The 11th Cyprus Entrepreneurship Competition (CyEC) is now open, inviting young scientists to submit their business ideas by September 20, 2014. An initiative of the University of Cyprus, CyEC is organized in a strategic partnership with Cyta and supported by the Ministry of Energy, Trade, Industry and Tourism.
CyEC aims to nurture entrepreneurial culture among young scientists on the island, challenging them to transform their ideas into business opportunities, and offering them ongoing mentoring and access to funding. Since its launch in 2003, over 200 teams have participated in this annual competition while 25 start-up companies were launched, some with significant investments and revenue.
“CyEC encourages entrepreneurship among university graduates and researchers with the objective to establish high-tech companies on the island,” says Dr. Skevos Evripidou, CYEC Founder and Co-Chair. “Young entrepreneurs, in the present difficult employment conditions can unleash their potential and create their own, exciting venture.”
This year, CyEC will host a kick-off weekend on October 4-5, in an effort to provide entrepreneurial skills to all participating teams. The teams will undergo intensive training and mentoring, with hands-on experience from internationally accomplished entrepreneurs, active in start-up ecosystems.
Numerous CyEC alumni have progressed from the competition stage to a full-fledged enterprise. One example is CyEC 2004 alumnus Engino, which manufactures and sells educational toys worldwide. 2013 alumni, PollFish, Teach’nGo and StudentLife, have secured funding and are constantly growing.
CyEC 2014 is now open for applications. Interested participants should submit a 5-minute project pitch (3-5 pages, or, up to 15 PowerPoint slides), online at www.cyec.org.cy by September 20 outlining the below:
• Business idea
• Competitive advantages
• Target market
• Technology
• Market potential
• Team qualities
Participants, who qualify for stage 2, will be notified by September 27 and will need to further develop their initial business proposition and submit it in a 30-slide PowerPoint presentation. The CyEC jury will thereafter evaluate and rate the proposed high-tech ventures and select the finalists. The finalists will be asked to defend their proposed business ventures to the CyEC Jury. Finally, the three winners will be announced at an Award Ceremony, before the end of the year where they will receive €8.000, €4.000 and €2.000 respectively.
