Cyprus Business Now

The Research and Innovation Foundation (Idek) this week announced that it has provided funding to start-ups and other innovative businesses worth a total of €8.5 million.

The foundation said that it expects that this will result in the mobilisation of additional private investment of over €5 million, while more than 70 new jobs are estimated to be created.

“The companies will be financed, through the Pre-Seed, Seed and Innovate initiatives which were announced in December 2021,” the foundation said in a statement.

“From the 215 proposals submitted, 61 of them qualified for the second phase of the evaluation, while the final evaluation resulted in the financing of 15 start-ups and 7 existing businesses,” the foundation added.

The Entrepreneurial Innovation Programmes of the RIF are part of the Foundation’s new National Programme Framework for the period 2021-2027.

The programmes seek to bolster Cyprus’ startup and business ecosystem, with the ultimate objective being the creation of long-term social and economic benefits.

The Cyprus Ports Authority this week participated in a European conference in Germany, under the framework of the STEAM (Sea Traffic management in the Eastern Mediterranean) programme, which is funded by the European Union.

“The STEAM project started in January 2019 and has a duration of three years with a funding amount of one million euros from the European Union and its Structural Funds,” the authority said in a statement.

Programme participants include the Cyprus Port Authority, the Cyprus University of Technology, the RISE Foundation, the Association of Shipping Agents and the companies CSCS, Delevant Business Solutions, and Tototheo Maritime.

“The overall objective of the STEAM project is the efficient management of maritime traffic in the Eastern Mediterranean, while ensuring safety and environmental sustainability, with specific objectives to improve the efficiency of the various port operations and services, optimise navigation and facilitate short-distance shipping,” authority officer Stelios Colombos explained.

“It also aims to collect real-time information on navigation, the environment and cargo tracking, to ensure high-quality data, to create new tools and services relevant to the central objective of the programme, and to develop effective synergies between all maritime stakeholders,” he added.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Thursday, July 14 with minor profits.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 66.22 points at 12:59 during the day, reflecting a rise of 0.08 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 39.62 points, which represents an increase of 0.08 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €30,411.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main index rose by 0.12 per cent. The alternative, investment firm and hotel indexes remained stable.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by Demetra (no change), the Bank of Cyprus (-1.86 per cent), Blue Island (+1.76 per cent), Salamis Tours (-6.59 per cent) and Blue Island (+1.76 per cent).