Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou is putting €200,000 behind Cyprus’ young entrepreneurs for a fourth year, with three cash prizes on offer to business founders under 34 as the 2026 Stelios Awards return.

The Stelios Awards for Young Entrepreneurs in Cyprus will award €100,000 to the first-place winner, €60,000 to the runner-up and €40,000 to the third-placed entrepreneur.

Unlike a conventional start-up competition centred on ideas alone, applicants must already have established a business.

To qualify, entrepreneurs must be under the age of 34, have founded a company in the Republic of Cyprus within the past five years and be generating annual turnover of at least €40,000.

The competition is open to entrepreneurs of any nationality, provided their company meets the Cyprus-based eligibility requirements.

Applications opened on September 1 and, according to the latest announcement, will close on October 15, with candidate interviews to be held online ahead of the awards ceremony on November 10.

Haji-Ioannou, founder of the easy family of brands and founder and president of the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, said the awards were intended to give younger entrepreneurs meaningful support at a stage when access to funding can make a considerable difference.

“The new generation of Cyprus has the strength, vision and determination to innovate, create and actively contribute to shaping the country’s business future,” he said.

He added that the aim was to give young people the opportunity to take risks, present their ideas and secure support during some of the most important stages of building a company.

For Haji-Ioannou, however, the message is not simply about funding.

He urged younger founders to make use of the period in their lives when they may be more willing to take risks, telling them to pursue their ambitions “now that you have the future ahead of you”.

“It is the time to pursue your vision, take initiatives and create something important, before experience makes you more cautious towards risk and limits your boldness and imagination,” he said.

The awards have grown considerably since they were introduced in Cyprus in 2023.

Last year’s competition attracted a record 77 applications, while the prize fund reached €200,000, double the €100,000 awarded in 2024.

The €100,000 first prize in 2025 went to 23-year-old Limassol entrepreneur George Chrysostomides, founder and chief executive of Shrine Solutions Ltd, which develops digital technology for e-commerce through its shrine.io platform.

His win was followed by an unusual decision: shortly after receiving the award, Chrysostomides said he would donate the entire €100,000 prize to young entrepreneurs and families facing financial difficulties in Cyprus.

“Success only has value when you share it,” he said at the time.

The second prize of €60,000 went to Chrystallena Poulli, behind plant-based cosmetics business CP Herbalist, while Harout Chouldjian and Panayiotis Frantzesko, founders of online shapewear business Luxmery, received the €40,000 third prize.

For 2026, the €200,000 prize fund is being maintained as the awards enter their fourth year, with Haji-Ioannou saying he wants the scheme to develop into a platform through which promising businesses can grow into companies with lasting economic and social value.

Further information and applications are available through the Stelios Awards website.