The multiple roles that women are called upon to cope with today, including those of entrepreneurship and family, were mentioned by the panel of the conference “Eighth Sustainability Summit for SE Europe & the Mediterranean – Re-inventing green leadership: Collectivity vs fragmentation?” of the Economist Impact, which takes place today, Mareva Grabovski-Mitsotaki founder Mare Studio, co-founder Zeus + Dione, founder Endeavor.

As he noted, entrepreneurship requires ambition, persistence, patience and proper mentoring from experts, while for leadership he emphasized that it must be based on meritocracy.

“If a woman is capable, she must progress,” he pointed out and added that “policies must be instituted to help women. The role of a mother and working status are very difficult to combine. Sometimes women choose family or career. They need motivation and support. In this context, government policies are extremely important.”

Mrs. Grabovski-Mitsotaki also referred to the successful role of Endeavor, saying characteristically: “I founded Endeavor in 2013. Now, I am not part of it. I can say that it is one of the most successful NGOs in Greece. It focuses on the impact of entrepreneurship. It was an NGO that was needed for the Greek reality, because Greece did not have an organization focused on promoting entrepreneurship and able to create an upscaling of entrepreneurs creating sustainable economic growth and new jobs. Endeavor created the tools that helped businesses grow.”

Focusing on entrepreneurship, he emphasized that children should be taught how to use tools properly. As he said, children will be more successful if they learn from an early age to think along business lines.

He then stated that incentives (fiscal, financial, etc.) should be given both in the region and in the urban centers so that business ideas can be successfully implemented. He made special mention of the need to support the business career of women. According to her, the role of the government in this whole ecosystem is very important.

When asked about the young people who left the country during the economic crisis, she replied that “there was a flight of talent, due to the political environment during the economic crisis. These entrepreneurs recover and come back to the country for various reasons.”

As Mrs. Grabovski-Mitsotaki explained “now one can live better in Greece. Now there are many advantages over the past. If someone has an idea, there are enough financial tools in Greece to implement it. Domestic entrepreneurship is booming. There is economic and political stability, because that was missing. When someone feels that there is economic and political stability in their country, they come back. There is no better place. Things are getting better.”

Asked to comment on Mao Chi-Tung’s quote ‘Women hold up half the sky’ and her role as the prime minister’s wife, she noted: ‘I don’t interfere in the prime minister’s business. It is very difficult for me with such a background in finance and financial institutions to play second fiddle. But when you decide to play that role you have to keep it and stay in the background.”

He also emphasized: “It’s more complicated when you’re the protagonist. When you are the conductor. I used to criticize my husband a lot for doing one thing or another, but when you’re in the middle of things, when you’re the conductor of an orchestra then you see that it’s complicated. When you’re outside it’s easy to judge, but when you’re inside it’s difficult.”