Pelagia is an Agronomist, specialising in Agricultural Economics and Development, and holds a MSc in the Integrated Development and Management of Rural Areas from the Agricultural University of Athens. She has over twelve years of experience in management, monitoring & evaluation of projects and programmes funded by international donors (mainly European Commission). Having collaborated with several consulting companies at international level, she has gained significant experience in identifying new business opportunities (funded from international donors such as EC, WB, EBRD, EIB, IFAD, UNDP, USAID); drafting of business cases and ideas for research exploitation; and developing the business development pipeline of the company.
Her major competences include a) evaluation of Rural Development Programmes at EU level, b) implementation of research innovative projects in the agrifood sector funded by H2020, c) provision of technical assistance to the European Commission on running several helpdesks in the rural development and blue growth sectors, d) establishment and facilitation of the National Rural Network (NRN) Support Unit in Greece, e) evaluation of SMEs’ business plans in order for them to receive funding from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, f) drafting of business plans for large enterprises in order to receive funding from the Investment Law, g) networking and collaboration of enterprises in the supply chain sector on behalf of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises. In addition, Pelagia is collaborating with the Agricultural University of Athens as an associate tutor to the Policy Design and Evaluation course, while she is a certified evaluator of business plans for the Investment Law of the Greek Ministry of Economy and for projects funded by the General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT).