C4E_EcosystemReport_FINAL.pdf

Mapping
2022
Centre for Entrepreneurship
of the University of Cyprus

Mapping CyEE 2
01
About
The project &
partners
02
The Cyprus
Economy
Outlook and
competitiveness
03
Cyprus Equity
Fund (CEF)
04
Startup
Ecosystem
Course, characteristics,
actors, and status quo
05
Insights &
recommendations
Best practices & room for
improvement
con
ten
ts
The new chapter

Mapping CyEE 3
Mapping
Cyprus
Entrepreneurial
Ecosystem
2022
This report was written by Anna Margaritova from the Center for Entrepreneurship,
University of Cyprus, with the contribution of its strategic partner PwC.
Special thanks go to the stakeholders of the Cyprus entrepreneurial ecosystem, most
specifically to the partners, entrepreneurs, and supporters that contributed with key
information to the development of this study.

Mapping CyEE 4
01 About
For decades Cyprus has been established as a vibrant business hub with a thriving
economy. Cyprus’ economic performance is indicated in various global reports
documenting the set of factors that contribute to its developed high-income status.
With this report the Centre for Entrepreneurship of the University of Cyprus intends to
evaluate these favorable conditions in relation to the formation, operation and evolution
of entrepreneurship in Cyprus.
Not only is the Cyprus startup scene very
young but so is the entrepreneurial
ecosystem. The status, operation and
success of the startup scene is greatly
dependent on the competence and
support of the entrepreneurial
ecosystem’s mechanisms.
The nature of developing high risk
enterprises is such, that it requires
different types of resources and
infrastructure. With this report we want to
understand the drivers for
entrepreneurial activity in Cyprus,
analyze the conditions for fostering
entrepreneurship, look into the history of
entrepreneurship in the country, but
most importantly, to identify and
document the stakeholders representing
the Cyprus Entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The main objective of this research is to
create a report and a database,
documenting all available supporting
entities and mechanisms, the number
and type of nascent companies in
Cyprus, along with information on the
profile, the status and performance of
the existing startups.
The information and database can grow
into a registry for policy formulation and
for speeding up the formation and
growth of such ventures.

Mapping CyEE 5
+ Centre for Entrepreneurship of the University
of Cyprus
The Centre for Entrepreneurship (C4E) serves the entire University of Cyprus
community, namely undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students, researchers
and young scientists, faculty, and staff. Beyond the University, C4E contributes to the
emergence of Cyprus’ “start-up”ecosystem, participating in relevant initiatives and
liaising with people and support structures, such as accelerators, incubators, and maker
spaces. C4E considers Entrepreneurship in its broadest sense, namely as a mindset in
scientific and scholarly work that embraces creativity, critical thinking, imagination, risk-
taking and the bold experimentation with new ideas and transformative scientific
approaches.
C4E promotes the uptake of innovative results, the exploitation of scientific know-how
and the use of advanced research infrastructures of UCY by existing private and public
organizations, contributing to the competitiveness and growth of the Cypriot economy.
The center works with policy makers and the government to promote policies that
support research, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Furthermore, during the last 8 years
the Centre has developed an extensive experience in entrepreneurial education and
currently maintains enduring partnerships with high ranked academics, successful
entrepreneurs, investors, VC Funds and distinguished people from the Cypriot and
global business and research ecosystem, who actively contribute to the center’s
activities and mission.
The mission of the Centre for Entrepreneurship (C4E) of the University of Cyprus is
threefold: a) to foster a culture of innovative entrepreneurship within the University and to
develop relevant in-house expertise; b) to provide the entire University community with
high-quality services and the connections required to bring scientific innovations and
novel ideas produced inside the University to global marketplaces, and c) to contribute to
the creation of a sustainable innovation ecosystem in Cyprus.
In the University of Cyprus, we are surrounded by a community that is driven and focused
on turning new knowledge into real “value”that can serve the common good through

Mapping CyEE 6
novel products, processes, and services, implemented by new or existing ventures,
private or public organizations, governmental institutions or non-governmental initiatives.
+PwC
PwC Cyprus supports our community and promotes youth entrepreneurship and
innovation by establishing strategic collaborations with leading academic and business
organization such as Junior Achievement Cyprus, Chrysalis LEAP, the University of
Cyprus and the Research and Innovation Centre of Excellence in Cyprus (CYENS).
PwC signed a ten-year agreement with the University of Cyprus. As part of the
agreement, the Centre for Entrepreneurship (C4E) organizes on an annual basis the
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum. Moreover, PwC supports various activities of
the C4E e.g. the Training and Education activities and the Mentoring support service
towards the members of the University Community.
Amid an environment filled with challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the
need to support entrepreneurship as a basic tool for economic recovery seems more
imperative than ever.

Mapping CyEE 7
+Objectives
The aim of the study is to analyze the current startup scene in Cyprus in relation to the
country’s economy in order to draw conclusions regarding existing and potential
opportunities.
The main objective is to create a comprehensive catalogue of the existing ecosystem’
stakeholders, clearly indicating their role and contribution in the ecosystem in order to
speed up the process of entrepreneurship, and to encourage the development and
investment in innovative enterprises.
With the identification of the most successful startups in Cyprus, the report intends to
highlight the importance and necessity of multi stakeholder collaboration and knowledge
management for successfully achieving and maintaining economic growth.
+Methodology
The methodology used is based on desk-based research, and qualitative and qualitative
data analysis. The primary research involves collection of qualitative data from semi
structured interviews with partners and stakeholders, such as investors, mentors,
educators, and startup founders, and quantitative surveys.
Currently there is no official entity that monitors and assesses the startup ecosystem in
Cyprus, the data that was collected was accessed through different official sites such as
the Cyprus Statistical Service, official websites of the Cyprus Government, The
European Statistical Office, the European Investment Bank and the World Bank.
Additionally, information on the Cyprus startup scene was gathered from information
sites and reports from CrunchBase, Startup Blink Report, Invest Cyprus, Cyprus Inno,
Trepers and other.

Mapping CyEE 8
40
In depth
interviews
3
Sets of
questionnaires
60
startups
+Limitations
The study it is not exhaustive since there is no public registry of nascent innovative
companies nor official report documenting all such companies and their prior and current
status.
The main constrain of the research is direct access to primary data. The results of the
findings are generalizable since they are gathered from a representative set of startup
companies, nevertheless they can be treated as applicable to a larger population.

02 The Cyprus Economy
The economic crisis of 2014 in Greece
had a profound effect on Cyprus
economy due to our close socio-
economic exchange. Despite being
closely linked both countries performed
differently in the years following the
crisis, resulting in parallel but distinct
economic and entrepreneurial
landscapes in both countries.
While Cyprus had a “robust”recovery
only two years after the collapse of the
banking sector, Greece managed to
emerge from the stability program in
2018. While Greece had been restricted
regarding access to international
markets and borrowing at reasonable
rates, Cyprus had a free access with a
very positive economic growth rate of
6.44% in 2016, while Greece suffered a
negative rate of just below zero. Having
said that, we have observed these
events have painted a different picture
when it comes startups. Contrary to the
economic climate in both countries,
Greece experienced a significant boost
and growth in the area of
entrepreneurship, with its first unicorns
and many other startups with strong
growth signal and many successful exits.
In Cyprus the startup scene and
ecosystem seem to be lagging on
several indicators, primarily in the early
and growth stage of a venture, with
limited infrastructure and access to
funding.
To understand better the factors
contributing to the adoption and
promotion of entrepreneurship in Cyprus
we will examine closely different
parameters to determine the degree and
rate at which entrepreneurial activity is
performed in relation to the country’s
conditions.

Mapping CyEE 10
+Cyprus Economy
Services are the predominant sector in the Cyprus economy, accounting for 83.7% of the
gross value added in 2020, followed by industry sector with 7.9%, construction 6.3% and
agriculture 2.1%. 1
Tourism remains a major sector with its value-added contribution due to its wider
economic impact on other sectors such as retail, construction, transportation and
employment, but it has been displaced as leading economic factor by the professional
services sector, due to the diversification of economic activities that has taken place
during the last decade. Other major sectors contributing to the GVA (Gross Value Added)
are the financial, communication services and real estate.
Cyprus’ economy has performed well in recent years, as indicated in the Global
Competitiveness Report, jumping up through the countries ranks by more than 8 places
in 2021, in comparison to 2019, when it ranked 41st 2. Based on the IMD survey, listing 64
countries in total, Cyprus was placed 33rd, while the WEF Global Competitiveness Report
encompassing 141 countries has shown Cyprus moving to the 44th place in 2019 from
64th the previous years.3 The overall score of the country is 66.39 out of 100 and just 16
points below the Netherlands which ranked as the 1st in the European Union, with a
score of 82.39.
Key contribution factors behind the significant economic performance are: 1) the ability of
the country to attract international investment, 2) ability of adapting government policy
and 3) constant growth of the employment rate. Health infrastructure and level of
education are additional contributing factors that strengthen Cyprus’s position.
The recent adjustments of the local government to the regulatory framework have made
it easier when it comes to doing business. The business-friendly climate has appealed to
many new investors and other European companies who have chosen Cyprus as a base
1
https://www.cyprusprofile.com/page/economy?lang=en
2
https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2019.pdf
3
https://worldcompetitiveness.imd.org/countryprofile/overview/CY

Mapping CyEE 11
for setting up headquarters or branches in Cyprus, thus contributing positively to the
economy through investment, talent attraction and job creation.
Examining closely the performing indicators of the ranking report will give us better
understanding of the critical factors and favorable conditions that the country displays in
regard to entrepreneurship.
Cyprus holds a relatively good position in the “Enabling Environment”axis, holding 31st
position in the “Institutions”pillar, 48th in “Infrastructure”and 43rd in the “Micro-
economic stability”pilar, however in the “ICT Adoption”it has 58th position, which is low
in comparison to other developed countries. In comparison to Greece, who is ranked 57th
, compared by the ICT adoption, Cyprus has indicated lower performance by 8 points,
thus ranking 58th. In the “Innovation Ecosystem”axis, Cyprus ranks 37th in “Business
Dynamism”and 43rd in “Innovation Capability”.

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Source: World Economic Forum
In the rest of the sub-indexes Cyprus performed relatively low, with scores of 57 in the
“Burden of government regulation”, 45 in “E-Participation”, 87 in “Government long term
vision”, 78 in “Government responsiveness to change”and 70 in “Legal framework’s
adaptability to digital business models”. Cyprus faces some challenges when it comes to
physical infrastructure and despite being 2nd, when it comes to electrification,
nevertheless it does not provide great road and air connectivity, ranking 89th and 66th
respectively. Cyprus has experienced a decrease in “Fixed broadband internet
subscriptions”with a score of 52.7, and an increase in “Internet users”ranking 31st.

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It is important to highlight that in the 5th pillar, Health, Cyprus ranks 13th globally, in terms
of healthy life expectancy, and 1st in “Domestic credit to private sector”. Nevertheless,
the financial system faces challenges, ranking among the lowest in “Soundness of
banks”(129) with “Non performing loans”(137), while at the same time lacking support
from “Venture capital availability”(99) and “Financing of SMEs”(78).
When it comes to Business dynamism, Cyprus appears relatively high on the index in
terms of “Time to start a business”, being 32 in rank, which might be affected by the
“Cost of starting a business”(89), followed by the low rank in “Companies embracing
disruptive ideas”(93) and in “Growth of innovative companies”(104). In the Innovation
Capability pillar, Cyprus is being placed 43rd, with higher scores in the sub-indexes of
“International co-invention”and “Patent application”both being 37, while there is still
more to be desired and improved, when it comes to “State cluster development”(62),
“R&D expenditure”(63) and “Multi-stakeholder collaboration” (92).
Some of the key challenges that Cyprus had to deal with in 2021 are:
1. Manage the health crisis as a result of the covid-19 pandemic
2. Implement structural reforms and policies to support sustainable development
3. Encourage strategic investment
4. Preserve fiscal sustainability
5. Continue non-performing loans resolution around foreclosure framework 4
In 2020, Cyprus GDP shrunk drastically due to the pandemic, but it was able to recover
gradually in 2021 by 1.5% in each quarter based on forecast, registering an increase of
5.3% in 2021. The growth was a direct result of the government stimulus, public demand,
and export of services. Additionally, investment coming from the Recovery and Resilient
plan along with net export, help support the Cyprus economy, which is forecast to grow
by 4.1% in 2022 and then ease to 3.5% in 20235. However recent developments in global
politics have surged the rate of inflation resulting from the energy crisis as a result of the
4
https://worldcompetitiveness.imd.org/countryprofile/overview/CY
5
https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/economic-performance-and-forecasts/economic-forecasts/winter-2022-
economic-forecast-growth-expected-regain-traction-after-winter-slowdown_en

Mapping CyEE 14
Russian invasion on Ukraine. The inflation rate for the period of January- March 2022
stood at 5.7%.6
Source: Cyprus Ministry of Finance
Economic Forecast for Cyprus
Indicators 2020 2021 2022 2023
GDP growth (%,yoy) -5.2 5.4 4.1 3.5
Inflation (%,yoy) -1.1 2.3 2.6 1.2
Unemployment (%) 7.6 7.5 7.1 6.6
Structural budget balance (% of GDP) -4.4 -.4.8 -1.8 -1.5
Government dept ( %of GDP) 115.3 104.1 97.6 93.4
Current account balance (%of GDP) -10.1 -9.1 -7.3 -5.7
6
http://mof.gov.cy/en/economic-indicators/macroeconomics/main-economic-indicators/2-hicp-inflation
Net exports
Private consumption
Change in inventories
Investment
Public consumption
Real GDP (y-o-y %)

Mapping CyEE 15
The fast adoption of policy measures to limit the effects of the covid-19 pandemic, helped
tremendously in preserving employment and contain unemployment rates. In 2021, we
observe a gradual recovery in unemployment with an increase of 0.8% thus going down
to 6.6% from 7.5% in the beginning of 2021. The gradual growth in the private sector
deposits from 2.5% in 2020 to 5.3% in 2021is indicative of the precautionary measures
and fear associated with the uncertainty of the pandemic, but also is a result of the
reinstating economic activity.
GDP growth rate 2021 (compared to 2020)
Source: tradingeconomics.com/ National Statistical Service of Cyprus
Cyprus digital competitiveness
Cyprus overall performance is much better and higher ranking in relation to its digital
competitiveness. Despite being 33rd on the IMD ranking, when looking into the digital
competitiveness, Cyprus, hold 43rd place, lagging in several areas as indicated below.
Those are factors critical to entrepreneurial success such as talent, regulatory
framework, capital, technological framework, and business agility.

Mapping CyEE 16
Source: IMD
The talent factor is problematic due to the low graduates in STEM disciplines, and it is not
related to higher education achievement. Cyprus has a high (6) place in “scientific and
technical employment”and “high tech patent grants”.
The area of IT integration could benefit more from strengthening the public-private
partnership, when it comes to knowledge transfer and using “big data”and business
analytics for achieving better business agility. What is more the country is lacking
significantly in terms of funding for technological development along with the
unavailability of venture capital to support technological advancement.
Key areas in which Cyprus has improved in 2020, regard the long-term growth of the
labor force, business expenditure on R&D, public expenditure on education, medium and
high-tech value added and the sustainable development goals.
Key areas that have recorded a decline in 2021 regard the brand image of the country
abroad, bureaucracy, transparency, and government dept.
Based on the IMD survey, Cyprus main attractiveness relies on its competitive tax regime
(corporate tax at 12.5%), the “Cost of living index”is among the highest globally (9) and
the “Business friendly environment”and “Skilled workforce”, makes it an ideal place to

Mapping CyEE 17
set a business. The “Policy stability”and “Reliable infrastructure”offer an additional
security and growth prospects.
Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2021 Ranking
Cyprus EU average
rank score score
DESI 2021 21 43.5 50.7
DESI 2020 24 44.0 52.6
DESI 2019 24 41.5 49.4
DESI 2018 23 39.4 46.5
Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2021 ranking
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Connectivity
Digital Public Services
Human Capital
Integration of Digital Technology

Mapping CyEE 18
According to the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) report, despite having
improved its performance in almost all dimensions, Cyprus still scores low, below the EU
average. Significant improvement has been made regarding Connectivity.
The digital skills of the population are also being low, indicating that one in two Cypriots is
lacking basic IT skill. Cyprus also ranks below EU average when it comes to ICT
specialists, despite the increasing demand in the labor market.
On the other hand, Cyprus has improved significantly in the mobile broadband coverage,
being above EU average on Very High-Capacity Networks, with 67% in the 5G readiness
indicator.
With the new policy of the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, “Digital
Strategy for Cyprus 2020-2030”, Cyprus has committed to the implementation of the EU
strategy “2030 Digital Compass: The European Way for the Digital Decade”, to help
accelerate economic growth and increase productivity.7
7
https://www.dmrid.gov.cy/dmrid/research.nsf/home/home?openform

Mapping CyEE 19
Cyprus Entrepreneurial framework8
source: Gem Report9
The chart from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report, indicates the
significant changes and improvements that have been registered in comparison to the
previous period. Those include major development in the entrepreneurial education,
support and relevance, R&D transfer, entrepreneurial funding, and cultural and social
norms.
8
The Centre for Entrepreneurship is responsible for the research and analysis of the GEM framework in Cyprus
9
https://gemconsortium.org/report/gem-20212022-global-report-opportunity-amid-
disruption#:~:text=Entrepreneurs%20are%20increasingly%20seeing%20more,Report%20entitled%20Opportunity%20Amid%20
Disruption.
Physical Infrastructure
Commercial and
legal infrastructure
Entrepreneurial Finance
Government
entrepreneurship
programs
Internal markets
burdens
Taxes and bureaucracy
Market dynamics
Entrepreneurial education
and school stage
Education
Support and relevance
R&D transfer
Cultural and Social norms
2019 -2020
2020 - 2021

Mapping CyEE 20
03 Cyprus Equity Fund
(CEF)
+CEF
A new era is set to begin with the announcement of the Cyprus Equity Fund (CEF) on 4th
of May 2022, when the Republic of Cyprus (ROC) announced the establishment and
implementation of an equity instrument that will provide finance to innovative SME’s, who
are active in Cyprus.
To be eligible to participate, a company needs to be registered in Cyprus, headquartered,
or represented by Cypriots.
With the establishment of the CEF, the state aims to address the equity financing gap for
supporting innovative enterprises with the required initial capital and follow-on
investment. This will be a big step forward to the development of Cyprus emerging
ecosystem, which has previously been supported by government grants, business
accelerators and angel investors.
The new fund of funds (FOF) is structured with resources from the Recovery and
Resilience Facility of Cyprus (RRF) and reflows of the JEREMIE fund, with a budget
totaling 30 million EUR.
The equity instrument aims to boost the economic growth, enhance the competitiveness
of SMEs and provide access to alternative financing sources with the aim to speed up the
maturity of the ecosystem and future readiness for venture capital investments.
CEF will concentrate on developing the pre-seed and seed phase through social impact
funds, VC seed and early stage, and inclusive finance.

Mapping CyEE 21
+Other Funds
Currently there are only few other VC funds operating in Cyprus, the KV fund by Kinisis
Ventures, being the most prominent amongst them.
Kinisis Ventures, is an acceleration company that helps promote highly promising
Cypriot startups, with unique value proposition to scale in the USA market, has
announced in May 2022, that they have set a fund, the KV Fund, to scale the process of
innovation and entrepreneurship in Cyprus.
According to Kinisis Ventures, the Fund will help accelerate the growth of their portfolio
companies, with their vast business experience in the USA, strategic advice, and
networks. KV is the only venture capital firm that offers Cypriot startups a soft landing
into new markets.
Their recent collaboration with the independent fund management company AIFCAP
Managers, regards the setting up of the Kinisis Venture Fund, which is a sub fund of the
KV Kinisis Ventures Fund RAIF VCIC PLC, that is registered with CySEC, that focuses on
supporting innovative local projects that can compete and scale globally.
The aim of the first of its kind KV Fund is to bridge the finance gap in Cyprus with seed
and growth capital to allow for tech and innovative companies to scale successfully.
Locally produced success stories will be instrumental to the cultural shift, attracting
global investors and establishing similar investment funds in the future.

Mapping CyEE 22
04 Startup Ecosystem
The idea behind the entrepreneurship ecosystem, as stated by the Financial Times
Lexicon is connected to “the collective and systematic nature of entrepreneurship”.
Companies are emerging, because of the idea of being in an environment/ecosystem
developed by public and private entities. (Margaritova et al., 2021)10
Following Isenberg’s model of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, we identify the six
important elements of that model as: 1) culture, supportive to entrepreneurs, 2) enabling
policies, 3) leadership, 4) appropriate finance (angel investors, venture capitals and
private equity firms 5) human capital and workflow 6) venture friendly markets for
products. Another crucial element is the availability of a range of institutional support to
accelerate the process of entrepreneurship. All these elements not only should they
operate simultaneously but should also be developed simultaneously.
10
Margaritova,A.,& all.(2021). Transforming the Centre for Entrepreneurship. [Master’s thesis, MBA program, University of Cyprus].
University of Cyprus
entrepre
neurship
policy
finance
culture
support
human
capital
markets

Mapping CyEE 23
+The course of the ecosystem
The Cyprus entrepreneurial ecosystem is an emerging one, and if we had to define the
versions of it, we may say that we are at the end of the second cycle and approaching the
third version.
“Right now, if I had to create versions of the
ecosystem, I would say we are approaching the
end of the second one, the second version”
– Michael Tyrimos, Capacitor Partners
The very first steps in shaping the entrepreneurial ecosystems were made back around
2011-2012, when we noticed the first initiatives and startup formations, such as Proto.io,
Hellas Direct, the first business incubator by the university of Cyprus, Diogenes,
Chrysalis Leap, Cyprus Enterprise Link and other.
The beginning of the last decade marked the formation of some of the first startups in
Cyprus, but also the death of many of them. One that succeeded is Pollfish – a market
research platform, which in fact, started in Greece but has a Cypriot DNA. Pollfish has
recently been acquired by the US based Prodege.
With those initial startup formations, we also observe the first shift in the “mentality of
culture of the ecosystem”. This led to the establishment of more solid companies such as
Ergodotisi, a job platform that created its own capital and workforce, which reinvests
back to grow.
Foody is another success story. Created back in 2015, Foody has marked Cyprus’ first
big exit in 2019, when it was acquired for an undisclosed amount by a German company,
called Delivery Hero.

Mapping CyEE 24
Course of the ecosystem

Mapping CyEE 25
The first formal commitment that was established by the government in cooperation with
the European Investment Fund, took place in 2010, with the singing of the agreement for
the JEREMIE fund (Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises),
between the bank of Cyprus and the European Investment Fund (EIF) for the distribution
of 20 million EUR for financing SME with loans up to 100 000 EUR. With the expiration of
the JEREMIE initiative, in 2014, the Republic of Cyprus (ROC) signed another
agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the establishment of the
Cyprus Entrepreneurship Fund (CYPEF) with 70 million EUR, entrusted to the
EIF. CYPEF, which was co-financed by the government and financial intermediaries, was
made available to the interested SMEs though commercial banks, the latter being
Ancoria Bank (10 mil EUR) and BOC (60 mil EUR). With the government providing the
other half for the fund, CYPEF has been totaled 140 million EUR.
The fund was approved for Phase II in 2021 for the amount of 200 million to help ROC
finance the need of SMEs in the aftermath of the health crisis of the covid -19
pandemic.11
Subsequently, in the period between 2016 and 2019 we observe some major milestones
in the history of entrepreneurship in Cyprus.
The government’s Action Plan for Growth developed in 201612, identified
entrepreneurship as the main pillar for economic growth. The overall policy for the
development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Cyprus has been approved and
supported by the EU Directorate for Structural Reform Support Service (SRSS).
This support was catalytic for the evolution of the ecosystem, through which we have the
formulation of an action plan for social entrepreneurship (SE), support measures for the
Global Entrepreneurship Report (GEM) and the exchange of global best
practices on the digitization of grant schemes and methods for improving the export
performance of businesses.
11
https://www.eif.org/what_we_do/resources/cypef/index.htm
12
Πέμπτη Έκθεση Προόδου.pdf (dgepcd.gov.cy)

Mapping CyEE 26
In that same year Research and Innovation Foundation introduced the Restart 2016-
2020 program, which is a multinational framework for supporting RTDI in Cyprus. The
program has been instrumental in addressing the various challenges that Cyprus was
facing at the time, both in developing and economic terms, and to enhance the
competitiveness of the economy.
The startup visa policy intended for skillful non – EU entrepreneurs, on individual
and team basis, introduced on a pilot basis in 2017 until 2019, has been renewed for
another 150 visas in 2019. The visa scheme is a mechanism to enhance the ecosystem
by allowing third country nationals to establish and develop high potential startups.
In 2018 the Government introduced the law on SE, which is to be supported by funding
from the European Social Fund.13
The startup visa scheme was further accompanied by schemes for tax incentives for
innovative firms and angel investors, while the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and
Industry went into an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) for the provision of consulting and training activities to assist
export oriented startups. Other initiatives provisioned in that Action Plan include the
revision of the legislation to establish spin offs from university, which to this day remain
problematic, disincentivizing many who wish to create a research-based startups.
Another major milestone has been achieved through the efforts to develop the Cyprus
entrepreneurial ecosystem (CEE), with the establishment of the Deputy Ministry for
Research, Innovation and Digital Policy (DMRID) in 2020, and the appointment of the
Chief Scientist, the role of whom is to contribute in the development and
implementation of Research and Innovation (R&I) strategies and policies and ensure
effective communication and collaboration between stakeholders. With that in place a
new era has begun, helping set up the various measures and mechanisms for supporting
innovative enterprise though the establishment of set of policies, funding schemes and
further incentives for the creation of high value companies.
13
Enhancing the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Cyprus (europa.eu)

Mapping CyEE 27
From 2020, innovative companies could apply and obtain the Certificate for
innovative Enterprise, through the DMRID. The certificate acts as a tool for
incentivizing investors to support innovative companies by adding credibility.
In early 2022, the government introduced more policies and incentives for talent
attraction and relocation with the Digital Nomad Visa14 and family reunification package
part of the Business Facilitation Unit (BFU), a single point of contact for third country
nationals, wishing to establish a startup or who are working for foreign companies on the
island. The BFU purpose is to provide a fast track for establishing or for relocating high
growth enterprises.15
Following the development of these polices, in 2022, the government in collaboration
with the European Investment Fund (EIF) announced the call for managing a Cyprus
Equity Fund investment fund to support innovative enterprises. With that major
milestone, Cyprus has bridged yet another gap in its entrepreneurial model in the
financing area, which is one of the most problematic factor for developing new ventures.
Before we continue exploring this section it is mandatory that, we provide first, the basic
concept and definition of a startup. This is important to make a distinction between a
traditional business model but also comprehend that the different nature of being a
startup requires different approach, when attending to its needs at the various stages.
Understanding this will provide the bases for our argument later that we need more
resources and support at the different stages of being a pre startup (idea/innovation
stage), a startup and a scale up.
+So, what’s a startup?
The European Startup Monitor defines startups as enterprises younger than 10 years
with highly innovative technologies or business models, that have high potential and are
able to achieve growth. These 3 main characteristics are what set apart startups from
14
http://www.moi.gov.cy/moi/crmd/crmd.nsf/All/FE2829CCA899862DC22587EA002E321F?OpenDocument
15
https://www.businessincyprus.gov.cy/business-facilitation-unit/

Mapping CyEE 28
traditional SME business. Startups are growing with the goal to create wealth and drive
innovation. (ESM, 2016)
Forbes describes startups as young companies, who are formed to develop a unique
service or product, then bring it to market and make it irresistible or irreplaceable to
customers.
The primary difference between a traditional SME and a startup is that the former is
duplicating a model already tried by others, while a startup aims to create an “entirely
new template”. As startups strive for growth, this new template needs to be easily
scalable. Speed is of an essence, and they should be able to test ideas quickly, and build
upon through iteration and continues improvement gained from data analytics and
feedback.
+Key players who significantly influence
entrepreneurial success
Cyprus relatively young ecosystem is growing at a steady pace, a growth, which has
accelerated significantly since 2018, with the establishment of the RTDI Governance.
The National Research and Innovation Governance System has contributed to the
development of institutions and bodies responsible for the formulation and
implementation of policies for enabling further entrepreneurial activity. The four pillars of
<10 yr
High tech +
innovative
Business
models
Startups strive
for growth

Mapping CyEE 29
the R&I Governance system are: 1) Knowledge generators, 2) Knowledge exploitation, 3)
Financing system, and 4) Support system.16
The Deputy Ministry for Research, Innovation and Digital Policy along
with the appointed Chief Scientist, play a key role on a macro and policy level, thus
influencing entrepreneurial success in a significant way through the implementation of
the framework for supporting research and innovation. The “government has played a
pivotal role”in the formation of the ecosystem.
The state has achieved major milestones as provisioned in the Various Action Plans for
strategic growth and competitiveness. It has formulated a strategic framework, “Innovate
Cyprus”, for achieving its long-term goals to ensure sustainable growth. Innovative
Entrepreneurship has been identified as a major pillar of the framework, through which
the government is to provide useful tools for expanding its R&I activity, through sufficient
financing for innovative enterprises at all stages. The Co-Investment (Equity Fund) is one
such tool, for strengthening the equity financing of innovative Cyprus based startups, that
is to take place within 2022.
The Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) has been instrumental in the
development of R&I in Cyprus, by supporting research teams and innovative startups
though their funding programs at the various stages of venture, something that is
especially important given that in Cyprus the financing part is the missing link of the
entrepreneurial model. Many successful startups are thriving today with the support from
those funding programs17 such as Malloc, ProMed, Amadema, Embio Diagnostics,
among many others.
RIF is not the only one who provides funding opportunities to startups. Funding can be
vital, but most importantly, what startups need at the very early stage is a direction,
understanding of their product and value proposition, market insight and business
development. In that regard we have the different incubators and accelerators, who have
been giving business training and facilitating the access to funding though their programs
and large networks of mentors and advisors.
16
https://www.research.org.cy/en/strategic-planning/rtdi-governance/#toggle-id-2
17
RIF Pre -sees, Seed and Innovate programs for the development of startups, internationally competitive products

Mapping CyEE 30
Academia has an integral role when it comes to innovation from research and providing
the talent to the industry. Academia will have the responsibility to incorporate programs
and encourage more students in STEM disciplines. Currently we have shortages of talent
in areas such as UX design, data science, and software development. However,
producing graduates with specific skills will not be enough, it will require a close
collaboration with the private business sector and even exchange programs, that will
equip the students with vital experience to be able to enter the workforce and drive the
growth of the future companies.
The main protagonists of the ecosystem are the entrepreneurs and the startups,
who are the ultimate testimony of the level of entrepreneurial activity and success in
Cyprus. The drive, entrepreneurial mindset and outward looking approach of many of the
Cypriot founders, have placed Cyprus on the map as an emerging, vibrant and
competitive entrepreneurial ecosystem. Some of them are serial entrepreneurs and
others have achieved global recognition by competing with giants like Google and
Adobe. What is more, those companies, who not only have succeeded but had also an
exit, are those, who can provide more synergies, produce knowledge, and even turn to
investors themselves through the exit deals.
+Factors that promote or hinder
entrepreneurship in Cyprus
The provided support for developing an ecosystem along with the introduction of major
polices and the law on SE, has proven beneficial for the development and promotion of
entrepreneurship. The tax incentives for investing in innovative companies further
enhances the acceleration of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the formation of new
ventures. The government has taken measure to address the shortage of talent in the
tech industry by providing incentives for foreign talent to relocate. Having high caliber
individuals and foreign tech companies, can motivate and encourage local talent and

Mapping CyEE 31
young graduates, to join the IT, ITC sectors through education and internships, giving
them opportunity to gain valuable experience.
The new Co-Development program from RIF, further aims to strengthen the collaboration
between private enterprises and the research/academic community to work in identifying
the challenges and co-develop solutions to address them, which is another factor that
can further accelerate the commercialization of research and help diffuse the innovation
coming from that research.
The new Horizon Europe program, that will be implemented by the government through
RIF, is a continuation of the Horizon 2020 (designed for building capacity and
infrastructure), with the mission to create and measure scientific, societal, and economic
impact.
On the other hand, despite having good infrastructure in place and more support to
undertake entrepreneurial activity, as documented in the GEM report, there are still
factors that hinder entrepreneurship in Cyprus. Mainly that regards transparency,
embracing entrepreneurial mindset, fear of failure, bureaucratic processes, restrictive
legislation for spin offs from public universities, lack of diverse funding opportunities for
very early-stage startups, dealing with banks, and the size of talent pool with experience
and skills.
Angel investors, VC, Entrepreneurship advisors, and executives, participating in our
study have identified the following as major reasons for rejecting a startup from receiving
a funding or being accepted into an acceleration program.
Our research has shown that, when asked, what are the biggest challenges for
local startups when it comes to entry, scaling and exiting, most
participants indicated funding, quality support at all stages of development and the lack
of outward looking approach as main barriers.

Mapping CyEE 32
1./
Team
2./
Commitment
3./
Product
Market -Fit
4./
Does not fit the
investment
thesis/criteria
5./
Lack of novelty

Mapping CyEE 33
+ Incubators/accelerators and co-working
spaces
Despite having a clear distinction between them, the terms incubators and accelerators
are used interchangeably, thus blurring the lines between their nature and operation.
This stems from the fact that many of the accelerators and incubators offer a range of
services that fall under the same category. This certainly applies to Cyprus, especially
with its young and emerging ecosystem, where we are only now beginning to identify the
differences. Nevertheless, one may argue that exactly this interchangeability has been
also very contributive to venture formation.
However, as we are maturing and expanding, we need to develop a better understanding
of the two types to offer more tailored solutions to the needs of the startups during the
different phases of development.
Incubators/Accelerators
There are three types of support organizations in Cyprus, which are:
1. Private funded
2. State funded
3. Corporate funded
All the entities have been instrumental in developing and sustaining the entrepreneurial
ecosystem in Cyprus. In this section we will briefly examine those supportive entities.
Cyprus Seeds is an NGO focused on commercializing research by facilitating the
access to pre seed funding, providing mentoring and networking opportunities to
research teams. The incubation period is cohort-based ending in a demo day. Cyprus
Seeds helps teams realize their market potential, while minimizing the risk for investors.

Mapping CyEE 34
IDEA CY was established in 2015, with the support of the Bank of Cyprus (BOC), which
offers a nine-month business training and finance support to startups, to develop their
MVP. Additionally, it facilitates access to a large network of mentors and angel investors.
Chrysalis LEAP is the first accelerator in Cyprus specializing in Clean Tech, and the
official organizer of the EIT Climate Launchpad for Cyprus, through their partnership with
the EIT Climate-KIC. Established in 2012, the accelerator helps teams develop business
ideas focused on environmental sustainability.
ARIS is an accelerator, established by Delloite in partnership with BOC, specializing in
accelerating the growth of startups, whose solutions are focusing in the area of shipping,
fintech and renewable energy with the intention of transforming them into scalable and
viable business.
Gravity is a deep tech incubator, the only certified Business Innovation Centre in
Cyprus, founded in 2016 by CyRIC. Gravity is a member of the Business Angels Europe
and has partnered with Fast Capital, which is an online incubator/accelerator based in
Dubai. Gravity offers support from concept to commercialization and facilitates the
access to network and capital.
Nicosia2 from CYENS, offers a 3-month acceleration program to promising teams at
the early stage, providing them with training in business modeling, service design, project
management and finance.
PwC Scaleup Program is a 10-week training program designed to prepare fast
growth startups become investor ready, reduce risk and scale effectively. With its
masterclasses, it provides innovative companies the tools to meet the growth objectives
and achieve commercial success.
Other corporates such as KPMG also offer support and mentorship to startups at all
stages to help them develop their ideas and scale up.
Cyprus Inno is an NGO dedicated to the support of Cyprus entrepreneurs from both
communities by organizing events, offering bootcamps, mentorship program and
workshops.

Mapping CyEE 35
Co-working spaces
A Coworking space offers affordable hosting solutions with some office perks, to
likeminded individuals, working on different projects, while providing social opportunities
to interact and network.
Hügge in Paphos, is an inclusive community offering “digital folks”the opportunity to
develop their potential while having fun together.
Antwork provides tech enabled, coworking office space in Limassol to the local and
international community to work and meet.
The Business Bar, located in the heart of Limassol, provides co-working space to
everyone with packages “designed to suit the future of work”.
iDesk.Space in Larnaca, offers dedicated desk space with to professionals in a
relaxing atmosphere.
Ecastica In Limassol, provides flexible office space and services for all budgets.
HUB Nicosia is a combination of an educational center and shared office space, with
seminar and meeting rooms, providing resources to socially focused individuals,
projects, and enterprises.
Yfantourgeio (The workplace) in Nicosia, offers office like amenities in a relaxed
environment, to local entrepreneurs, small teams, freelancers and startups. Additionally,
it provides hot desk and private meeting rooms.
+Competitions and events
Resuming from the pandemic, 2022, has seen Cyprus society and entrepreneurial
community being more active than ever, with many events taking place following the

Mapping CyEE 36
global trends. We experienced the promotion of educating the public about
crowdfunding, investing in high-risk enterprises, the new economic drivers such as the
green and blue economy, digital transformation but also the world of the digital currency
and virtual reality.
The location of major events starts to become irrelevant, with most events being either in
a hybrid or an online format, giving the public the opportunity to attend from everywhere.
Following the global trends, we witness how our local ecosystem is responding to them,
though the various initiatives that has been organized in the second half of 2021 and the
beginning of ’22, up until now. This will give us a boost in understanding and interest in
the new economy, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Competitions
Competitions can play a vital role, and even be defined as an anchor events to specific
parts of their ecosystems, because they provide strong support to participants.
According to Stoltz, these events not only expose participants to opportunities to
network, form partnerships and get feedback, but also act as a platform for stakeholders’
coordination, co-production, and communication. (Stoltz, 2022)18
Summarized below are some of the most important competition events that are regularly
organized.
Cyprus Entrepreneurship Competition (CyEC) is a business plan competition,
organized by the Centre for Entrepreneurship of the eUniversity of Cyprus, that brings to
the foreground bold innovative ideas and startup activities. goal is to identify and
transform those bold ideas into viable startup ventures with the potential to compete on a
global scale, that either drive substantial market value or create social change though
different business models.
18
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epub/10.1080/04353684.2022.2052739?needAccess=true

Mapping CyEE 37
Student Innovators Competition (SINN) is organized by the Centre of
Entrepreneurship of the University of Cyprus, and it is an annual student competition
featuring early-stage business ideas! Student teams are invited to present creative ideas
and solutions for challenging problems with impact to the economy and/or society
Junior Achievement Beyond Pre-Accelerator and Startup are programs
that give students in secondary education and university students (18 to 30 years old) the
opportunity to experience running their own company, giving them an insight into how
their talents could be used to set up in business for themselves. The programs conclude
in Demo days where tams are called to compete by pitching their ideas.
Hack Cyprus was created by CEL, with a clear ambition in mind — putting Cyprus on
the technology map. Hack Cyprus, believes Cyprus is able to attract and produce world-
class technologists, and we envision Cyprus being a prominent startup hub in Europe
and the world.
Robotex is a Pancyprian Robotics Competition is an annual event organized by the
Cyprus Computer Society. The objectives of the competition are the development of
educational robotics, the introduction of robotic technology in the educational aspect, the
advancement of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) fields
and the promotion of innovative learning ways in Cyprus educational system.
Events
Reflect Festival is the biggest tech & entrepreneurial festival in Cyprus where the
region's doers’ network, brainstorm and learn from their peers
Decentralized Conference is the world's premier learning conference on
Blockchain and digital currencies. Established in 2017 and running annually by the
University of Nicosia.

Mapping CyEE 38
EcoX Cyprus Meetups are focused on how a startups approach investors. The
organizers invited angel investors, venture capitals from Cyprus, Greece, US, Europe,
Russia, Middle East to discuss on hot startup questions and topics.
Blockchain Fest is one of the most interactive hybrid European events on Blockchain,
Exchanges, Cryptocurrencies, Decentralized Finance (DeFi), NFTs, Mining, Gaming and
Gambling, Online Payments and Investment.
Digital Democracy Hackathon is looking for innovative and sustainable digital
solutions that will encourage dialogue and cooperation between civil society and policy
makers.
Startup Grind was first launched back in 2012 and hosted more than 10 events in
Nicosia since then. The chapter was reactivated with a new team in 2020 and with some
exciting changes! Aligned with the Startup Grind’s values, the chapter aims to reunite the
entrepreneurs, startups, and investors in Cyprus within a community that is focused on
helping one another, giving, and receiving information and support.
The Cyprus International Investors Summit this year has the topic “Cyprus: A
new tech hub for Europe and beyond”. The summit aims to showcase Cyprus as a
dynamic and competitive economy driven by research, innovation, and technology.
Cyprus Summit is an annual event, which is being organized for the 17th time this year,
with the key theme being the sustainable and resilient growth of model of Cyprus, will
focus on digital transformation and green transition.

Mapping CyEE 39
+Basic characteristics of Cyprus startups
The core of our research is to provide insights into the characteristics of the Cyprus
Startups and understand the predominant trends.
Startups by region Startups by legal entity
Based on our survey the majority of the
startups come from the Nicosia region,
accounting for 58% (31) of the total
number of startups, followed by Limassol
with 25% (13), Larnaca is at the bottom
of the chart with only 6% (3). No
companies were accounted for
Famagusta region.
The majority of the startups, 94% are
private limited companies (LTD), where
the shareholder’s liability is limited to the
capital they have initially invested, while
only 4% of those are identified as pre
startup companies. Most of these pre
startup companies are spinouts from
research and despite having a product or
MVP they are not yet registered
companies. Restrictive legislation for
spin-offs from public universities has
been found as the main reason for that.
The remaining 2% are a branch of
foreign entity.
2%
94%
4%
Branch of Foreign
Legal Entity
LTD
Pre startup
6%
25%
58%
11%
Larnaca
Limassol
Nicosia
Paphos

36%
58%
6%
0 - 2
2 - 5
6 - 8
9%
64%
25%
2%
10 - 50
2 - 5
5 - 10
50 - 100
Company’ Headquarters Age of the startup
Most of the startups (91%) are
headquartered in Cyprus with an
average age of 3.5 years. 7% of them
maintains a subsidiary on the island,
these usually are limited companies and
separate legal entities that are run by the
parent company. The remaining 2% are
branches, thus extensions of the parent
company that are being subjective to the
laws of another country’ jurisdiction.
Gender of founders Company size
2%
91%
7%
Has a branch in
Cyprus
Headquartered
in Cyprus
Maintains a
subsidiary
company in
Cyprus
83%
17%
male

The team formation is predominately
male with only 17% of the startups
having either a female founder or a co-
founder. Most startups consist of small
teams of 2-5 employees, thus
accounting for the lion share of 64%.
Teams with 5 to 10 employees represent
25%, followed by companies with 10-50
being at 9%, and only 2% have large
teams of up to 100 employees.
Type of Business model Type of revenue model
The predominant business model is B2B
and it accounts for the 53% of the
startups. The remaining shares belong to
the B2C model with 22%, followed by
17%of the B2B2C and only 2% are C2C.
The 6% that have indicated using other
business model refer to having a hybrid
business model, or either being a B2C or
B2G.
The dominance of the B2B model over
the B2C in recent years, indicates the
shift form the traditional business model
in the tourism and travel sector, that it
has been happening in recent years. As
the ecosystem is maturing and as
Cyprus is taking actions towards a more
sustainable economy, it is natural that
this shift becomes more prominent with
some more innovative business models
emerging as well. The C2C, mainly
regards marketplaces, where consumers
interact directly with each other. This
53%
17%
22%
2% 6%
B2B
B2B2C
B2C
C2C
Other
17%
25%
7%
25%
Price per
item
Price
per use
SaaS
Subscription

Mapping CyEE 42
0%
2%
4%
4%
6%
6%
6%
8%
9%
9%
11%
19%
21%
25%
28%
32%
40%
53%
Distributed Ledger
Drones
Blockchain
Nanothech
AR/ VR
Networks
Robotics
IoT
3D Printing
Diagnostics/Imaging
Sensors
Hardware
Cloud Computing
Other
Ai
Data Analytics
Web & Mobile Application
Software
model it is still underdeveloped in
Cyprus, however as we advance
technologically and the consumer needs
change, it is predicted that the C2C
model will grow substantially.
In terms or revenue model, we observe
that we have an equal share of 25%
between “Price per item”and “SaaS”
(software as a service). The following
17% belong to the “Subscription”model
and 7% for the “Price per use”.
The rest of the shares belong to the
models of the ‘’Marketplace”(6%),
“Annual subscription for real time
monitoring”and “Annual fee for
regulatory compliance services”(2%),
“Licensing”(6%), Commission fee (4%),
“Consulting services (2%), and
“Multiple”(2%).
Technology

Mapping CyEE 43
Most of the startups are leveraging software (53%), web and mobile technologies (40%)
for their operation and products, which are one of the most widely used tools, allowing
tech companies to manifest new systems and processes. Many of these companies use
software as a service (SaaS) model.
Today most tech companies and especially startups are data driven, using analytics to
determine benchmark performance or using analytics as their main product/service.
This trend is also observed among the companies in the study. In a fast-developing world
of startups analytics and big data play a tremendous role in identifying gaps, provide
solutions an identify opportunities. Insights from analytics help decision makers reduce
risk and cost when crafting or redefining their market strategies.
Some startups have indicating that they are either working with these technologies or
developing them. The majority of them have a strong R&D component.

Mapping CyEE 44
Sector
Sector %
Other 29%
FinTech 15%
Life Sciences (HealthTech, Biotechnology, Medical Devices) 9%
RetailTech (E-Commerce, Fashion) 9%
Entertainment/Media (Games, Social Media) 7%
Human Resources 7%
Environment & Energy (GreenTech, CleanTech) 5%
Data Analytics 4%
Manufacturing 4%
AdTech ( Advertising & Marketing) 2%
Cyber Security 2%
Maritime 2%
Mobility 2%
Real Estate ( Construction) 2%
Insurance 2%
Hospitality & Travel 2%
FoodTech (Agritech) 0%
Logistics & Transportation 0%
LegalTech 0%
A growing number of Cyprus startups do
not identify themselves within the more
established industry sectors. This is
expected, as most of them are creating
either new markets or their solutions
deviate in more than one way from the
established sectors. To name few, we
have a company specializing in real
estate and design in the metaverse,
while another is generating 3D assets for
the metaverse, and other that offers a no
code development tool.
“Fintech”startups are leading the way
with 15%, followed by “Life Sciences”at
7%, “Retail Tech another”7%, “Green
Tech “and “Clean Tech”are at 5% and
“Data analytics”holds 4%. The banking
services have always been one of the
prevailing services in Cyprus, therefore,

Mapping CyEE 45
it is only natural that we have a growing
number of fintech startups relocating or
being internally developed to address
gaps and issues existing in the traditional
banking system.
The “Life Sciences”sector, through the
many research centers, that have been
developed in Cyprus shows great
response to the changing global
landscape with many innovative
companies not only trying to address
existing and emerging issues but also
through the use of technology. We
observe sectors such as “Health”and
“Pharma”are now becoming more
relevant and patient centric.
“Game shows”, E-sports, game
development and gaming startups
relocating to Cyprus, have given a rise to
the “Entertainment”sector with new
trends emerging and offering profitable
opportunities in areas that were
traditionally overlooked.
Similar trends and approaches are
noticed when it comes to “Human
resources”, “Environment and Energy”,
as well as “Data analytics”. This
provides evidence of the talent pool of
skillful professionals and graduates that
Cyprus have, who are invested in
developing the Cyprus ecosystem and
economy though new technologies and
models.
Main source of funding
1,8%
16.4%
1,8%
1,8%
1,8 %
10.9%
1,8 %
50.9%
10.9%
AN D G R AN TS
AN G E L IN VE S TO R S
C R O WD F U N D IN G
E U F U N D IN G S
N /A
PU BLIC F U N D IN G
S E E D F U N D IN G
S E LF F IN AN C IN G
VE N TU R E C APITAL

Mapping CyEE 46
The majority of startups that are in the pre startup and early-stage, are self-financing their
ventures. This stems from the fact that in Cyprus there are not sufficient and diverse
sources of funding for pre startups (idea stage) and pre-MVP stage. This may be also
attributed to the lack of sufficient entrepreneurial experience, know-how, transparency,
and communication.
Startups with experienced founders and those with better due diligence, or strong R&D
background, have managed to secure better funding from angel investors and in the rare
cases from VC, who are mainly abroad, in countries such as UK, USA and Greece.
Teams with strong R&D activity, have reported securing funding from EU schemes for
research and innovation projects, and grants from RIF.
Ask amount per funding round
The majority of startups (43.1%) at the pre seed and seed stage have requested up to
€500 K in funding, while surprisingly 27.5% need up to a €1 mil. This might be due to the
fact that startups might overestimate their needs or wish to maximize their funding.
Those requesting over €1 mil are usually more mature startups, who intend to emphasize
on their traction and looking to scale.
2%
7.8%
13.7%
19.6%
27.5%
29.4%
200 - 300K
1 - 100K
300 - 500K
100 - 200K
500 - 1000K
>1000K

Mapping CyEE 47
Revenue
The prevailing 71% of startups have indicated revenue below €150 K and only 29% of
them above that number.∗
To determine whether these are successful ventures, these startups, otherwise
referred as Gazelles in other ecosystems, need to be monitored. The evaluation
process requires:
1. Measurement period of analysis up to four years (long term data is the most
comparable
2. Information of how the size of the company changes during the evaluation period
3. Determine and evaluate the profitability and growth indicators of the startups
4. The size of the turnover needs to double during the period of analysis (usually the
starting point is above €150 000)
5. The startups need to report positive cash flow and positive cumulative operating
results
∗
To determine success metrics, we benchmark startups based on global examples from other ecosystems, however, to be somehow
conclusive we need to monitor these startups for a period of at least 4 years, thus monitoring their growth rate in order to have a clear
idea of their success.
29%
71%
O VE R 150,000 E U
U N D E R 150,000 E U

Mapping CyEE 48
16.7%
83.3%
N O
YE S
Raising capital in the next 12 months
With an astonishing 83.3% the majority of startups are planning to raise capital in the
next 12 months, this being valid for both startups going for seed and series A funding
rounds. The remaining 16.7% refers to startups who either went recently through a
funding round or are not investment ready for their next funding round.

Mapping CyEE 49
19
16
24
29
33
22
25
35
38
33
28
21
28
32
36
39
31
26
22
33
30
20
17
22
27
34
27
23
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
+Perceptions of the startups regarding existing
conditions and infrastructure
One of the objectives of the study is to evaluate the perceived notions and attitudes of the
participating startups, when it comes to the existing conditions and infrastructure in
Cyprus. The survey aimed to understand which are the weakest links and the factors that
hinder the development of innovative enterprises.
60% of the population sample, believe that there are favorable conditions and good
infrastructure in place in Cyprus for being a startup, while 40% believe there is still “huge
room for improvement”.
Good
Poor

Mapping CyEE 50
The best aspects according to the survey regard the “Information and Communication
Technologies”and “Favorable conditions for starting a business”, followed by the “Level
of regulation”and “Access to research facilities and universities”.
On the downside, “Access to funding “along with “Access and support in finding
qualified staff”have been the two factors that are quite problematic.
Other factors reported as negatively affecting startups
Startups have indicated few more factors that present an issue when setting up and
developing a venture. The following are among the most prevailing ones:
1. Difficulty in finding funding at an early stage
2. Level of awareness of investors when it comes to startups and their needs
3. Government grants (coming from EU) take forever to be distributed along with
underqualified grant evaluation personnel
4. Cyprus market size can be constraining for VCs or angle investors
5. University spin-offs are hard to develop due to restrictive university policy (it is
more the case with public universities)
6. Setting up a bank account and transferring money from foreign investments

Mapping CyEE 51
+Most funded CY startups
Most funded CY startups
Company Funding Round
1 Hellas Direct €67.8 mil Series C
2 Plum Fintech €56.2 mil Series A*
3 Trouva €33.5 mil Unknown
4 LearnWorlds €30.8 mil Series A
5 Pollfish €16.4 mill Series B
6 Nodes & Links €11 mil Series A
7 Locum’s Nest €4.8 mil Series A
8 Covve €4.3 mil Seed
9 Imactech €3.54 mil Unknown
10 THREEDIUM €3.3 mil Pre-Series A
11 Avocarrot €2.2 mil Seed
12 Ascanio19 €* Seed
13 Malloc €1.9 mil Seed
14 NIPD Genetics €1.5mil2021 Unknown
15 Embio Diagnostics €1.3 mil Seed*
16 ProMed Biosciences €1.2 mil Seed
17 Wire FS €1 mil Seed
18 Avrio €0.77 mil Pre-seed
19 Stagedoor €0.67 mil Seed
20 bialoom €0.59 mil Unknown
21 The Mighty Kitchen €0.65 mil Seed
22 Blendapp €0.5 mil Seed
19
The information of the funding amount is not disclosed. The estimation is made based on similar investment in the investor’s
portfolio.
20
The funding regards grants from RIF, however based on unofficial information they have raised more capital from private investors
* no information available

Mapping CyEE 52
Who is who
Hellas Direct is a technology company in the insurance sector offering advanced
analytics with cutting edge technology.
Plum Fintech is a money management app that provides personal savings assistance
to customers.
Trouva is a leading marketplace platform that offers customers access to independent
boutiques and brands.
LearnWorlds is an ‘’educational amplifier’’, in other words one stop shop for creating,
selling and marketing online courses and training.
Pollfish is a hybrid service survey platform providing innovative solutions for conducting
market research.
Nodes & Links is a technology company that empowers project teams dealing with
complexities, to understand risks and reduce cost.
Locum’s Nest aims to revolutionize the way junior doctors and young medical
professionals get recruited. It provides them with the flexibility and choice to be matched
with the right opportunities through their platform.
Covve is personal CRM app that helps people build and nurture meaningful
relationships.
THREEDIUM is a 3D platform that builds 3D/AR content for retailers and global brands
to create digital twins.
Impact Tech uses AI-driven software, helping customers increase their business
impact, to deliver the sales, support and marketing that the customers want.

Mapping CyEE 53
Avocarrot is mobile advertising platform that allows businesses to make money in a
less intrusive way by creating seamless user experience and higher engagement.
Ascanio is a mix reality software development company, helping customers create
safer, scalable and real time data driven field training for mission critical professions.
Malloc is an Ai driven privacy and data security app protecting users from spyware. It
monitors and prevents any app from unauthorized access or transmission of your
personal data.
NIPD Genetics is a biotechnology company developing, and engineering innovative
genetic testing
EMBIO Diagnostics is a tech company developing bio electric diagnostics device and
monitoring software to help detect and protect from harmful bacteria.
ProMed Bioscience is a biotech company developing collagen-based biomaterials
with wide range of applications in research, skincare, and medical sector.
Wire FS is a property technology company offering real estate intelligence and analysis
for transparency and accurate decision making.
Avrio is a knowledge management tool that allows teams to share data driven insights
easily and efficiently.
Stagedoor is a theatre guide and booking platform that offers one stop shop for getting
information on theatre shows, tickets and shows reviews.
Bialoom is a deep tech startup developing the next generation point of care diagnostics
utilizing scalable photonic integrated circuits.
The Mighty Kitchen is a Food Tech company using data modeling and materials
chemistry that offers consumers nutritious and delicious plant-based poultry products.

Mapping CyEE 54
Blendapp is a scheduling and team planning and communication app for the F&B
industry.
Other significant CY startups
Proto.io is a prototyping platform offering designers and developers the tools to
develop interactive mobile apps with high and low fidelity prototypes.
Engino is a startup that advocates for invention through play with its three-dimensional
educational construction kits for children. Recently Engino got EU funding of €167 000
for its ERP (Engino Robotics Platform) and programming software.
Zedem Media is Cyprus' leading and longest running animation studio that produces
compelling visual content that is being delivered online, offline and on mobile platforms.
Zedem provides script to screen support to clients, helping them create stronger brands.
+CY startup exits
Top CY exits
Company
Exit
Year
Age of
startup
Amount Company
1 Polfish 2022 8 €70-80 mil Prodege
2 NIPD
Genetics
2022 10
€44.4 mil Medicover
3 Avocarrot 2016 4 €20 mill Glispa Connect
4 Trouva 2022 7 €15 – 20 mil Made.com
5 Foody 2019 4 € *22 Delivery Hero
*
The information of the exit deal it is not disclosed however based on similar acquisitions we estimate it to be in the range of €12-15
mil

Mapping CyEE 55
11%
89%
Greek & Cypriot
Foreign
Characteristics of the startups exits
Investors type
6.6
years
Employees
50 - 200
Rounds
2.2
Capital raised
€18.9
mil
investors
27*
Offices in
3 countries

Mapping CyEE 56
+Success stories
In an emerging ecosystem as Cyprus, it is important to be more inclusive in our definition
of a success story. In general, a success story is considered when we have a successful
entry, scaling and exit of a startup, but we can have different types of success stories
depending on their impact and contribution. Let’s call them little success stories with big
contribution to the culture shift and social awareness.
These little successes are inspiring younger generations to embrace, and pursue
alternatives to the traditional career paths that can be highly rewarding.
There are different instances, which count as success stories, such as Malloc being
backed up by Y combinator, going through several rounds of raising capital from foreign
investors.
Another such story involves Impact Tech, with their humble beginning, entrepreneurial
mindset and global presence, have managed to successfully attract global talent, while
operating from Cyprus, and pairing this talent with the local talent to create a skillful
workforce. This is great example of engaging the local foreign community for mutual
exchange.
Cyprus Seeds is doing an incredible job advertising research teams with huge market
potential to foreign investors, locally and abroad, thus paving the way for more success
stories to come.
Finally let’s take a glimpse at the bigger success stories with the two major successful
exits to date.

Mapping CyEE 57
Founded: 2012
Headquartered: Athens & San Francisco
Founders: Konstantinos Christou, Giorgos Irakleous,
Giorgos Makkoulis and Panagiotis Papageorgiou
Size: 200 – 500 employees
Investors: 5 (most recent Odyssey Ventures L.P. & Darling Ventures)
Avocarrot is a mobile native advertising
company, offering app developers the
flexibility and efficiency they need to
handle better, and in a more automatic
way complex native ads. Native ads are
complex for trying to match the look, feel
and function of the format in which they
appear.
What differentiated them from the
competition was the fact that they were
providing expert tools specifically
tailored to assist app developers rather
than targeting at large the platforms that
the ads will appear on. Additionally, the
Exchange infrastructure, allows for
automated conversion of banner ads to
native ads, offering a less intrusive
monetization solution. The Exchange
used to deliver 200 million ad requests
monthly.
The company raised $200K, followed by
a seed round of $2.2 million, from Greek
and foreign investors, to scale up and
develop further their solutions. The
funding allowed the company to expand

Mapping CyEE 58
their R&D team in Greece and their
business development team in San
Francisco. The round was led by
Odyssey Ventures, Darling Ventures,
Kayak CTO Giorgos Zacharia, Andy
Porteous and angel investor Thanos
Triant.23
The company success led to their
acquisition in 2016, by Glispa Global
Group. Although the deal amount
remains undisclosed, unofficial sources
reported it to be around $20 million. The
acquisition allowed for the company to
realize their vision of allowing developers
globally to realize revenues from ads.
The seamless integration with the
Glispa’ Ampiri, a native ad mediation,
brought an immediate value to Glispa,
making the top independent native
advertising on the market.
Founded: 2015
Headquartered: Nicosia
Founders: Argyris Argyrou, George Hadjivarnava,
& Michael Oikonomou
Size: 50 - 200
Foody was established in 2015 as the
first online delivery platform connecting
local restaurants with customers.
23
https://www.goldnews.com.cy/en/financial-
services/avocarrot-raises-2mln-usd-in-seed-funding-for-
native-mobile-ads
Although there were several small
competitors, Foody quickly differentiate
itself in the market through sheer

Mapping CyEE 59
determination and fast iterating their
product to accommodate the growing
demand.
Their ability to foresee and adapt allowed
them to grow exponentially, and
becoming the leading go to platform,
when it comes to online food ordering.
Foody ‘market dominance and
competitive advantage led to the
company being acquired by the German
food delivery giant Delivery Hero, in
2019, for an undisclosed amount,
although acquittances close to the deal
have suggested that the amount might
be around €12-15 mil.
The matching culture and aligned vision
of both companies allowed for an easy
transition. At the time of the deal Foody
had 400 restaurants registers and 130
000 orders per month, and today they
have around 600 000 orders per month.
After the acquisition the founders and
their team continued in their leadership
roles contributing greatly to the
development of the platform on the
island utilizing the resources of Glispa, in
terms of technologies, and the vast
experience of the group, to enhance the
Foody experience for both customers
and partners.
Other success stories and lessons
There are other examples of Cypriot startups that got developed and acquired by foreign
companies. These successes allowed for the first serial entrepreneurs on the island to
emerge, and for more successful and innovative ventures to be developed.
Not only that but these experiences from developing a venture early on, and then having
an exit deal, have taught the founders important lessons when, it comes to raising funds,
finding the right investors and strategic partners, negotiating terms, marketing and
closing a deal.
Founder’s experience today is considered as a valuable tool in the venture arsenal, when
it comes to the implementation, scaling, and investment readiness of the startup.

+ +
Name: Adjelly
Founded: 2016
Founders: Andrew Michael, George
Vou, Denis Constantinou
Product: AdJelly is the ad creation,
deployment and measurement
platform for Facebook Ads
Acquisition: Brandzooka (a
Facebook advertising partner)
Metrics: 20, 000 unique visitors per
month, 200 000 advertisers, 5800
small business users
Exit year: 2017
After the acquisition: The founders
went their separate ways to create
Avrio and The Mighty Kitchen
Name: Funifi
Founded: 2013
Founders: Andrew Michael, Denis
Constantinou, George Vou, Lachlan
Hespe, Chrysovalantis Anastasiou
and Kyriacos Georgiou
Product: Funifi is a mobile app that
makes it easy to set tasks for kits and
manage their activities with minimum
effort
Investment: seed funding of
$450 000
Acquisition: Unilever
Exit year: 2015
After the acquisition: The company
was sold for unsignificant amount of
money to a Danish company.
Unfortunately, the company was shut
down by the buyers.

2022 has been a milestone year for Cyprus startup ecosystem, as indicated in the
previous section, where we have 3 major deals. Two regard the acquisition of Pollfish and
Trouva, by Prodege and Made, respectively, and finally NIPD Genetics has been
acquired by Medicover, which will allow for the company to further evolve its potential
and revolutionary work.
This is a positive indication of the potential and attractiveness of Cypriot startups. Having
said that, it is it inevitable that these trends will continue to have a positive trajectory with
more funding for R&I, more investment funds for high-risk enterprises, the Horizon
Europe for creating impact, and with the maturing of the ecosystem and the shift towards
new economic models.

Mapping CyEE 62
+Startup database
Name Sector Est.
Busines
s Model
Website
Airland Music
Entertainment/
Media (Games,
Social Media)
2017 Hybrid www.airlandmusic.com
AJM Med-i-
Caps Ltd
MedTech 2018 B2B,B2C https://www.ajmmedicaps.com
AmaDema Manufactoring 2013 B2B amdmcomposites.com
AppstoreSpy
AdTech
(Advertising &
Marketing)
2019 B2B https://appstorespy.com/
Ascanio AR/VR Mixed
reality, Data
2015 B2B
https://ascanioentertainment.com/
Atokes FinTech 2018 B2C www.atokes.com
Avrio SaaS - Knowledge
Management
2021 B2B https://www.avrio.com
bialoom
Life
Sciences/Biosens
or
2018 B2B www.bialoom.com
Bitloops Dev Tool 2021 B2B www.bitloops.com
Blend.app Hospitality | Future
of work
2017 B2B https://www.blend.app/
Covve CRM, Software 2013 B2C www.covve.com
Crew Human
Resources
2019 B2B www.getcrew.eu
Crowdbase FinTech 2020 B2B2C https://crowdbase.eu/
CYANOXI
Environment &
Energy
(GreenTech,
CleanTech)
2020 Hybrid www.cyanoxi.wordpress.com
Datapply.ai Data Analytics 2022 B2B www,datapply.ai
EFEVRE
TECH LTD
Manufacturing 2018 B2C www.efevre.com
EKCO
Maximum
Power LTD
Mobility 2021 B2B2C www.maximumpower.com.cy

Mapping CyEE 63
EMBIO
Diagnostics
Life Sciences,
Biotech
2016 B2B https://embiodiagnostics.eu/
ExiPay FinTech 2021 B2B exipay.com
Fooderloo
LTD
RetailTech (E-
Commerce,
Fashion)
2019 B2B2C https://fooderloo.com/
Hegemonic
Project
Games
Entertainment/
Media (Games,
Social Media)
2019 B2C www.hegemonygame.com
Hello Radius Human
Resources
2021 B2B https://helloradius.com
IMADE3D
(Cyprus)Ltd
Industrial-Production B2C www.imade3d.com.cy
IMPACT
TECH LTD
FinTech 2018 B2B https://www.impactechs.com/
INTELLAR
INNOVATIVE
SOLUTIONS
LTD
Insurance 2021 B2B www.intellar.ai
Introfoc
Environment &
Energy
(GreenTech,
CleanTech)
2015 B2B www.introfoc.com
Inntenet
Environment &
Energy, Smart
City Applications
2016 B2B www.inntenet.com
Irerobot ltd
Assistive and
Augmentative
Technologies
2017 B2B irerobot.com
Kodika.io NoCode
Developer Tools
2017 B2C https://kodika.io
LearnWorlds EdTech, E-
Commerce
2014
B2C &
B2B
www.learnworlds.com
Lumoscribe
LTD
Optical fiber
Sensors and
MidIR lasers
2018 B2B www.lumoscribe.com
Malloc Inc /
Malloc LTD
Cyber Security 2020 B2B2C www.mallocprivacy.com
MammoCheck Health 2022 B2C
Nodes & Links Real Estate
(Construction)
2018 B2B https://nodeslinks.com/
Parsectix Cloud, Mobile &
web
2018 B2B https://www.parsectix.com
ppissis.com.c
y
RetailTech (E-
Commerce,
Fashion)
2017 B2B https://ppissis.com.cy

Mapping CyEE 64
Promed
Bioscience
Ltd
Life Sciences 2017 B2B
https://www.promedbioscience.com/en/h
ome
Regtify FinTech 2016 B2B www.regtify.com
Renovi
RetailTech (E-
Commerce,
Fashion)
2021 B2C Renovi.io
Rinnoco
Rinnoco LTD is a
research,
innovation, and
education
consulting
company
2021 B2B2C https://rinnoco.com
RSL
Revolutionary
Labs Ltd
Life Sciences 2018 B2C https://www.rsl-labs.com
SignalGeneri
X Ltd
Research and
Develop
Technology
Company
2014 B2B2C www.signalgenerix.com
SIMLEAD Ltd New Product
Development
2018 B2B www.simlead.eu
Smart Cyclo Other 2021 B2C www.smart-cyclo.com
Soft Surge Ltd Data Analytics 2019 B2B www.soft-surge.com
Startups364
Entertainment/
Media (Games,
Social Media)
2021 B2C www.startups364.com
Staycee Hospitality &
Travel
2022 B2B2C www.staycaee.com
Switch Energy
Environment &
Energy
(GreenTech,
CleanTech)
2022 B2B Stay tuned
Studio 3DX Construction, Real
estate
B2B https://studio3dx.com/
Syndeseas
Integrated
Solutions Ltd
Maritime 2017 B2B www.syndeseas.com
The Mighty
Kitchen
AgriTech, F&B 2019 B2B https://themightykitchen.com/
Theramir Ltd Life Sciences 2016 Other https://www.theramir.com
THREEDIUM
RetailTech (E-
Commerce,
Fashion)
2017 B2B www.threedium.co.uk
Travel with vr
Computer
Generated Images
, mainly in the
architecture and
2018 B2B www.travelwithvr.com

Mapping CyEE 65
property
development
industry.
Trouva
RetailTech (E-
Commerce,
Fashion)
2015 B2B2C trouva.com
VET EX
MACHINA
LTD
life Sciences 2018 B2B www.vetexmachina.com
Vevivo
Entertainment/
Media (Games,
Social Media)
2018 B2C www.vevivo.com
WiRE FS FinTech 2020 B2B www.wire-fs.com

Mapping CyEE 66
06 Insights and
recommendations
The study has shown that the Cyprus ecosystem is maturing and evolving in the right
direction. The analysis of the course of the ecosystem, has contributed a lot to the
understanding of the different factors that influence entrepreneurial success
significantly. The number of actions taken by the government to improve the
conditions for developing innovative enterprises, the set of policies for startups and
entrepreneurship that are part of the government sustainable growth strategy, have
helped accelerate entrepreneurship tremendously, especially in the last 6 years. These
policies have given rise to incentives, both for startups to relocate to Cyprus, but also to
local and global investors to invest in Cyprus based ventures.
However, there are still more actions to be taken to fully support entrepreneurship in
Cyprus, especially when it comes to university spinoffs. Innovation coming from research
has strong potential for commercialization, and Cyprus universities with their significant
research activities have all the necessary components for becoming success
stories. The restrictive legislation regarding IP and ownership, however, leave very little
room for development, and incentives for the founders, especially when it comes to
seeking private investment with limited equity options, something that it is unattractive to
investors, despite the huge potential and promise on return.
University spinoffs can benefit a lot and thrive, if the legislation for the public universities
changes. This will propel growth by diffusing the innovation into society, and we certainly
have great cases capable of achieving global success. One possible solution could be
that each case is examined separately. The on a case-by-case basis, can allow for
the hypothesis to be tried, monitored, and evaluated. The conclusions can provide the
proof for consideration of changing the legislation.

Mapping CyEE 67
The startup scene started to emerge slowly and hesitantly in 2012 with the first venture
formations, and with many events, startup weekends, hackathons and communities
being organized. Those communities of the first entrepreneurs and subsequently serial
entrepreneurs are the foundation of today’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. These founders
experienced everything in times when there was nothing to support them, while only
depending on their resourcefulness and networking skills to achieve success by going
abroad, experiencing ecosystems like Silicon Valley, Y combinator, 500 Startups, as well
as incubators in the Netherlands and England, to educate themselves and find funding
for their projects, prompting to the saying that “talent is universal, opportunities
are not”.
Those are the people who had the first success stories and the first exits, and it was all
done with local talent and bootstrapping, fueled by sheer motivation and dedication.
“There are diamonds in Cyprus”
– George Larkou, Impact Tech
Foody, Ergodotisi, Avocarrot, Adjelly and others paved the way for a brighter future. Their
experience and success have turned them into mentors and investors themselves,
adopting the “giving back” approach by reinvesting in our society and economy, but
also helping shift cultural perceptions of entrepreneurship.
Nevertheless, early-stage startups and pre startup teams at large, have difficulty lifting off
the ground in Cyprus, despite the evidence that the public consider entrepreneurship a
good career choice and something that they wish to pursue. The lack of funding for early-
stage startup has been one of the most problematic aspects along with the lack of
business acumen and quality training to help founders with their investment and
commercial readiness. Reasons for rejecting a startup from getting funded relate to
product market fit, go to market strategy, team commitment, and strong differentiation.

Mapping CyEE 68
With the Horizon Europe program that will foresee the implementation of its predecessor
Horizon 2020 for supporting R&I and building infrastructure, we will have even more
opportunities to achieve high levels of entrepreneurship. That will be further enhanced
with the introduction of the CEF fund for early-stage startups, that will become the main
mechanism for investing in the years to follow. This will officially close the gap in the
entrepreneurial model with the missing link of the funding being set in place.
With this new development we need a better tool for monitoring the
ecosystem course to determine and evaluate the efficacy of the new mechanisms and
the signals of the startups based on specific metrics.
More than ever there is a need for an official public database to project these values,
promote transparency, centralize information, and provide investors with a cost-effective
way to conduct market research on innovative companies and make informed decisions
on their investments. This will provide incentives to the startups to register and have
more opportunities to grow by attracting local and global investors.
For that to happen effectively, we need better stakeholders’ coordination. That
means better communication and transparency when it comes to information regarding
operation and support for startups. Sharing information on current practices but also
introducing more collaborations on common projects, in the hope of more co-production,
that will have mutual benefits and create a win-win situation. To be more effective the
intensity of stakeholder communication needs to increase for solid results if we need
solid advancement. This requires more openness for dialogue, and inclusiveness in the
decision-making process regarding supporting entrepreneurship, but most importantly to
be more aligned with each other’s goals by “adopting a common vision”.
To conclude, with the ecosystem 2.0 coming to a full circle and going into 3.0 version,
there are two more things that we should address, and that is offering more support for
educating traditional investors on how to invest in innovative enterprises, and to
encourage more female founders. Inclusive entrepreneurship, female leadership
and diversity in ideas will help diversify the economic activities and contribute even more
to the new national sustainable growth model.

Mapping CyEE 69
Acknowledgements
Name Organization
Alex Cutler TREPERS
Alex Loizou TROUVA
Alex Minos FLEX CAR
Andreas Panayi KINISIS VENTURES
Andreas Sanidiotis BLENDAPP
Andreas Theodosiou LUMOSCRIBE
Andrew Michael AVRIO
Andy Charalambous RENOVI
Angela Panayiotou IDEA CY
Burak Doluay CYENS & CYPRUSINNO
Christiana Ioannou 3S – SMART SYSTEM SOLUTIONS
Constantinos Loizou EMBIO DIAGNOSTICS LTD
Constantnos Avgoustu REGTIFY
Eleni Keliri CYANOXI
Elias Kokkinos EKCO Maximum Power

Mapping CyEE 70
Frixos Larkos CROWDBASE
Georgios Larkou IMPACT TECH
George Tziazas ASCANIO
Georgios Poullaides INTELLAR INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS
Hess Adnani STARTUP GRIND
Julius Georgiou UNIVERSITY OF CYPRUS, AJM MED-I-CAPS
Konstantina Ioannou PWC CYPRUS
Margarita Kyprianou CYPRUS SEEDS
Maria Georgiadou CYPRUS SEEDS
Marianna Procopi - Demetriades PROMED BIOSCIENCE, THERAMIR, RSL
Marios Constantinides CYENS
Marios Messios PARAMETRICOS, STUDIO 3DX
Mike Charalambous THREEDIUM
Michael Kalopaidis ZEDEM MEDIA
Michalis Agapiou SYNDESEAS INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS
Monica Polemitis MAP INNOVATIONS
Mychael Tyrimos CAPACITOR PARTNERS
Natalie Masrujeh AVRIO
Nicolaos Felesakis INNTENET
Nicolas Mastroyiannopoulos CHIEF SCIENTIST OF ROC
Panayiotis Kakourides CROWDBASE
Pangratios Vanezis KPMG CYPRUS
Panis Pieris STARTUP 364
Petros Kkolas ARUP

Mapping CyEE 71
Stavriana Kofteros EPP INNOVATION EXPERT
Stoyanka Stylianaki DATAPPLY.AI
Vassilis Drakounakis AMADEMA
Victoria Costic Nola VIZ VENTURES
Yiannis Gavrielides INVELOPMENT PARTNERS/COVVE
Yiannis Hadjiconstantouras STUDENTLIFE
We would like to thank all the startups who took part in the survey and in the interviews,
for their time and support.

2022
Centre for Entrepreneurship
of the University of Cyprus

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