By Harris Savidis

The benefits of Greece's digital transition could reach up to 23 billion euros over the next decade, according to an analysis by the National Bank of Greece.

The bank's semiannual report on business trends focuses on the digital gap separating the Greek economy from its European peers and the potential gains from closing this gap. The recent Financial Stability Report by the Bank of Greece was particularly worrying, as it noted that ICT investments declined by 8.6% in 2025.

According to the National Bank's economists, the ICT sector's share in the gross value added of the business sector increased from 2.9% twenty-five years ago to 6.5% today. However, similar momentum was recorded across several European economies, resulting in the EU average rising from 5.1% to 10.6%.

The analysts noted that ICT investments have a broad impact across the economy by enhancing labor productivity. Under the conservative scenario examined in the report — in which ICT investment momentum remains unchanged, leaving Greece's gap with the European average fixed at 30% — labor productivity could increase by 30% over the next decade, adding 12 billion euros to the Greek economy.

Under the more ambitious scenario, digital investments would accelerate by 40%, aiming for convergence with the EU average by 2035. In such a case, labor productivity could rise by approximately 50%, adding 23 billion euros to the Greek economy.

The National Bank analysts stressed that the foundations for the country's digital transition have already been laid through initiatives such as myDATA and Greece 2.0, which are primarily funded through public resources.

As a next step, they argued, digitalization must become an easy and cost-effective choice for small and medium-sized enterprises. To this end, they proposed the creation of a unified digital platform integrating the Independent Authority for Public Revenue, e-EFKA, the General Commercial Registry, the Hellenic Cadastre and banks, with the aim of simplifying procedures and reducing costs. They also recommended leveraging e-invoicing to drive software adoption through pre-approved, low-cost solutions, alongside targeted investment incentives.