New Equipment Fuels Small Business Expansion in Greece
Manolis is a young business owner from Greece and father to a 10-year-old boy. While he holds degrees in both financial sciences and psychology, his true passion is cooking. Manolis trained at several culinary schools in Europe, where he then found work as a chef in fine hotels and restaurants.
Manolis, however, missed his native Greece. He returned to his hometown in the Thessaly region, along with his son, where he rented a tiny kitchen to develop minimally processed, nutritious food. Along with two employees, he crafted a menu specifically tailored to dietary needs, including organic, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugarfree foods.
Over the next two years, Manolis ran headfirst into the difficulties of starting and running a small business—especially in a troubled Greek economy. He didn’t even take a salary at the time. “Sometimes,” Manolis said, “I thought about quitting. Although the products are healthy … they were difficult to promote, and expenses kept rising.”
Then he heard about a community program that supports small businesses and microenterprises through IOCC and local partner, Apostoli. Through this program, Manolis was able to receive specialized equipment to help boost production, including an industrial blender and commercial oven capable of baking, steaming, and dehydrating several kinds of food.
Using his new equipment, Manolis increased his productivity and even created a new product line. His reputation grew. Then one day a customer visited town and tasted Manolis’s delicious food. “He was so impressed,” Manolis recalled, “that he proposed investing in my business. I worked harder and harder, and with his investment we created a fully equipped laboratory … [even] extending our sales abroad.”
Manolis expressed his gratitude, saying, “IOCC’s assistance during a difficult time helped me continue my work creating nutritious products for individuals with special dietary requirements and needs.”
His success story is just one of many. Working closely with the Apostoli since 2015, IOCC has helped more than 175 microbusinesses and agricultural associations throughout Greece with over $2 million invested in new production equipment, technical services, and business mentoring—improving productivity and profitability, and helping them become sustainable employers in their communities.
