business creation is not successful.
Despite the measurable progress, some critical challenges remain. First, entrepreneurial ambitions among young people could be further developed through greater use of role models, including targeted approaches for specific groups such as young women and girls, which are increasingly common across the OECD. Second, access to entrepreneurship training and education remains somewhat limited. Entrepreneurship training and education programmes can help young people acquire valuable skills and experience that will help them in their career, regardless of whether they go on to start a business. Programme evaluations from around the OECD often show that the acquisition of transferable skills such as risk management, leadership and teamwork can boost employability, which is an important benefit since not everyone who participates in entrepreneurship training programmes will go on to start a business (OECD/European Commission, 2023[17]). Finally, the availability of “pre‑seed” funding for very early-stage start-ups is under-developed. Many OECD governments are working to increase the supply of finance for young entrepreneurs by strengthening partnerships with private investors and leveraging new markets such as crowdfunding platforms (OECD/European Commission, 2022[10]).
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