Chamber of Achaia: Members isolated and without support – Representatives of organizations take a stand – 2024-03-05 06:24:43

Coincidence of opinions with the findings of DATA Consultants’ research on the services provided by the Chamber of Achaia and the degree of satisfaction of its members, emerges from the report of “Peloponnisos” for the second consecutive edition.

It is recalled that from the main conclusions of the research among the members of the Chamber of Achaia, it follows that:

• Only a small part of them know what it can offer them, while most are not aware of its services.
• Businesses ask the Chamber for more and better communication and organization, to be a strong lever of pressure on the respective government and to support its members in an advisory capacity.
• In the vast majority, the members of the Chamber do not receive from it the services they desire.
• If the participation of businesses in the Chamber were made optional, 40.4% would stop.

In the wake of these findings, “P” continues for a second day recording the opinions of local bodies.

The president of the Federation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship of Peloponnese Giorgos Vagenas, stated to “P” that she has expressed her opinion many times, that the institution of Chambers must change its mode of operation and move closer to traders and professionals. “Currently, if we ask a trader or professional what the Chamber is, which companies are involved in it, what work the Administrative, Development and EFEPAE do, we will see that most of them do not know them and therefore it is very difficult to impossible to use these services as tools for their development. Well, what is needed from the institution of the Chamber is more extroversion, for professionals and traders to feel that they have at their disposal some tools that can help them. In conclusion, I would say that there is a need for constant information, which at the moment traders and professionals from the Chambers do not have.”

The president of the Federation of Professional Craft Merchants of Achaia Dimitris Nikolakopoulos described the survey as important to “P”, however, regarding the image of the Chamber reflected in it, he emphasized that it is mainly due to the lack of interest from the members themselves, which is seen in the meetings and events, where the participation is very small . According to him, this lack of interest is due to the exclusion of small traders and professionals from NSRF programs, something for which bodies above the Chamber are responsible. “It is not the Chamber’s fault when the NSRF does not provide support to a self-employed person,” said the president of OEVESNA. But what did the Chamber do in all the previous years to solve this exclusion problem, pointed out by Mr. Nikolakopoulos? However, the president of OEVESNA considered that in the last 15 years the Chamber has opened up to its members, it is making moves towards extroversion, but the interested parties must be close to the bodies that represent them.

The president of the Commercial Import Association of Patras, Kostas Zafeiropoulos certified the Chamber’s lack of communication with its members. “A very small number of them know what the agency can offer them” said Mr. Zafeiropoulos and this, as he emphasized, is due to the lack of information. He also emphasized the need for serious education and training of commercial executives for all developments and new market data, especially in small businesses.
Mr. Zafeiropoulos considers it necessary for small businesses and traders to be members of the body, from which more pressure should be exerted on the central government, in the context of its role as an advisor to the State.

The new president of the Commercial Professional Association of Dymis, Andreas Fotou confirmed to “P” that relations and contacts with the Chamber are at a very low to non-existent level. Even he himself, despite the fact that he is a representative of the merchants of the area, confessed that he did not vote in the last Chamber elections. “When they have never set foot here, it is next for the local traders and professionals to feel isolated” he said to add that the Chamber should have the initiative of the movements and the local association would respond.