€1.2 million programme to help Cyprus startups

The Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) on Monday announced the launch of its new pre-seed programme, with a total budget of €1.2 million, which aims to boost Cyprus’ startup ecosystem.

According to the foundation, the “pre-deed programme is designed to accelerate the growth of startups by providing funding for various early-stage activities”.

These, the announcement continued, include initial operational costs, staff recruitment, prototype development, business plan formulation, and marketing and branding initiatives.

It should be noted that the maximum funding available per project is €119,999.

In addition, proposals must be submitted through the IRIS platform by the programme’s deadline of November 1, 2024.

The foundation also said that organisations selected for funding will also have access to the RIF’s free innovation support services and knowledge transfer tools.

The programme is co-funded by the Republic of Cyprus and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), in the context of the Thaleia 2021-2027 cohesion policy programme.

For further information, interested parties can contact the RIF’s partner support centre at 22-205000 or via email at support@research.org.cy.