€20 million for new businesses — youth and women key recipients

The Cyprus Chamber of Commerce & Industry (Keve), in conjunction with the Ministry of Energy, Commerce, and Industry and the Cyprus Youth Organisation (Onek), this week announced the second call for proposals for the New Entrepreneurship Support Scheme.

The total budget allocated for the scheme amounts to €20 million and is subject to modification.

According to the announcement, the “scheme aims to foster, support, and promote entrepreneurship, with a particular emphasis on specific demographic groups such as young individuals and women seeking to engage in entrepreneurial activities across various economic sectors”.

“This initiative seeks to leverage their knowledge, experience, training, and talents,” the announcement added.

Eligibility extends to young men and women who have legally resided in areas solely controlled by the Republic of Cyprus for the past six months, with unimpeded employment access.

Both employed and unemployed individuals qualify, with age categories ranging from 18 to 29 for youth, 30 to 50 for men, and 30 to 55 for women.

Additionally, applicants must not have undertaken entrepreneurial endeavours in the preceding six months, signifying no involvement in self-employment or business activities exceeding a stake of 25 per cent.

Moreover, the sponsorship rate reaches 70 per cent for individuals aged 18-29, while for men aged 30-50 and women aged 30-55, the sponsorship rate will be 60 per cent.

The announcement also noted that the sponsorship rate is calculated based on the eligible expenses of the investment (equipment, special installations, buildings – purchase, construction, renovation or modification of spaces, promotion, advertising), with a maximum eligible budget of €120,000 per enterprise for activities related to processing, services, and tourism.

Interested parties can obtain the Scheme Guide, which includes all the details, the application form template, and other required documents from the Ministry of Energy, Commerce, and Industry’s website.

For further information, interested parties can contact the relevant officials of the ministry at the following numbers: 22-867178, 22-867156, 22-867194. They can also contact Youth Officer Anna Loizou at 22-402615.

The deadline for applications will be announced at a later stage.

As the Coordinator of the European Enterprise Network (EEN) Cyprus, Keve will organise a two-hour event on May 14, 2024, at 16:30, at the Limassol Chamber of Commerce (Evel) premises, aiming to provide a detailed presentation of the Scheme and address queries.

Registration for the event is available here.

Additionally, the Cyprus Youth Organisation will host a series of events to introduce the scheme. Details are available here.

Finally, it should be noted that the presentations at the events will be conducted in Greek, and participation is free of charge.