Kavala

The Municipality of Kavala spreads in an area of approximately 350 square kilometers, at the north part of Greece, with a population of 70.000 within its administrative limits (population density 200/sq.km). Most of its people live in the city of Kavala (54.000). The average age of the population is 43 years while the average temperature in the area is just above 15° Celsius.

The municipality lies at the west part of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace with an economy based heavily on the service sector (77%) while the secondary (12,5%) and primary (10,5%) contribute less to the local GDP. Tourism, agriculture, fisheries and mining activities (petrol, marble) alongside a considerable public sector are the main activities for its inhabitants. Main urban policy challenges are:

Sustainable urban development;
Sustainable tourism development;
Blue Growth;
Smart-city development;
Creative-city development.

Kavala’s procurement processes are very bureaucratic and decisions are made on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender. By participating in the MSM Network Kavala sees an opportunity to:

Introduce more social and environmental-value based criteria into its procurement processes.
Understand and employ basic and advanced spend analysis for itself and other local anchor institutions.
Develop databases of local organizations that could potentially be engaged with as part of procurement exercises.
Develop more effective engagement with SMEs and their capacity and skills to bid for procurement opportunities.

On the whole Kavala is confident that through participating in the network, they will improve their chances to reallocate funds to a declining local economy by steering spending into the local economy.