SMEs slow in going digital
Greece must accelerate its transition to the digital age and fulfill the ambitious digital goals set by the European Union up until 2030. Although Greece has recorded a digital leap in the last five years, it still lags the rest of the EU in key areas.
The slow transition of small and medium-sized enterprises to the digital age, the unsatisfactory implementation of private investments in cutting-edge technologies, and the low coverage of very high-capacity networks, including fiber optics, are some of the issues Greece will face in the coming years. For example, according to the EU objectives, by 2030, 90% of SMEs must have achieved the basic level of digital maturity, while in Greece the degree of fulfillment of this objective is at 46%, compared to 77% in the EU.
According to a Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) special report on digital transformation, “Greece in the European Digital Decade,” Greece improved its digital maturity level by 56% between 2018 and 2023, almost double the 30% achieved in the EU as a whole. However, it is still below the European average.
In terms of connectivity infrastructure, Greece’s performance in the digital maturity index reaches 85% of the EU average, with the greatest weakness found in the still low coverage of very high-capacity networks and in the fact that only 24% of businesses use ultra-high speed connections (above 100 Mbps), compared to 57% in the rest of the EU. The penetration of such speeds in households is equally low, as one in five has such a connection. In contrast, the coverage of 5G networks has reached 86% and is quite close to the 100% target.
At least 80% of the EU population must have basic digital skills by 2030, while 20 million ICT specialists are needed. In Greece, 52% of people have basic skills against 54% in the rest of the EU, while the percentage of those employed in the information and technology sectors is below the EU average (2.5% vs 4.6%).
In the meantime, during the pandemic, the digitization of public services also accelerated in Greece, with its performance reaching 78% of the European average.
