A new entrepreneurship support program for unemployed people aged 30-59 years old, with a focus on women, was signed by Minister of Labour and Social Security, Niki Kerameos.

The aim of the Public Employment Service (DYPA) program is to promote entrepreneurship, with the creation of new small and medium enterprises by 5,880 unemployed people aged 30-59, with a focus on unemployed women.

The action “entrepreneurship support program for unemployed people aged 30-59 years old, with emphasis on women” is co-financed by the Greek State and the European Social Fund under the program “Human Resources and Social Cohesion” 2021-2027, with the total co-financed public expenditure amounting to 100,000,000 euros.

As noted in a relevant announcement, the amount of support for new businesses/beneficiaries of the action amounts to 17,000 euros and is paid in three installments as follows:

– 1st installment of EUR 4,600 after the start of activity,
– 2nd installment of EUR 6,200, after the end of the first six months of the start-up period, following verification of the operation for a period of six months,
– 3rd installment of EUR 6 200 after the end of the second six months following the start of the business, following verification of the operation for a period of six months.

The funding application (investment proposal) is submitted electronically to the Integrated State Aid Information System (OPSKE) of the Ministry of National Economy and Finance. To log on to the OPSKE, the user must use a web browser and log on to the e-mail address https://opske.gr/el.

The submission of online applications starts on Thursday 19 December 2024 and ends on Tuesday 21 January 2025.

The Minister of Labour and Social Security, Niki Kerameos, said: “One of the key priorities of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security is to further stimulate employment in specific population groups that have room for improvement, such as women. The new entrepreneurship support program, which aims to support unemployed people aged 30-59, is moving in this direction, as it focuses on women to create their own businesses and overcome the barriers they often face in the business sector and access to the labour market. We actively stand by the unemployed, enabling them to take the next step towards a dynamic and successful career.”

For his part, the Governor of the Public Employment Service, Spyros Protopsaltis, noted: “The new entrepreneurship programs of the Public Employment Service are an important tool for the creation of new jobs through the access of the unemployed to entrepreneurship. With the new NSRF action, we aim to support with 100 million euros almost 6,000 entrepreneurial initiatives, with an emphasis on women, who make up two-thirds of the unemployed in our country. We continue to invest even more intensively in active employment policies, focusing on groups facing significant barriers to reintegration into employment, such as women, through innovative actions. The aim is to continuously reduce unemployment and strengthen employment.”