The Cypriot Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy has said that the Cyprus Startup Visa Programme needs to be improved.
The ministry noted the limited interest in the programme and proposed a new incentive to attract beneficiaries.
In particular, it refers to the Cyprus Startup Visa Programme for the establishment of innovative start-ups in the country, for which 51 applications were received in 2023 and only 4 were approved. The ministry stressed that attracting investment, especially in sectors with high growth prospects such as technology, is of great importance to the state. Incidentally, the aim is to develop start-ups in Cyprus in an evolutionary way.
As a reminder, this plan is valid until the end of May 2024, with the possibility of approving up to 150 applications. Commenting on the data, Deputy Head of the Sub-Ministry of Innovation Stelios Himonas said that part of the research and innovation strategy includes elements that address issues such as the next generation of scientists staying in Cyprus.
He said that efforts to link centres of excellence and university research centres to the market were very important. Regarding the Horizon Europe programme, Himonas said that Cyprus has so far received €210 million out of the €500 million earmarked for support.
It should be recalled that the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme is today the recognised benchmark of the European approach to strategic planning in the field of STI (Science, Technology and Innovation).
Its ninth version is now underway (2021-2027) with an impressive budget of €95.5 billion. A special feature of the programme are the "European missions", which are synchronised with global challenges. Each mission consists of a series of actions - research projects, policy actions and legislative initiatives. According to the European elites, this will help to achieve measurable goals that cannot be achieved by disparate actions. There are five missions in all:
- Adapting to climate change;
- Combating cancer;
- Restoring the oceans and other water bodies;
- Climate neutrality and sustainable urban development;
- Conservation of soil and biodiversity.
The key structure that brings together the efforts of the ministries and various institutions in the field of STI is the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF), established in 1996 on the initiative of the government. There is still a lack of information in the Cypriot media about how exactly the Horizon Europe programme works, and what its benefits and risks are for the country. Not all innovators and start-ups are aware of the system of National Contact Points (ESE), which are a source of information and support for Cypriot organisations participating in Horizon Europe programmes. Their work is supported by the same Cyprus Research and Innovation Fund. The ESEs provide a wide range of free support services to researchers, institutions and enterprises of all types, without exception. In particular, they provide information to research communities, organise informative and educational seminars on STI topics for professionals and the general public, advise on project submissions, funding and implementation opportunities, and assist in finding foreign partners for research collaborations.
Innovation is based on people, who constitute human capital. Scientists have coined the term "sapioeconomics" to describe the modern economic system in which human intellectual work plays a decisive role in the creation of added value. And "digital nomads" have an important place in it.