AECM Annual Event:
Athens, 15-17 June 2023
“The regulatory framework of SMEs: how close are we to the red line of red tape?”

Venue
Radisson Blu Park HotelAlexandras Ave., 10
10682 Athens, Greece Tel. +30 21 0889 4500
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Our Great Speakers include:

Athina Chatzipetrou
CEO of the Hellenic Development Bank (HDB), Greece

Marjut Falkstedt
Chief Executive, European Investment Fund (EIF)

Mateusz Olszak
Director Guarantees and Sureties Department, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK), Poland

Jonathan Denness
Head of Unit, Financial Instruments and International Financial Institutions Relations, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO), European Commission

Chris Allen
Senior Expert, Resident Representative in Athens, Unit Greece, Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission

Andreas Bergmann
Policy Officer – State Aid, Unit State aid: case support and policy, Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP), European Commission

Giorgio Chiarion Casoni
Director, InvestEU and financial institutions, Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission

Kurt Leutgeb
Head of Guarantees and Equity, Austria Wirtschaftsservice Gesellschaft mbH (aws), Austria

Astrid Bartels
Head of Unit, Access to Finance, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW), European Commission

Agata Mazurkiewicz
Head of Unit, State aid — Financial institutions II, Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP), European Commission

Ana Vizcaino Ochoa
Managing Director, Compañía Española de Reafianzamiento (CERSA), Spain

Kiril Velitchkov
Director European Projects and Financial Institutions, UBB, Bulgaria, Manager of KBC Group European Financial Instruments Competence Centre

Konstantinos Makedos
President of TMEDE – the Engineers and Public Works Contractors Fund, Greece

Andreas Athanasopoulos
Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Group Chief Transformation Officer, Digital & Retail, Eurobank Holdings

Haroula Apalagaki
Secretary General, Hellenic Bank Association, Greece

Lucia Cusmano
Deputy Head of the Division on Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Tourism at the Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE), OECD

Choi Won-mok
Chairperson & CEO, Korea Credit Guarantee Fund (KODIT)

Gerhard Huemer
Director Economic Policy, SMEunited

Tony Greenham
Director ESG, British Business Bank (BBB), UK

Burçak İnel
Director of Financing Sustainable Growth, European Banking Federation (EBF)

Giovanni Zazzerini
Secretary General, INSME – The International Network for SMEs

Lina Konstantinopoulou
Policy Director, Eurochambres – the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry

Giuseppe Gramigna
Senior Advisor i.a. of the World Bank Group and of AECM

Pantelis Tzortzakis
Executive Vice-Chairman, Hellenic Development Bank (HDB), Greece

Konstantinos Adamantopoulos
Legal Advisor, TMEDE – the Engineers and Public Works Contractors Fund, Greece

László Tóth
Deputy CEO, Rural Credit Guarantee Foundation (AVHGA), Hungary

Gernot Rößler
Deputy Managing Director, Verband Deutscher Bürgschaftsbanken (VDB), Germany

Luz Stella Lozano
Secretary General of the Association of the Ibero-American network of guarantees, REGAR

Jose Fernando Figueiredo
Special Honorary President of AECM with the special mandate for international relations and Founding President of the Global Network of Guarantee Institutions (GNGI)

Nagla Bahr
President of the Euro-Mediterranean Guarantee Network (EMGN) and Managing Director, Credit Guarantee Company, Egypt

Cha Ji Yeong
Deputy General Manager, Korea Federation of Credit Guarantee Foundations (KOREG), Korea

Mohammed Al-Jafari
Chairman of the Jordan Innovative Start-ups and SMEs Fund (ISSF) and Director General of the Jordan Loan Guarantee Corp. (JLGC)
Programme
in
Thursday15 June 2023 Interpretation: EN, FR |
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12h30 – 13h30 |
Networking break with welcome snacks |
13h30 – 14h45 |
Meeting of the internal ordinary General Assembly |
14h45 – 15h00 |
Networking break |
15h00 – 18h30 |
Public session of the General Assembly |
15h00 – 15h15 |
Welcome & Opening
|
15h15 -15h30 |
Keynote speech on the EIF’s support for SMEs: state of play and challenges
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15h30 -16h30 |
Panel 1: State aid, recovery plans, and ESI Funds: how to strengthen the link and improve the absorption capacity?
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16h30 -17h00 |
Networking break |
17h00 -18h20 |
Panel 2: Is the implementation of the InvestEU Programme on track? Introductory speaker: Giorgio Chiarion Casoni Director, InvestEU and financial institutions, Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission Moderated by Kurt Leutgeb, Head of Guarantees and Equity, Austria Wirtschaftsservice Gesellschaft mbH (aws), Austria
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18h20 -18h30 |
Concluding remarks & end of the public session
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20h00 |
Gala Dinner Hosted by the HDB Chairman, George Zavvos |
Friday16 June 2023 Interpretation: EN, FR |
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09h30 – 15h00 |
Annual seminar on “The regulatory framework of SMEs: how close are we to the red line of red tape?” |
09h30 – 09h45 |
Welcome & Opening
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09h45 – 09h55 |
Keynote addresses: financing of SMEs
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09h55 – 10h10 |
Keynote addresses: how to improve the regulatory and policy environment for SMEs |
10h10 – 11h10 |
Panel 1: The regulatory environment to finance sustainability for SMEs
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11h10 – 11h30 |
Networking break |
11h30 – 12h30 |
Panel 2: Regulatory framework: striking the right balance Moderated by Giuseppe Gramigna, Senior Advisor i.a. of the World Bank Group and of AECM
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12h30 -13h30 |
Group photo followed by a networking break |
13h30 – 14h45 |
Panel 3: The regulatory framework of SMEs from an international perspective Introductory speaker: Luz Stella Lozano, Secretary General of the Association of the Ibero-American network of guarantees, REGAR Moderator: José Fernando Figueiredo, Special Honorary President of AECM with the special mandate for international relations and Founding President of the Global Network of Guarantee Institutions (GNGI)
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14h45 – 15h00 |
Concluding remarks & presentation of the AECM annual event 2024
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15h00 – 15h30 |
Networking break |
15h30 – 17h30
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Annual meeting of the GNGI – For members only –
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Fees and registration
- AECM Seminar Fee – Member EUR 390 pp
- AECM Seminar Fee – Non-Member EUR 440 pp
Leisure programme
Gala dinner:
Acropolis Museum
Thursday 15 June 2023
From 19h30
Thursday 15 June 2023
From 19h30
Located on the Museum’s second floor, the restaurant features a dining area with panoramic views of the Acropolis and other historic hills of Athens!

EUR 150 pp
The gala dinner is generously hosted by the Chairman Mr George Zavvos, on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Development Bank (HDB)
Excursion:
A daily cruise to the Greek islands
Hydra, Poros, and Aegina
Saturday 17 June 2023
• Embarkation time: 7:10–7:40 a.m.
• Return time: 7:40 p.m.
– REGISTRATION FOR THE CRUISE IS NOW CLOSED!



EUR 125 pp
– food and transportation with buses from the hotel to the port included
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In case of any questions please contact info@aecm.eu