Interviewed by Deutschlandfunk Kultur

The Corona crisis has made it clear: The Greek economy is too one-sidedly geared towards tourism. The government therefore wants to focus more on the tech industry. US giants like Amazon and Microsoft have already knocked on the door.

From the outside, the building looks quite inconspicuous, just outside the town of Ioannina. More like a two-story house with mirror-glazed rows of shops on the ground floor. But on the side of the road there is a large sign that reads: Terracom, Business Computing. Many desks inside are orphaned.

Because of the corona pandemic, most employees still work mainly from home. But Konstantinos Kalabokis is already waiting. He hasn't been here for a long time either. On that day he drove to the office especially for the interview. He has now been with Terracom for five years. Sometimes he just can't quite believe it.

“I never thought that I would return to Ioannina. But once I heard about this company and saw what they were doing, I thought I should take the risk. And in the end it paid off. "

Terracom is the name of the company for which Kalabokis observes the market development today, develops and implements new business ideas and takes care of the company's strategic development - Business Development Manager is that in the company.

Including Ikea, the US telecommunications group Verizon, London's Heathrow Airport and Vodafone. But so far companies like Terracom are the absolute exception in Greece. Managing director Dimitris Zacharakis would like more creativity, more exchange and more competition in the country.

“Competition is not something to be afraid of. If you are afraid of competition, you are doing something wrong and you better fix it quickly."