IDEA celebrates 10 years of supporting startups in Cyprus
IDEA Innovation Center, Cyprus’ largest non-profit incubator – accelerator, is celebrating 10 years of nurturing local entrepreneurship and fostering an innovation-driven economy.
Founded in 2015 by the Bank of Cyprus and other strategic partners, IDEA operates as a fully funded initiative of the bank. It reflects the bank’s long-standing commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship and its continuous investment in the future of Cyprus.
STARTUP PROGRAMME
IDEA’s flagship is its Startup Programme, a structured two-stage initiative designed to cultivate innovative ventures over a nine-month period. This transformative programme offers participant entrepreneurs high-quality business creation training, mentoring, consultation and networking and business development opportunities, alongside investor connections and media visibility. Additionally, it offers seed funding, office space and access to professional services helping entrepreneurs transform their innovative idea into a viable business.
Leveraging an extensive network of over 50 esteemed mentors and trainers volunteering their expertise, the Startup Programme ensures that participants receive the guidance they need to navigate the challenges of entrepreneurship. In 2023, the programme underwent a significant revamp, enhancing its structure and content to better align with current business trends and the evolving needs of early-stage entrepreneurs.
SUPPORT PACKAGE
Through its programme, IDEA offers each startup a comprehensive business support package to enhance its entrepreneurial journey, as follows:
€20.000 in seed capital
Business-creation training to establish their business
Mentoring from accomplished entrepreneurs
Services for legal, accounting, marketing and ICT matters
Business development, networking and access to angel investors
IMPACT
To-date, IDEA has supported, through the programme, the establishment of 100 new businesses and over 260 entrepreneurs. It has contributed to the creation of more than 120 jobs and channelled over €4.5 million into the Cypriot innovation ecosystem.
IDEA’s most notable impact lies in the successes of its supported startups. Its alumni have gone on to secure both local and international investments and partnerships, have established their own offices and employ staff of their own.
INNOVATION IN ACTION
Alongside its core programme, IDEA engages in a wide range of initiatives aimed at fostering innovation, entrepreneurship and digital transformation. In collaboration with Bank of Cyprus it co-organises and co-hosts the BoC Fintech Hackathon, dedicated to the development of fintech solutions. IDEA has also organised and hosted the first Cybersecurity – Cyberdefence Hackathon in Cyprus with the US embassy and other stakeholders, focusing on areas such as fake news detection. IDEA also co-delivered the Cultural Hackathon with the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation, exploring new ways to experience museums and cultural heritage.
To date, IDEA has showcased 38 startups at global conferences including the DLD Innovation Festival and Web Summit. It has also co-organised and participated in ThinkTank, the first intrapreneurship competition held by the Bank of Cyprus, fostering innovation and driving positive change within the organisation.
The Centre is deeply committed to promoting youth and female entrepreneurship by contributing to initiatives such as the Cyprus Entrepreneurship Competition (CyEC) of the University of Cyprus, where it serves as stakeholder and judge. It also serves as partner and judge to the Beyond Pre-accelerator Programme by Junior Achievement Cyprus, supporting students create their own innovative healthtech startups, as well as the JA Student Startup Programme, serving as both judge and mentor to student companies
RECOGNITION
IDEA is a highly awarded organisation that has received numerous accolades over the past decade as a result of its activities.
European Winner for ‘Investing in Entrepreneurial Skills’ at the European Commission’s Enterprise Promotion Awards – 2019
MoU with the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, securing €100,000 for startup support – 2022
National Award for ‘Promoting the Entrepreneurial Spirit’ at the European Enterprise Promotion Awards – 2018
Gold and Silver Awards at the Cyprus Responsible Business Awards – 2019
Regional finalist and public vote winner at the South Europe Startup Awards – 2020
LOOKING AHEAD
As it celebrates this significant milestone, IDEA is expanding its focus to include founder wellbeing through a new initiative called “Strong Minds, Strong Startups”. This segment is designed to address the emotional challenges faced by early-stage founders, helping them manage the demands of running a startup. It epitomises IDEA’s holistic approach, as it recognises that cultivating mental resilience is as important as developing business expertise.
A decade on, IDEA remains committed to supporting entrepreneurs in building viable and investible businesses in Cyprus and beyond.