Dream Greek National Report

As part of the Activity “Focus Groups for In-Depth Skill Assessment” of the DREAM projectpresentations and questionnaires.

Reference Number: 2023-2-EL01-KA210-ADU-000170360

This document was developed in the framework of the project DREAM: Digital Readiness Empowering Ambitious Middle Aged Women Entrepreneurs (Reference Number: 2023-2 EL01-KA210-ADU-000170360) by Balkan Women Coalition.

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the State Scholarships Foundation (IKY). Neither the European Union nor IKY can be held responsible for them.

1. Introduction

This document concerns the Greek National Report on the implementation and findings of the focus groups, organized as part of the Erasmus+ project entitled Digital Readiness Empowering Ambitious Middle-Aged Women Entrepreneurs – DREAM (Ref. N.: 2023-2-EL01-KA210-ADU-000170360), by the Lead Organization of the project, namely Balkan Women Coalition – BWC (Greece).

The ‘DREAM’ project empowers ambitious middle-aged women by equipping them with essential digital skills to start their own businesses. Through a user-centric learning method and practical application in real-world examples, participants gain the skills needed to run a successful enterprise in today’s digital world. The online focus groups aimed at gathering insights and concerns from certain middle-aged women in the field of entrepreneurship, specifically in terms of needs and challenges related to digital literacy.

The Greek focus groups were conducted following open call procedure BWC made on social media, and after receiving registrations from the participants that expressed their interest in joining. Insights from the registrations received may be found in the corresponding Greek Registration Form.
The two focus groups took place on September 4, 2024, and September 11, 2024, with the number of women participating being 12 in the first group and 10 in the second, hence achieving the indicators of 10 participants in each focus group and lasted 2 hours each.

2. Methodology

In the Focus Groups, we had two experts participating. One was responsible for presenting the discussion topics as well as coordinating the session, while his colleague managed the practical aspects of the smooth operation of the meeting, from technical connection issues to successfully completing the list of participants. This specific activity took the form of a discussion as we wanted the participants to engage actively.
The purpose of this activity was to identify the challenges related to digital literacy and faced by middle-aged women willing to create their own businesses by discussing these challenges during a peer learning session, as well as analyzing real-world examples and case studies with them. Through engagement and effective communication with these women, we aimed to gain a comprehensive insight into the unique requirements of these women to succeed in the modern business world. For this reason, we discussed the four main sections that interest these women in terms of digital literacy, related to business management as well: Digital Marketing, Website Development, Social Media Management, and Data Analysis. These topics are the most important for someone looking to develop their business or start their own.
Questions such as, for example, ‘Do you use social media for professional purposes?’ and ‘What specific skills would you like to develop in order to help yourself acquire new skills?’ were addressed. We kept the responses and the discussion of the participants in notes so that we could use them in future activities of the program and address all questions and concerns, especially in the future activities related to development of tailored training materials.

3. Profile of participants

The ultimate beneficiaries of this activity are middle-aged women in partner countries who are interested in entrepreneurship and need support in bridging digital gaps. The selection of participants was guided by each partner country under common guidelines, set by the coordinator of this activity (AFAEMME). In this context, middle-aged women from different regions, with fewer opportunities and socioeconomic obstacles, were given the chance to participate.

In the first meeting, we had 12 participants, being either entrepreneurs wanting to develop their businesses, or even employees that are intended to start their own businesses. All the ladies were active in the discussion and contributed to the smooth progression of the conversation, as the topics were directly relevant to them, especially the subject matter. In other words, all 12 had something in common: they are involved in businesses that provide services rather than products. All the participants were eager to discuss and learn new things, as well as to share their own personal stories as a means of learning through their experiences.

In the second meeting, we had 10 participants of whom 2 are entrepreneurs wanting to develop their businesses, 6 were employees, one intends to start her own business, and the last one is unemployed. In this discussion meeting, the participants mainly talked about ways to solve and address the issues they face in their digital lives, and how the DREAM project and its future training materials may address these issues.

4. Analysis of the needs of the participants

In addition to collecting input from the participants through open discussions during the focus groups, the project consortium decided on utilizing quantitative data as well, in order to effectively report and gain even more specific insights by the participants.

Accordingly, the focus groups’ participants were asked, by the end of each session, to fill out a corresponding Questionnaire, in order to report their digital skills and gaps in a more collative way, that would enable the project partners to assess the findings and narrow them down, for further use in the next tailored activities. The answers of the Greek participants may be found in the corresponding Questionnaire.
Based on the data we collected, in general, the participants had knowledge of technological tools, but the area where there was a need was in understanding or applying digital marketing strategies.

4.1 Basic Skills
The following findings concern the digital literacy of the participants on specific basic skills, such as browsing and filtering data, interacting via digital means, collaborating, etc.

4.1.1 Browsing, searching and filtering data, information and digital content
The largest percentage, 47.4%, knew how information is generated and could adjust their searches based on the results, as well as follow the information presented in hyperlinks and non-linear formats.

4.1.2 Evaluate data, information and digital content
The women who could distinguish reliable information from unreliable sources were reported to be at a rate of 42.1%.

4.1.3 Manage data, information and digital content
In terms of managing data and information from digital content, two units did not know at all how data is stored on different devices, while the remaining 80.9% were knowledgeable.

4.1.4 Interaction through Digital Technologies
57.9% were aware of the various existing digital communication tools, such as email, chat, video conferencing, messaging platforms, etc., while all participants could connect with others through video conferencing and Facebook, fewer through other means, and even fewer through LinkedIn. The majority also believe that they cannot connect with third parties on LinkedIn.

4.1.5 Collaborations through Digital Technologies
When asked whether they can share work and collaborate with others online (e.g., through Google Workspace, DRIVE), 57.9% believe they do this successfully, while only one feels they do not at all. Furthermore, all but two of the participants can use basic tools to modify and edit audiovisual or multimedia content, such as photos, etc.

4.1.6 Intellectual Property Rights, Protection, and Data Protection
All participants, with a percentage of 73.7%, are aware of the rules regarding licensing and intellectual property rights. In contrast, when asked, “Do you identify simple threats and know some ways to protect your equipment and digital content?” only a maximum of 26.3% responded affirmatively, 36.8% answered negatively, and 26.3% answered neutrally. Lastly, a total of 86.5% of participants are aware that many interactive services use information about them to filter commercial messages in a more or less clear manner.

4.2 Digital Marketing

4.2.1 Awareness and Current Practices
With a percentage of 36.8%, the participants were not familiar with but have heard of digital marketing, SEO, and online campaigns. Participants who own a business utilize Content Marketing and Social Media Marketing more, with none of the provided options coming in second. 73.7% of the participants want to learn about content marketing strategy, followed by Social Media Marketing at 68.4%, and then approximately the same percentage of 54% for email marketing, targeted marketing, and SEO.

4.2.2 Challenges
What makes it difficult for most women in implementing digital marketing is how to create something that the customer will like, and generally what the successful and efficient marketing strategy should be.

4.3 Website Development
According to the participants, 75% have not created or managed a website, while others have managed a website to some extent. However, they all agreed that it is a difficult process. The challenges mentioned by most women regarding website development include, firstly, attracting more visitors, understanding what people want, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), which several mentioned, programming, and the coding of the website. Some did not know what difficulties they might encounter since they hadn’t tried it before. When asked, “What kind of support or resources would help you feel more confident in developing a website for your business or personal use?” we received responses such as knowledge, experience, funding, workforce, and strategy. One of the most popular answers was having someone skilled to provide assistance—specifically, the knowledge and experience of an expert.

4.4 Management of Social Media
All participants use social media, with Facebook and Instagram taking the top spots for the highest traffic. More than 50% use Facebook for professional purposes, followed closely by Instagram, then TikTok alongside LinkedIn, and finally X (formerly Twitter). The interest expressed by most participants to learn specific skills related to social media is very high, as responses indicate they would like to learn everything about social media, considering it a very important and free way to reach customers. Additionally, participants wish to understand how the algorithm works so that they can manage it better. Lastly, the creation of digital content is the next most popular response.

4.5 Data Analysis
During the focus groups, the participants expressed that they would all like to be trained in the use and analysis of data for making business decisions. Half of the women are not familiar with using data analysis for business purposes, and even those who are already familiar need further training. Approximately 25% of responses indicated that they have not used any data analysis tools, while the remaining 75% have used Excel. Among the participants, 25% stated that the area requiring more knowledge is data interpretation, followed by the need for comprehensive training in data analysis and tools. Finally, there were responses regarding how to correctly select data.

4.6 Additional Questions
The preferred learning methods for the participants are online courses at 63.2%, followed by workshops at 21.1%, and finally personalized guidance at 15.8%.

4.7 Recommendations of priority training areas (topics based on questionnaire structure)
According to the responses of the 19 women and the detailed and analytical discussion we had, the topics they are concerned about and would like to be educated about, in order of priority, are as follows:

• To receive guidance and training on finding funding tools for their businesses.
• Training on creating and managing a website.
• Preference for targeted educational materials for specific categories of businesses.
• Educational workshops for explaining and learning the principles of marketing.
• Training in basic knowledge of using social networks.
• They wish for better explanations of the measurable metrics and data provided by analytics tools such as Google Analytics and Excel.
• They want an analysis of SEO terms, etc., with measurable metrics and how these translate, for example, into sales conversion rates.
• They would like to exchange experiences with entrepreneurs who already operate successful and functional websites.
• They want better information on email marketing and SMS marketing.
• They would like guidance on developing strategies for social networks.
• They want to be trained regarding accessibility to digital content.
• How to create suggested advertisements.

5. Conclusions

The two focus groups were a significant step in understanding the key problems and issues that keep middle-aged women away from entrepreneurship and new technologies. Through this process, it becomes clear that information and education, when not provided for free, are very difficult to access for this specific social group. Additionally, in-person help and support from experienced specialists are what will assist participants in achieving their individual goals. The feedback we received from the focus groups was positive, as the participants reported that such meetings with open discussion are effective because they can adjust the topics to their liking, making them more engaging.