Entrepreneurship is a defining priority for our society and economy. Without business owners taking the commercial risk to start new enterprises, test new ideas and market offerings, or attempt to solve problems creatively, overall employment and business solutions as well as social tolerance and norms would look very different from what they are today. As Europeans, and as Cypriots, it is vital that entrepreneurship and innovation be encouraged and supported in meaningful and tangible ways.
This commitment to entrepreneurship means that we are honoured to announce our third year of support for the Cyprus Entrepreneurship Competition (CyEC). Now in its 22nd year, CYEC is a national competition initiated by the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Cyprus, and is organized by the Centre for Entrepreneurship of the University of Cyprus.
The Cyprus Entrepreneurship Competition (CyEC) is a business plan competition designed to help early-stage entrepreneurs transform their ideas into world-changing companies. Participants will have the unique opportunity to develop their ideas, grow their business skills and network through a series of carefully designed workshops by local and international partners, mentoring sessions, and networking events.
Our focus is on sustainable solutions that respond to real and global challenges through entrepreneurship, technology and innovation and have the potential to compete on a global scale.
We are looking for ambitious teams who want to develop their ideas quickly and who are both agile and adaptive in pursuit of finding the best problem-solution and product-market fit.
In addition to the competition, each start-up entering goes through an equity-free Acceleration Programme taught by experienced business trainers and mentors. This is a unique opportunity to learn from successes and failures in the Cyprus and European markets, again without any equity requirement or dilution necessary.
The project timeline is:
Competition Launch and 1st Call for Applications: July 8th 2022
Submission of Executive Summaries: Monday September 12th 2022
Announcement of Stage 1 Results: Wednesday September 21st 2022
Appointment of Mentors: September 26th 2022
Acceleration Program: September 26th - November 14th 2022
Submission of DRAFT Business Plans: October 24th 2022
One 2 one Consultation on DRAFT Business Plans: October 31st - November 4th 2022
Video Pitch Submission: TBA
Submission of Business Plans (Stage 2): November 14th 2022
Pitching Day (closed session): Tuesday November 29th 2022
Final Conference and Award Ceremony: Wednesday November 30th 2022
Navigator Consulting will be providing part of the cash prize as well as support for the winning start-ups, comprising business incubation and support services at our central offices in Limassol. Philip Ammerman will be acting as a judge for the Competition.
For further information please consult the 22nd CyEC website.