IME GSEVEE: 44.7% of Small Businesses Have Zero or Only One Month of Liquidity
IME GSEVEE’s survey for the first half of 2026 records a further decline in business sentiment among Greek small and micro businesses.
The Business Climate Index fell to 56.5 points, down from 59.2 in the previous six-month period.
Almost One in Two Businesses Has Very Limited Cash Reserves
The liquidity figures are particularly significant:
- 21.8% report having no liquid cash reserves.
- 22.9% have enough liquidity for no more than one month.
Combined, 44.7% of businesses are operating either without a meaningful cash buffer or with liquidity sufficient for only one month.
This highlights how limited the ability of many small businesses is to absorb another increase in costs or a period of reduced revenue.
Operating Costs Continue to Rise
A significant share of businesses also report higher operating costs.
According to the survey:
- 73.3% are paying more for electricity,
- 73.2% face higher fuel costs,
- 77.5% are paying more for raw materials and supplies.
Average increases are approximately 25%-28%, depending on the category.
What This Means for Marketing
In this environment, the question is not simply:
“How much can we spend on marketing?”
It is:
“Do we know which part of that spending is actually generating results?”
For small businesses, this makes several things even more important:
- measuring leads,
- connecting campaigns to real sales,
- avoiding vanity metrics,
- investing in owned assets such as websites and customer databases,
- testing channels gradually before increasing budgets.
Marketing cannot solve a liquidity problem on its own.
However, when measured properly, it can help a business understand where investment creates value and where it does not.
Resilience Becomes a Core Objective
For a significant part of the small-business market, the next period is not only about growth.
It is also about resilience.
Cost management, accurate performance measurement and the development of stable customer acquisition and retention channels are becoming increasingly important.