Mission and Vision

Our Mission and Vision

Our uniqueness:

Cyprus Seeds is a unique initiative in Cyprus entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem. 

What is Cyprus Seeds?

Cyprus Seeds is a non-profit organisation with the mission to help commercialize innovative academic research.

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Vision

Cyprus Seeds’ vision is to slow down the brain drain in Cyprus.

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Inspiration

Cyprus Seeds finds inspiration in similar programs running successfully in the USA.

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Benefits for Cyprus

Cyprus Seeds will have several tangible benefits for Cyprus.

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What makes us different?

A public-private partnership

Cyprus Seeds is a public-private partnership. Its founding members are the A. G. Leventis Foundation, The Hellenic Initiative, and the Government of Cyprus. The Government supports Cyprus Seeds through the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, and the Research and Innovation Foundation. Major private donors are the Eurobank Cyprus and EY Cyprus. Important donations are made by corporations and private individuals in Cyprus and abroad.

Supported by Diaspora

It is the only initiative in Cyprus that attracted the attention and support of Greeks and Cypriots of the Diaspora.

Focus on research commercialisation

It is the only Cypriot initiative focusing on supporting research centers and universities to commercialize their research and form startups.

Equity-free

It is a not-for-profit and equity-free organization.

International partners

Cyprus Seeds strategic partners are the MIT Enterprise Forum Greece and the EGG accelerator, Greece.

Success stories

In less than 4 years of operations, we have three success stories, including the conclusion of two options to be licensing agreements and the formation of two startups from a Cypriot university.

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What is Cyprus Seeds?

Cyprus Seeds is a non-profit organisation with the mission to help commercialise innovative academic research in Cypriot universities and research institutions.

The aim is to fund research in Cyprus, from any area/field, with market potential and with the goal to reduce uncertainty so that an external party would invest in the technology. In addition to grants, Cyprus Seeds offers mentoring, entrepreneurial skills training and networking with the business community and possible investors outside Cyprus.

Cyprus Seeds is therefore more than just a grant program. It is a unique initiative to create a hub of excellence in which academic research teams will get top-tier entrepreunerial education, mentoring, and networking support to create successful businesses.

In July 2018, it was registered as a non-profit company in Cyprus, independent of universities and research institutions.

Cyprus Seeds is the first but necessary step of a long path towards building a sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem around the universities of Cyprus – an ecosystem leveraging the research work being carried out in the universities and research institutions of Cyprus.

Cyprus Seeds announced a new call for the third time. The third cycle of the Cyprus Seeds Program will run from January 2023 to August 2024.

Vision

Cyprus Seeds vision is to slow down the brain drain of talented highly educated, highly skilled young researchers and to increase the deal flow of Cypriot technology spin-offs which will be a source of jobs and wealth for Cyprus.

To this end, Cyprus Seeds supports the commercialisation of academic research projects, with strong IP value and global market potential, in all Cypriot universities, research institutions and Centres of Excellence. The aim is to provide grants, entrepreneurial training, mentoring, as well as networking which will help the transition of research projects from the laboratory to the marketplace.

Inspiration

Cyprus Seeds found inspiration in similar programmes running successfully in the USA and Europe, including the Programme of the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The MIT Deshpande Center has been operating successfully with huge impact, for more than18 years, resulting in a huge pipeline of innovative technology startups.

Benefits for Cyprus

Cyprus Seeds will have several tangible benefits for Cyprus. To name but a few:

  • The establishment of a pipeline of technology companies in Cyprus, leading to the creation of highly skilled jobs and the retention of Cypriot scientists in the country.
  • The slowdown of ‘brain drain’.
  • The planting of the seeds to stimulate a new, technology driven entrepreneurial culture in Cyprus.
  • The improvement of links between academia and the industry.
  • Filling up of the funding gap for research in the lab that has the potential to develop to the next stage (the prototype) which will attract funding from private investors.
  • An ecosystem of new companies which will make Cyprus attractive to international investors and industry.