{"id":20842,"date":"2023-09-28T08:47:49","date_gmt":"2023-09-28T05:47:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.research.org.cy\/?p=20842"},"modified":"2023-09-28T08:47:49","modified_gmt":"2023-09-28T05:47:49","slug":"how-rifs-pre-seed-programme-enabled-cypriot-startups-to-take-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.research.org.cy\/en\/how-rifs-pre-seed-programme-enabled-cypriot-startups-to-take-off\/","title":{"rendered":"How RIF\u2019s PRE-SEED programme enabled Cypriot startups to take off"},"content":{"rendered":"

Innovative entrepreneurs share their experience and formula for success<\/em><\/p>\n

Over the past few years, Cyprus has made great headway in research, technology and innovation. Leading this progress are the researchers and entrepreneurs who dared to dream and are now seeing their hard work pay off. The Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) has been their long-standing supporter, giving the Cypriot ecosystem a much-needed boost through its wide range of funding programmes and support services, catering to all needs.<\/p>\n

One of the most important programmes in the RIF portfolio is PRE-SEED, which supports the creation and development of new startups, allocating more than \u20ac3.5m<\/strong> in funding and creating more than 50 new jobs since 2019. The RIF\u2019s Director General, Mr. Theodoros Loukaidis stated that \u201cwe envision a thriving startup ecosystem, with high added value for the local community and a significant global footprint. By investing in the new generation of startups, we boost our country\u2019s economic growth. Startups are a source of investment and new jobs, they accelerate technological advancement and develop cutting-edge innovations, which respond to real needs and challenges. This is why we continue to support them throughout their journey and in various ways\u201d.<\/p>\n

Four successful entrepreneurs who took part in the programme explain how PRE-SEED helped their companies.<\/p>\n

[VIDEO]<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Maria Terzi, Co-Founder & CEO <\/strong>Malloc<\/strong><\/a> (Privacy and Data Security Solutions)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe funding we received from RIF was crucial for Malloc\u2019s initial steps\u201d, Malloc\u2019s Co-Founder and CEO, Maria Terzi notes. \u201cIt gave me the opportunity to leave the research centre I was working for and dedicate myself to the company\u201d. \u201cThrough the programme, we developed an initial version of the app and acquired our first users. This allowed us to attract foreign investors\u201d, she explained, since Malloc managed to join the Y Combinator programme and secure investments of \u20ac2m from the US.<\/p>\n

Marios Kyriakou, Co-Founder and CEO,<\/strong> SmartCyclo<\/strong><\/a> (Cycling Training Platform)<\/p>\n

SmartCyclo\u2019s co-founder, Marios Kyriakou stated: \u201cWe secured a significant grant from this competitive programme, which allowed us to build a talented team, conduct extensive research and successfully develop our innovative prototype\u201d. He added that \u201cdeveloping a startup is a challenging journey \u2013 but RIF\u2019s programmes offer substantial support for innovative ideas targeting the international market. With dedication, hard work and a strong network, you can turn your innovative idea into a successful venture\u201d.<\/p>\n

Kostakis Mattheou, Founder & Managing Director,<\/strong> MEDTL<\/strong><\/a> (Next generation Health Services)<\/p>\n

\u201cI would advise all young people with an innovative idea to go for it\u201d, Kostakis Mattheou, Founder and CEO of MEDTL pointed out, adding that \u201cRIF offers many tools I would encourage everyone to make the most of\u201d. Explaining how the programme impacted his own company, he stated that Foundation\u2019s funding primarily gave them a push them to continue their work, by allowing them to hire scientific staff with the right skillset. \u201cWe were then able to develop and turn our ideas into an innovative product\u201d.<\/p>\n

Pambos Antoniou, CEO at <\/strong>IQ3SOLAR<\/strong><\/a> (Platform for PV park performance monitoring)<\/p>\n

For his part, CEO of IQ3SOLAR, Pambos Antoniou stressed the importance of the Foundation\u2019s support, beyond the funding. \u201cWe gained access to networking events, such as REFLECT, and exhibitions all around the world\u201d he said, adding that \u201cthere is now an emphasis on commercialization, which is critical for a startup\u201d. Addressing ambitious young entrepreneurs, Mr. Anastasiou noted that \u201cthrough the programme, you will have the opportunity to create something new. You will learn a number of things and open doors that would not have opened otherwise\u201d.<\/p>\n

Turn your idea into a reality \u2013 New opportunities of \u20ac1.2m<\/strong><\/p>\n

With a budget of \u20ac1.2m, the new call of proposals under the PRE-SEED programme offers funding of up to \u20ac119,999, with beneficiaries automatically gaining access to RIF\u2019s free-of-charge knowledge transfer and innovation support services.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the RIF\u2019s Director General, Theodoros Loukaidis expressed his satisfaction over the success of the startups that received funding from previous PRE-SEED calls. \u201cI am confident that, in the future, we will see more successful startups with equally impressive results and an even greater impact for Cyprus\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n

It should be noted that as part of the new call, RIF is promoting the further involvement of women in the sector by including a special term, prioritising proposals with women as project coordinators in order to qualify to Stage B of the evaluation process.<\/em><\/p>\n

Therefore, if you have an innovative idea that you want to bring to market, the PRE-SEED programme may be the right tool to turn your idea into reality!<\/p>\n

The final deadline for submissions is 3 November 2023. For more information, you may visit the RIF website <\/em><\/strong>here<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Innovative entrepreneurs share their experience and formula for success Over the past few years, Cyprus has made great headway in research, technology and innovation. Leading this progress are the researchers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-12 20:59:49","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.research.org.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.research.org.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.research.org.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.research.org.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.research.org.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20842"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.research.org.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20844,"href":"https:\/\/www.research.org.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20842\/revisions\/20844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.research.org.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.research.org.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.research.org.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}