Wednesday June 23, 2021, 2:00 p.m.
As delivered
Thank you very much, Stella. It’s great to see you, great to see Myladie. Let me also say a big thank you to all of our partners at Women on Top and AmCham for putting this together. You’ve done a great job, Stella, in describing what the POWER initiative is. But I would also like to highlight the fantastic synergy between what you have done, what AmCham is doing to try to advance our shared agenda of women’s economic and entrepreneurial empowerment, but also the transformation that is currently underway in Greece.
When President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Mitsotakis a few months ago, one of his messages was to emphasize the United States’ commitment to partnering with Greece as we all work together to recover from the pandemic and begin the process of sustainable economic recovery. If there is one positive to come from this very difficult year and a half that we have all experienced, it is the fantastic growth we have seen in the Greek digital economy.
We have witnessed the leading role played by American companies Microsoft, Cisco, Pfizer, Applied Materials and many others, who have doubled their investments and commitments here in Greece, recognizing the fantastic human capital, but also recognizing the progress significant achievements by the Prime Minister. Minister Mitsotakis’ government has made progress, even during this pandemic period, on issues such as digital governance, distance learning and the deployment of technologies to help Greek democracy function better and smarter. This is something I know American businesses and investors have taken note of. And this is also seen in the continued growth of this Greek entrepreneurial sector, which I have been working on since my very first days here in Greece five years ago, but where we are now really entering the path of capture. out of phase. And I commit, the U.S. Embassy and the U.S. government, to ensuring that the story of women’s entrepreneurship is an important part of this take-off phase.
I was in Thessaloniki and Patras about two weeks ago and had the opportunity to meet and visit several tech companies at that time, including Pfizer at their impressive new campus in Thessaloniki, as well as Advent Technologies in Patras and SoftoMotive, which was recently acquired. And I’ve been really encouraged at both Advent and Pfizer to see the number of women in senior management positions, both technologists and senior executives, as these two American companies increase their investments in the Greek technology sector .
This POWER initiative and the forum over the next two days is about strengthening these networks, sharing best practices – and I really want to thank all of the American women entrepreneurs and tech experts who are joining us over the next two days to be part of this and to share their experiences, but also to strengthen networks here in Greece. One of the things that I found that the embassy is able to do is create a physical or digital space, as we are doing in this case, for Greek entrepreneurs, for Greek women working in the field of technology come together to share experiences. , recognize everyone’s talents and identify a political program. Because it is clear that this is an area in which we cannot be complacent, where invention continues every day. And I am committed to ensuring that the technology space remains one where the United States is Greece’s primary partner and where American companies continue to play a pioneering role in helping to bring best practices, innovative structures and technologies, as well as the capital that is part of the development of our technological relationship.
The objective of this initiative, in my opinion, is therefore to contribute to increasing the number of women entrepreneurs in the technology sector in Greece, including those who have access to American venture capital and the American market; and second, strengthen these links. I see these connections every time I visit an American technology company in Greece, and again, I was just with Advent in Patras. You find a Greek-American story that goes back to someone’s educational experience or a visiting professorship, but now it’s starting to take on a momentum of its own, and that’s very exciting and very encouraging to me .
We will continue to work in this area, from the lowest to the highest. My colleague Cindy Harvey will be in Ioannina in a few days for a new series of our Code Girls program, which aims to encourage young Greek women to take an interest in the fields of science, technology and mathematics. We will continue to work on women’s political empowerment with our partners at Women Act. We work on women in tourism with MeXoXo. And Women on Top will remain a key partner for us.
We will continue to focus on these areas. I am excited that we are returning to Thessaloniki International Fair in September to launch our TechCamp in Thessaloniki in real life with our social innovation partners, with a special focus this year on female startups.
I would like to end by first thanking our partners at AmCham and Women on Top, emphasizing how proud I am of the work that the American Embassy has accomplished in this area and saying how much I look forward to see the results of your conversations during this period. the next two days, but also where you will all continue to grow the Greek economy in the months and years to come. Thank you very much and I hope you have a wonderful discussion.
