The latest team, Exal is about developing a decentralised e-commerce platform for small and medium enterprises backed-up by blockchain.

For this, as for its other six teams, Deloitte and the Bank of Cyprus provide support not only with offices but with their advice and guidance.

In this case, Deloitte Moscow is mentoring Exal to facilitate the successful launch of their product, because, as Monica Ioannidou, Aris director and head of Deloitte’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre, put it “we provide expertise, and when we can’t find it locally we find it from abroad.”

The Moscow branch has worked with blockchain for ten years, she explained.

Most times, the residents will get enough from the local team, which is based in a Limassol office.

“We are a dedicated team which provides office space and everyday assistance,” Ioannidou said.

The accelerator, so-called because it shortens the time a new business venture takes from an idea to a product, works with participants whose ideas are innovative and connected to technology.

At the moment, teams are involved in projects such as geological tourism, shipping and e-commerce.

There is no deadline, but an ongoing call for applications. “We encourage more teams to join. We are selective, but when we have accepted a team we keep supporting it. As projects need to be market relevant we help finding investors and customers with the expertise of our company and the bank,” the director said.

Teams are of two to five persons, one of whom must be present in the office every day.

Source: Cyprus Mail