Cyprus’s innovation sector is entering a new phase focused on helping businesses grow internationally and strengthening links with overseas markets and investors, Deputy Minister to the President Irene Piki has said.
Speaking on behalf of President Nikos Christodoulides at the first Plug and Play Cyprus Expo in Limassol on Wednesday, Piki said the country’s startup community had become more dynamic and internationally connected.
Citing StartupBlink, she said Cyprus had recorded the fastest-growing startup ecosystem in the European Union for the third consecutive year.
Piki highlighted increasing investment activity, a growing number of innovative businesses and stronger connections between research, entrepreneurship and industry.
She traced the establishment of Plug and Play’s presence in Cyprus to a meeting between President Christodoulides and the organisation’s founder and chief executive, Saeed Amidi, during the President’s visit to the United States in April 2025.
The subsequent partnership demonstrated how international engagement could translate into practical results, she said.
Piki outlined government efforts to support research excellence, turn research into commercial opportunities, help innovative businesses develop and attract investment and skilled professionals.
She also highlighted the “Minds in Cyprus” initiative, which aims to reconnect highly skilled Cypriots living abroad with employment and business opportunities at home.
President Christodoulides is due to visit New York and Boston later this month to strengthen partnerships with technology and innovation centres.
Piki said the aim was to turn those international connections into investment, expertise, business opportunities and high-quality jobs in Cyprus.
Source: Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus.
