November 2004
Special Report on the Feaco - Sesma Conference Athens 2004
Interview:
Costas Katsanos, President InfoGroup
InfoGroup is a
leading greek consultancy firm secializing in surveys and evaluations.
Leading a group with a staff of 150 people among which 50 are abroad,
and 20 in Bucharest, this major World Bank and EC funds user
transformed itself from assesment consulting to development consulting
to become a Leader. Costas Katsanos tell us how
Mr Katsanos, InfoGroup has emerged as one of the leading greek assesment and development consultancies. Would you mind explaining our readers how your consultancy developped.
Costas Katsanos: InfoGroup is a Management Consultancy strongly present in what we call the « European Technical Assistance » with about 50% of the activity carried out in Greece and 50% abroad. We have a permanent office in Bucharest and the Balkans is our priority.
When and how did this all start?
Costas Katsanos: InfoGroup was set up in 1984 with 3 partners and 3 employees. It started with European Union funded projects for Greece. It was the first years of Greece membership so Brussels funded the analysis and reports. We were the only company doing it. For instance we did at that time sectorial studies for IT and Telecommunications in Greece. Then we started selling to companies & Public sector and started doing assignments on the basis of the proposal part of the studies.
What was your main consulting offer at that time?
Costas Katsanos: The first was the National Strategy Programmes for the development of economy in Greece under the financement of Greece (CSF the Community Support Framework). Then we also worked on ESPRIT programmes during the greek presidency : we did rationale and documents. Then, the Evaluation of Development Programmes funded by the CEU within the framework of Integrated Mediterranean Programmes (IMP’s).
Assesment and evaluation of programmes seems to have been central to your activity at that time (?)
Costas Katsanos: We have evaluated programmes in Greece (Ex-Ante, On-going, Ex-post) as well as in other countries because we had a specific Know how : « Evaluation is what we do ! For us it is an art and requires a strong technical background ».
Are those EC supported assignments going to continue or do you think that we might face in the future a decrease of interest by the big subsidies providers?
Costas Katsanos: You ask me about the continuation of the EU programmes. I would say that the contribution of free investors have to come together with the European subsidies in order to see such programme continuing (today 75% comes from the EC). However it is not a matter linked to the largest members, because that money comes to consortiums of firms from the member states so most of the money goes back to Europe in term of financial use. For instance Athens Airport has been run by a German company for 40 years. So a significant part of the money given to Greece for that activity comes back to Germany. Also you have to consider that this money is an investment because the stronger a developing country is, the larger it is to pay to Europe. We are now in many different European countries and we think that EC is to continue supporting its programmes.
So your are operating now in many countries now. Some partnerships?
Costas Katsanos: Simple : In local markets we do it alone. For the international markets we combine 2 or 3 firms and we do form consortiums, mainly because the prices of the public sector do not provide profitable businesses. All companies try to find new markets, so we do the same. However there are countries where we cannot sell such as Mongolia and countries like this. So we entered the developing markets of the Balkans (Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and former FEROM), Former USSR members such as Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and finaly Mongolia with the help of the E.U. and/or World Bank. There are special EU programmes for such countries such as TACIS for USSR, PHARE for Eastern countries, CARDS in former Yugoslavia,
Are you also present in the Southern Mediteranean coasts?
Costas Katsanos: There is the EU programme MEDA in the Mediterranean area that encompass Turkey, Tunisia and Algeria as well as World Bank projects. So we are present also in Tunisia, Algeria and Ethiopia.
What is the difference ?
Costas Katsanos: For instance in Romania we designed the mechanism of management of the European funding : roles, job description, design, training, IT to support it. Now we also have a Soft company as a subsidiary. Another example in Romania for the World Bank we did the improvement of the sanitation and ageing conditions in poor areas which included : traing people in elementary schools, design and develop teaching materials, book delivery and training, Same in a high Scholl in Romania with about 20 people in the project : environment specialists, engineers, teachers and management consultants...So as developers we think of the problem, propose, set-up, transfer and say Good Bye.
What consequences in term of the organization of the consultancy?
Costas Katsanos: Training and Soft development have been transferred from internal Departments to external subsidiaries runned like Business Units. Also we defined a subsidiaries abroad to have a local presence such as in Romania where in Bucharest we have a staff of 20 people.
What about corruption that makes West European consultancies a little bit afraid of operating in the East. And what about Greece with a lot of subsidies and a rapidly developping market... We heard some Greek consultants during the meeting complaining about public practices?
Costas Katsanos: There is corruption in administration as it is stated in official reports of the European Parliament. We are overreacting as Mediterraneans. We discuss about it, that’s the good thing ! It is in specific fields such as engineering/construction. The media ask for and the government from time to time try to reinforce the legal framework of the public procurement for the system to be more transparent and more fair. So about corruption I would say no more than in any other place in Europe or in the East or in Africa.
Last question, but not the least : what would make a foreign consultancy to decide to approach Greek consulting and, for instance, have a partnership with your firm?
Costas Katsanos: Well I would say that if you want to do some local business here you have to speak Greek. For instance government contracts are written in Greek. But we are also performing well on development abroad with the use of the EC and World Bank subsidies for the developing countries. And to understand that you have to remember that we are the oldest in this market. We joined the EU in 1981.The memorandum was signed by Prime Minister Karamanlis (and is nephew is now at the helm). So when we entered the business at that time, we were surrounded by communist countries and poor people. We were also spending a lot of money in the Defense because of the problems with Turkey. So the financing support that started in 1986 through the Integrated Mediterranean Programme (with Jacques Delors as Chairman of the EC) then the second CSF programme and now the third raised the economic level of Greece, and this is going to continue because it is a general policy of the Commission to help poor countries. And in 2007 this will continue with the 4th Support Programme. Evaluation and development is what we will do on this programme. We will rely also on diversification and continue exploring new markets in our neighborhood (Balkans, Mediterranean Basin, etc.)
Words collected by Bertrand Villeret
ConsultingNewsLine
Athens Astir Palace Vouliagmeni 22 October 2004
Mr Katsanos, InfoGroup has emerged as one of the leading greek assesment and development consultancies. Would you mind explaining our readers how your consultancy developped.
Costas Katsanos: InfoGroup is a Management Consultancy strongly present in what we call the « European Technical Assistance » with about 50% of the activity carried out in Greece and 50% abroad. We have a permanent office in Bucharest and the Balkans is our priority.
When and how did this all start?
Costas Katsanos: InfoGroup was set up in 1984 with 3 partners and 3 employees. It started with European Union funded projects for Greece. It was the first years of Greece membership so Brussels funded the analysis and reports. We were the only company doing it. For instance we did at that time sectorial studies for IT and Telecommunications in Greece. Then we started selling to companies & Public sector and started doing assignments on the basis of the proposal part of the studies.
What was your main consulting offer at that time?
Costas Katsanos: The first was the National Strategy Programmes for the development of economy in Greece under the financement of Greece (CSF the Community Support Framework). Then we also worked on ESPRIT programmes during the greek presidency : we did rationale and documents. Then, the Evaluation of Development Programmes funded by the CEU within the framework of Integrated Mediterranean Programmes (IMP’s).
Assesment and evaluation of programmes seems to have been central to your activity at that time (?)
Costas Katsanos: We have evaluated programmes in Greece (Ex-Ante, On-going, Ex-post) as well as in other countries because we had a specific Know how : « Evaluation is what we do ! For us it is an art and requires a strong technical background ».
Are those EC supported assignments going to continue or do you think that we might face in the future a decrease of interest by the big subsidies providers?
Costas Katsanos: You ask me about the continuation of the EU programmes. I would say that the contribution of free investors have to come together with the European subsidies in order to see such programme continuing (today 75% comes from the EC). However it is not a matter linked to the largest members, because that money comes to consortiums of firms from the member states so most of the money goes back to Europe in term of financial use. For instance Athens Airport has been run by a German company for 40 years. So a significant part of the money given to Greece for that activity comes back to Germany. Also you have to consider that this money is an investment because the stronger a developing country is, the larger it is to pay to Europe. We are now in many different European countries and we think that EC is to continue supporting its programmes.
So your are operating now in many countries now. Some partnerships?
Costas Katsanos: Simple : In local markets we do it alone. For the international markets we combine 2 or 3 firms and we do form consortiums, mainly because the prices of the public sector do not provide profitable businesses. All companies try to find new markets, so we do the same. However there are countries where we cannot sell such as Mongolia and countries like this. So we entered the developing markets of the Balkans (Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and former FEROM), Former USSR members such as Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and finaly Mongolia with the help of the E.U. and/or World Bank. There are special EU programmes for such countries such as TACIS for USSR, PHARE for Eastern countries, CARDS in former Yugoslavia,
Are you also present in the Southern Mediteranean coasts?
Costas Katsanos: There is the EU programme MEDA in the Mediterranean area that encompass Turkey, Tunisia and Algeria as well as World Bank projects. So we are present also in Tunisia, Algeria and Ethiopia.
What is the difference ?
Costas Katsanos: For instance in Romania we designed the mechanism of management of the European funding : roles, job description, design, training, IT to support it. Now we also have a Soft company as a subsidiary. Another example in Romania for the World Bank we did the improvement of the sanitation and ageing conditions in poor areas which included : traing people in elementary schools, design and develop teaching materials, book delivery and training, Same in a high Scholl in Romania with about 20 people in the project : environment specialists, engineers, teachers and management consultants...So as developers we think of the problem, propose, set-up, transfer and say Good Bye.
What consequences in term of the organization of the consultancy?
Costas Katsanos: Training and Soft development have been transferred from internal Departments to external subsidiaries runned like Business Units. Also we defined a subsidiaries abroad to have a local presence such as in Romania where in Bucharest we have a staff of 20 people.
What about corruption that makes West European consultancies a little bit afraid of operating in the East. And what about Greece with a lot of subsidies and a rapidly developping market... We heard some Greek consultants during the meeting complaining about public practices?
Costas Katsanos: There is corruption in administration as it is stated in official reports of the European Parliament. We are overreacting as Mediterraneans. We discuss about it, that’s the good thing ! It is in specific fields such as engineering/construction. The media ask for and the government from time to time try to reinforce the legal framework of the public procurement for the system to be more transparent and more fair. So about corruption I would say no more than in any other place in Europe or in the East or in Africa.
Last question, but not the least : what would make a foreign consultancy to decide to approach Greek consulting and, for instance, have a partnership with your firm?
Costas Katsanos: Well I would say that if you want to do some local business here you have to speak Greek. For instance government contracts are written in Greek. But we are also performing well on development abroad with the use of the EC and World Bank subsidies for the developing countries. And to understand that you have to remember that we are the oldest in this market. We joined the EU in 1981.The memorandum was signed by Prime Minister Karamanlis (and is nephew is now at the helm). So when we entered the business at that time, we were surrounded by communist countries and poor people. We were also spending a lot of money in the Defense because of the problems with Turkey. So the financing support that started in 1986 through the Integrated Mediterranean Programme (with Jacques Delors as Chairman of the EC) then the second CSF programme and now the third raised the economic level of Greece, and this is going to continue because it is a general policy of the Commission to help poor countries. And in 2007 this will continue with the 4th Support Programme. Evaluation and development is what we will do on this programme. We will rely also on diversification and continue exploring new markets in our neighborhood (Balkans, Mediterranean Basin, etc.)
Words collected by Bertrand Villeret
ConsultingNewsLine
Athens Astir Palace Vouliagmeni 22 October 2004
Planetecologie.org