Due Covid-19, Global Brigades suspended it’s in-person Business Brigades in Greece. Please check our Responding to COVID-19 page for information of reopening dates.
Greece
Small Businesses Consulting
Greece Business Brigades give volunteers the opportunity to take part in the economic transformation of refugee and migrant communities. Migrants and Refugees face serious challenges when integrating into the local society and are financially excluded. On brigade, volunteers will work directly with clients to provide practical, effective consultations that help them grow their businesses. To further ensure sustainability and lasting impact, volunteers will deliver financial literacy workshops to provide migrants, refugees and local community members with lasting knowledge.
Business Brigade –
7 Day Sample Schedule
On the first day, you will arrive and get settled into your compound. Your coordinator will introduce you to your Brigade staff and then you will get to work preparing for your Brigade. The next day you learn more about the business program in Greece and get to know their clients for the first time, getting to know them personally and engage in a community-wide cultural exchange. The following days volunteers will administer financial literacy workshops in the morning and meet with their clients in the afternoon to gather additional information about their business using our consulting methodologies.
Every evening volunteers are provided guidance from our local business professionals and/or our Professional Consulting mentors with the opportunity to reflect as a group to discuss what was learned and develop their business recommendations. Finally, as consultants, the volunteers will present their deliverables to clients and receive their feedback. You will also have a short cultural activity in Athens. Finally, on the last day, you will be taken back to the airport to catch your flight home.
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00am | Airport Pick up and Transport to Lodging Facility | Breakfast | Breakfast | Breakfast | Breakfast | Breakfast | Breakfast | |
| 9:00am | Business Program Introduction & Safety Debrief | Transport to Athens | Transport to Athens | Transport to Athens | Transport to Athens | Departure:
Transport to Airport & Airline Check In |
||
| 10:00am | Guest Talks Introduction to EU/Greek Business Environment, Selected Refugee Community | Group Workshop I: Idea Generation and Business Modeling | Group Workshop II: Marketing, Advertising, and Promotion | Group Workshop III: Financial Analysis (Return on Investment and Financial Statements) | ||||
| 11:00am | ||||||||
| 12:00am | ||||||||
| 1:00pm | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | |||
| 2:00pm | Transport to Athens | Client Meeting II: SWOT Analysis and Business Plan | Client Meeting III: Business strategy and financial analysis of potential investments | Client Meeting IV: Deliverable Feedback | Client Meeting V: Deliverables Presentation to Client | |||
| 3:00pm | Business Client Meeting 1: Introduction | |||||||
| 4:00pm | ||||||||
| 5:00pm | Settling in & Free Time | Transport to Lodging Facility | Transport to Lodging Facility | Transport to Lodging Facility | Walking Tour – Athens City Center | |||
| 6:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility | Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | ||||
| 7:00pm | Dinner | Dinner | Reflection | Reflection | Reflection | Return to Lodging Facility | ||
| 8:00pm | Welcome Meeting | Reflections on client meeting and team assignments | Preparation: Workshop I and Deliverables | Preparation: Workshop II and Deliverables | Preparation: Workshop III and Deliverables | Reflection & Celebration | ||
| 9:00pm |
| Day 1 | |
|---|---|
| 7:00am | Airport Pick up and Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 8:00am | |
| 9:00am | |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | |
| 1:00pm | SWOT Analysis & Technical Field Inspection |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | |
| 5:00pm | Dinner |
| 6:00pm | Dinner |
| 7:00pm | Settle In to Lodging |
| 8:00pm | |
| 9:00pm | |
| Day 2 | |
|---|---|
| 7:00am | Breakfast |
| 8:00am | Business Program Introduction & Safety Debrief |
| 9:00am | |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00pm | Transport to Community |
| 2:00pm | First Business Client Introduction |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 5:00pm | Networking |
| 6:00pm | Dinner |
| 7:00pm | Reflection |
| 8:00pm | Review Business Profiles & Financial Literacy Workshop Preparation |
| 9:00pm | |
| Day 3 | |
|---|---|
| 7:00am | Breakfast |
| 8:00am | Transport to Community |
| 9:00am | Business Profile Analysis & Inventory Assessment |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00pm | SWOT Analysis & Technical Field Inspection |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 5:00pm | Networking |
| 6:00pm | Dinner |
| 7:00pm | Reflection |
| 8:00pm | Financial Literacy Preparation |
| 9:00pm | |
| Day 4 | |
|---|---|
| 7:00am | Breakfast |
| 8:00am | Transport to Community |
| 9:00am | Financial Literacy for Youth |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00pm | Business Loan Capacity (Financial Statements) |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 5:00pm | Networking |
| 6:00pm | Dinner |
| 7:00pm | Reflection |
| 8:00pm | Prepare for Business Training & Financial Literacy Workshop |
| 9:00pm | |
| Day 5 | |
|---|---|
| 7:00am | Breakfast |
| 8:00am | Transport to Community |
| 9:00am | Community Bank Meeting & Financial Literacy Workshop |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00pm | Business Training (Inventory Management, Marketing, Pricing, Accounting) |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 5:00pm | Networking |
| 6:00pm | Dinner |
| 7:00pm | Reflection |
| 8:00pm | Business Deliverables Preparation |
| 9:00pm | |
| Day 6 | |
|---|---|
| 7:00am | Breakfast |
| 8:00am | Transport to Community |
| 9:00am | Final Business Deliverables & Business Presentation |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00pm | Community Bank Promotion & Cultural Exchange |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 5:00pm | Networking |
| 6:00pm | Dinner |
| 7:00pm | Final Reflection |
| 8:00pm | Packing-up & Networking |
| 9:00pm | |
| Day 7 | |
|---|---|
| 7:00am | Breakfast |
| 8:00am | Transport to Airport & Airline Check In |
| 9:00am | |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | |
| 1:00pm | |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | |
| 5:00pm | |
| 6:00pm | |
| 7:00pm | |
| 8:00pm | |
| 9:00pm | |
Volunteer Donation Goal
In order to participate in a Greece Medical Brigade, all volunteers must meet a Donation Goal, this is not considered a payment, but support toward Global Brigades’ expansion in Greece. Once a volunteer meets a set Donation Goal, they are eligible to join us on-the-ground to see their fundraising efforts put into action by participating in a Business Brigade.
When a volunteer participates in a Business Brigade, the volunteer’s ground transportation, food, lodging, and emergency insurance are all covered. The funding that the volunteer raised also supports all the necessary costs for program implementation, such as community bank capitalization, supplies, coordinators, translators, and support staff.
Airfare is not included in the standard Donation Goal. However, Global Brigades’ travel team can work with volunteers to book airfare and incorporate the airfare expense into the volunteer’s Donation Goal.
2021 Greece 7 day Business Brigade –
Donation Goal Details
The donation goals listed are for volunteers joining an existing Global Business Brigades (GBB) Chapter on a university campus with a brigade group size of at least 7 volunteers and maximum 20.
Scholarship opportunities are available for volunteers to meet their Donation Goal by starting or referring a new chapter. Options to brigade for 12 days with 2 different programs are also available. Once a volunteer meets their Donation Goal, they have up to 1 year to participate in a Business Brigade.
Safety
Volunteer safety will always be our absolute top priority. Global Brigades recently engaged Askari International Security, an industry leader in international risk assessment, to complete a comprehensive risk/safety assessment of all brigade operations. A full explanation of safety precautions and procedures can be found on our “Safety & Insurance” page.
A Quote from Askari International Security
“I was asked to review Global Brigades safety and security procedures for their operations in Central America. I always use a “litmus test” by assessing whether I’d be happy to send my own daughters (late teens early 20’s) on one of their events. The answer was a resounding yes. I hope I was able to help them improve their processes and procedures, but what was already in place was good, but better still was the culture of safety and security. All the staff were concerned with safety and security and keen to improve. Nothing can ever be 100% secure or safe, but with Global Brigades I can genuinely say they care and take things very seriously.”
– Bryan Hemmings, Managing Director, Askari International Security
Safety Highlights in Greece
- Global Brigades is an active member of OSAC (the Overseas Security Advisory Committee) and receives up-to-date security and safety briefings from the U.S. State Department;
- Full-time local Global Brigades medical personnel on-call at all times;
- Adherence to the IVPA standards of international volunteering.
Lodging Facilities
Global Brigades does an annual safety review of all lodging facility partners each year. Lodging facilities provide pillows, bedsheets and towels. Facilities have showers, toilets and sinks with running hot water as well as potable filtered clean water.
Business Brigades are assigned to lodging facilities based on proximity to the partner community they will be working with.
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Schedule a Call About Starting a Brigade
Do you want to speak directly with someone about leading a Business Brigade? Schedule a call to speak with our team!
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