Doers back in Limassol to Reflect

Attendees at annual tech, business and future casting festival creating a lasting impact in Cyprus

Cyprus has been through its share of challenges, as have many other countries throughout the pandemic. Both business and travel were impacted and, needless to say, those are essential economic pillars for a small country at the crossroads between three continents. But the ‘doers’ of the island have not been idle in the face of adversity.

The tech & startup ecosystem showed no signs of slowing down. And this October, the doers are planning to finally reunite physically at the most important technology and future-focused event in Cyprus: Reflect Festival in an event striving to reach out to promising entrepreneurs around the world.

Arguably, the event has become a fixture in the calendars of those shaping the region’s future. “Our goal was to open up a platform that encourages interesting collaborations, new projects, and exciting ideas. It feels immensely rewarding, especially since the people of Cyprus are very action-oriented and proud of the progress the country has made,” Reflect co-founder Dusan Duffek said.

Reflect’s other co-founder Stylianos Lambrou was born and raised in Limassol and has been well aware of the island’s growing potential. After all, the festival was born to accelerate progress. “Countries with such dynamic business ecosystems need these gatherings to speed up the networking and spark new ideas, as well as business deals,” Lambrou said. “And so in 2018 we decided it’s about time to finally build a platform that will integrate local entrepreneurs into global networks and help establish Cyprus as a bridge between Europe and the Middle East”.

Reflect’s mission to encourage business growth has already resulted in a positive economic impact. During the festival, Limassol is buzzing with talented people, eager investors and entrepreneurs considering the next steps for their business. “Our job is to show them that, in fact, they might want to look into Cyprus to take those steps, which brings further benefits to our country,” Lambrou added. On top of that, the festival also contributes to increased traffic on the island with the visitors supporting local businesses. So far, the festival has hosted more than 7,000 attendees, including high-profile founders, executives, investors, and speakers.

While Reflect’s small, hands-on team is proud of the growing numbers, what’s happening behind the scenes is perhaps even more critical. If the team identifies a potentially beneficial opportunity for one of the speakers or attendees, or if someone asks for help, they’re ready to tap into their network.

“We were given access to practically every customer we could identify as relevant for us. We will surely be back and hope to even set up locally in Cyprus soon,” Co-Founder & CEO at Receeve, a regular at Reflect, Paul Jozefak said.

The festival had to put their plans for a fully physical edition on hold last year. But this October 14-16 it returns with an ambitious goal: to take over several locations throughout the Old City of Limassol and make sure that its message focused on future literacy permeates the country. The growing speaker panel consisting of founders and thinkers building companies and projects that shape the world promises that the festival will come up with new ideas, projects, and collaborations beneficial for the island.

This year’s topics span from technology to business, sustainability and impact, while one of the exclusive stages will belong solely to fintech. Beyond the presentations and panel discussions, Reflect is heavily focusing on building plenty of networking experiences. “We’ve all missed being able to meet, and we’ll do everything we can to make this reunion count and spark new creative ideas in the local community,” Lambrou concluded.