Greek mechanic realises his dream of opening a garage in Corfu. EU funding - and the Network - made it possible.

Samoilis Ioannis, a father of three who was employed for 25 years as a car mechanic, always dreamed of opening his own garage in his hometown on the Greek island of Corfu. However, he never had the time or money to branch out on his own, so he put all thoughts of starting his own business aside.

At age 50 he finally decided to go for it, provided he could get the necessary start-up capital. After learning that the Enterprise Europe Network had helped others like himself, he stopped by the office of the Chamber of Ioannina, his local Network branch.

With close to 600 partner organisations in 50 countries, the Network helps aspiring entrepreneurs tap into funding from the EU and other sources to back up their business plans. This can seem intimidating, but fortunately the Network’s 3 000 staff know their way around the system and how it works.

In this case, the Enterprise Europe Network helped Ioannis to prepare an application to a programme funded by European Regional Development Fund, and to a partly EU-funded scheme specifically for entrepreneurs. The latter is overseen by Eommex, the Hellenic Organisation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Handicraft S.A, which often works with the Network.

The Network then helped Ioannis to write a business plan and prepare the paperwork. Shortly thereafter, he received €87 000 in capital funding, and opened a garage in Kérkyra, Corfu’s main town.

After establishing a track record, Ioannis then received the second slice once funding officers had been satisfied that the money was being put to good use.

“We have lots of cases like this, where EU funding makes it possible for a promising entrepreneur to start a business,” says Anna Zerva, information officer with Enterprise Europe Network-Hellas. “It is always rewarding to see one’s efforts bear fruit.”