Cyprus Seeds

Grants, mentoring, entrepreneurial training, and networking!

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Cyprus Seeds

More than just a grant program!

 
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About Us

We are a non-profit organisation with the mission to support the commercialisation of scientific research projects with strong intellectual property (IP) value and global market potential, in all Cypriot universities and research institutions.

Through an 18-month pre-accelerator program, we provide funding and mentoring that will help the transition of research projects from the laboratory to the marketplace.

Cyprus Seeds has run successfully for the last 5 years as a result of the generosity of donors from the public and private sectors.

Our vision is to slow down the brain drain in Cyprus of talented researchers and to help in the creation of Cypriot technology spin-offs which will be a source of jobs and wealth for Cyprus.

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what we offer

Grants & Services

Grants

€30.000 - €50.000 for commercialisation activities.

Mentoring Program

International mentors with hands-on experience in commercialising academic research are designated to the participating teams and offer regular mentoring pro bono.

Entrepreneurial Training

Practical and focused training on IP protection, market discovery, and pitching to investors.

Networking

Networking to allow the research teams to meet and connect with industry leaders, investors and collaborators.

Participation in the Egg – enter•grow•go Accelerator Program

Cyprus Seeds teams are given the opportunity to join the Egg Accelerator.

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our work

Projects

All projects

Awards & Achievements

“Best Startup Ecosystem Initiative” National
Award in the 2020 South Europe Startup Competition.
National winner of the 2022 European Enterprise
Promotion Awards in the category
“Investing in Entrepreneurial skills”.
Among the shortlisted candidates in the Category “Investing in Entrepreneurial Skills” of the 2022 European Enterprise Promotion Awards.
DIMEC and AIRMOS teams were among the 12 finalists in the 2021 MIT Enterprise Forum Greece Accelerator Program Greece Startup Competition among 32 semi-finalists.
YIELDSHIELD team was the winner of two categories in the 2022 MITEF Greece Startup Competition, the 2nd Runner-Up and the General Track categories.
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National winner in the 2023 European Enterprise Promotion Awards for “ Promoting the Entrepreneurial Spirit ”.

National winner of the 2022 European Enterprise Promotion Awards in the category “Investing in Entrepreneurial skills”.

Among the shortlisted candidates in the Category “Investing in Entrepreneurial Skills” of the 2022 European Enterprise Promotion Awards.

1

MITEF Greece Startup Competition

2 grantees were the finalists in the 2021 MITEF Greece Startup Competition among 32 semi-finalists.

1 grantee was the winner of two categories in the 2022 MITEF Greece Startup Competition, the 2nd Runner-Up and the General Track categories.

2

Chief Scientist

Cyprus Seeds grantee, Dr Nikolaos Mastroyiannopoulos, was appointed Chief Scientist for Research & Innovation of the Republic of Cyprus in February 2020.

3

What people say about our work?

“Cyprus Seeds is one of the key players of our national Research and Innovation (R&I) ecosystem, reinforcing the entrepreneurial culture within the academic community. The activities and services offered by Cyprus Seeds are of the highest standards and are in line with relevant national priorities for the commercialisation of research results, technology transfer and business creation.”

Kyriakos Kokkinos Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy

“I continue to be impressed by the research done in the universities and institutes in Cyprus and the talent and enthusiasm of the researchers. It has been my pleasure to work with the passionate and dedicated Cyprus Seeds team as they support and train these researchers to commercialise their technology. Their efforts will accelerate Cyprus’s move into an innovation economy and produce products that will improve the quality of life."

Leon Sandler Executive Director, Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation, MIT

“Congratulations, Cyprus Seeds! Well deserved. You make Cyprus proud!”

Kyriakos Kokkinos Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, commented on Linkedin about Cyprus Seeds being a European Enterprise Promotion Awards national winner in category 2- Investing in the Entrepreneurial Skills!

''Through the drive and persistence of the Cyprus Seeds staff, we have been given unique opportunities to learn from the best globally and to be supported by them. It doesn’t get any better!’’

Prof. George E. Georghiou, FOSS Research Centre for Sustainable Energy
University of Cyprus
Principal Investigator of the SOLEX project

'Regular mentoring in addition to funding from Cyprus Seeds were instrumental to bringing our technology closer to the healthcare market. It is no exaggeration to say that with the support of Cyprus Seeds, which offered us valuable practical training and expertise throughout the duration of the funding period, has significantly contributed to our potential success.’’

Prof. Christakis Damianou Department of Electrical Engineering
Cyprus University of Technology
Principal Investigator of the ABLASONIC project

'Our participation in the first cycle of Cyprus Seeds funding was a privilege and has provided an excellent opportunity for receiving expert training and mentoring in important aspects of presenting and commercialising research results at the international level."

Prof. Kleopas Kleopa Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine
The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics
Principal Investigator of the GENE project

“The mentorship provided by Cyprus Seeds is amongst the best in the world, and is tailored to each specific project. In the DIMEC project case we have been given advice that will save us millions of dollars.’’

Prof. Julius Georgiou, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Cyprus

‘‘We believe Cyprus Seeds is a great initiative, and their support is vital for Cypriot Researchers. We encourage everyone that is working on an innovative idea which has the potential to commercialise to apply for the 2nd year of Funding!’'

Prof. Maria Antoniou, Department of Chemical Engineering
Cyprus University of Technology
Principal Investigator of the CYANOXI project

latest news

News

DiGiNN – Driving digital transformation for SMEs and public organizations

DiGiNN – Driving digital transformation for SMEs and public organizations

Events | News
Cyprus Seed’s teams, CAT-BRAIN and MammoCheck ranked second in the Digital Agenda Alpha Stage Artificial Intelligence Competition (DAAS-AI)

Cyprus Seed’s teams, CAT-BRAIN and MammoCheck ranked second in the Digital Agenda Alpha Stage Artificial Intelligence Competition (DAAS-AI)

Events
PHAETHON journey begins!

PHAETHON journey begins!

Events
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Grants

Cyprus Seeds offers pre-seed funding in the form of grants, in the range of €30.000 – €50.000. The grant is awarded to scientific teams, who are selected to participate in our 18-month Program. Eligible expenses include the following:

  1. The salary of a graduate student, post-doc, or researcher but not that of faculty.
  2. Purchase of consumables and equipment.
  3. Travelling to meet with potential clients or investors. 

In some cases, funding and non-financial support will be awarded to the same project for a second cycle. However, the award will be subject to the submission of a new application.

Mentoring Program

During their journey to commercialisation, research teams have the ongoing support of their mentor/s who guide, advise, and connect them with potential clients, investors, and collaborators. The communication with mentors is mostly via virtual calls and through project review sessions. 

The mentors have hands-on experience as entrepreneurs, and/or in the commercialisation of academic research in the US and European markets. The mentors act as catalysts for the successful implementation of the commercialisation strategy of the academic teams.

Entrepreneurial Training

As part of the Programme, our teams attend a series of mandatory workshops that offer, among others, practical training on the commercialisation of academic research, market discovery, and pitching to investors. 

As of July 2022, the egg – enter•grow•go accelerator Programme is an integrated part of the Cyprus Seeds entrepreneurial training Programme.

Collaboration with the egg

Cyprus Seeds grantees are given the opportunity to join the Egg Accelerator Program  in Greece.

In September 2022, we signed a collaboration agreement with the Egg – enter•grow•go (egg), in Greece. Egg has been running since 2013 with the support of Eurobank Greece and Corallia of the Athena Research and Innovation Center in Information, Communication, and Knowledge Technologies. Egg offers startups and scientific teams opportunities for financing, mentoring, networking, and exporting activities through the following 2 platforms:

  • Start-Up: For young businesses needing support in their early steps. It helps them grow faster and launch their product or service to the market (incubation).
  • Scale Up: For more mature startups that wish to increase their sales in the next round of funding by accelerating their product development. The Scale Up platform is the advanced business accelerator of the egg and is only eligible to companies.

Our teams IoTShield, ARTES and SOLEX joined the10th Cycle of the egg acceleration Programme and BioSense has just been accepted to the 11th Cycle.