The programme allows talented entrepreneurs from third countries, outside the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA), to enter, reside and work in Cyprus in order to establish, operate and develop a start-up with a high growth potential.
Cipa participated in the international conference ‘Rise’ in Hong Kong, in the framework of which more than 500 start-ups were given the opportunity to present their products and services to more than 15,000 attendees from 100 countries.
Among 350 speakers from all over the world, Kyriacos Kokkinos, Invest Cyprus board member, participated in the panel discussion ‘How do giants emerge’ along with Wan Shamilah, chief digital officer of Petronas and 85B energy company and Edith Yeung, partner of 500 start-ups in China. The discussion was moderated by Sid Shah, partner and managing director of BCG Digital Ventures.
Kokkinos explained the importance the organisation attributes to digital economy, while stressing the value and collaborative role of start-ups and organisations in the effort to transition to the digital era. He especially highlighted Cyprus’ innovative start-up Visa programme as a key example of how countries promote and support their start-ups ecosystem to collaborate and co-create with the wider global start-up community.
“This programme is a brilliant national initiative for bringing start-ups together, promoting cross-fertilisation in knowledge creation and sharing at global scale towards digital economy”, he said.
Key themes promoted by start-ups at the conference were digital economy, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, autonomous driving and Blockchain, presented to a distinguished audience of entrepreneurs and investors from some of the world’s biggest companies and major global media.
“Rise was an excellent platform for fruitful discussions as well as extensive networking opportunities with key players in the innovation and tech ecosystem,” said Marios Giogoudis of Invest Cyprus, who participated in the conference with Kokkinos. “We were positively surprised by the very strong interest demonstrated by participants in Cyprus’ programme.”
Source: Cyprus Mail
