“Limassol continued to present notable growth even during the unprecedented period of the pandemic,” the event’s organisers said.

“The city continued to attract foreign direct investment and, at the same time, became the ideal Mediterranean destination for regional headquartering of international tech and other companies,” they added.

The summit included a panel discussion on Limassol’s evolution as the next regional technology and business hub.

Among the speakers was Isavella Frangou, vice president of sales and marketing at online payment services firm payabl.

Frangou spoke on Cyprus’ prospects in the technology and business sectors, as well as the challenges that it faces, with the identification and attraction of workers being at the centre of her analysis.

“The work that companies on the island need to do must be done digitally,” she said, noting that the banking sector, in particular, needs to simplify and speed up its processes and procedures.

“Limassol is making a great effort to bring talent to Cyprus and to create the necessary infrastructure,” she added.

The other speakers in the panel discussion included Cyprus Information Technology Enterprises Association (CITEA) secretary George Malekkos, Prospectacy legal department manager Yanna Raevskaya, as well as promotional agency Invest Cyprus CEO George Campanellas.

Malekkos pointed out that Cyprus needs to create clusters, stressing that no organisation, authority or body can do everything on its own.

The creation of clusters refers to the organic or inorganic collection of interconnected companies and institutions in a concentrated geographical location.

This creates an inadvertent ecosystem where companies and organisations benefit from their close proximity to each other.

The Harvard Business Review explained that “clusters affect competitiveness within countries as well as across national borders, so, therefore, they lead to new agendas for all business executives—not just those who compete globally”.

“More broadly, clusters represent a new way of thinking about location, challenging much of the conventional wisdom about how companies should be configured, how institutions such as universities can contribute to competitive success, and how governments can promote economic development and prosperity,” it added.

Malekkos called on all stakeholders that Cyprus must up the pace, while also noting that Limassol is the best city on the island for technology companies, particularly for those who wish to try out new things and innovate.

The reason for this, he explained, is that Cyprus allows them to try new things at a much lower cost than other European locations.

This means that if a product or project fails to take off, then their potential losses would be significantly less severe than if they attempted the same thing elsewhere.

Malekkos also said that “politicians need to take certain decisions and leave other organisations and bodies to implement the necessary actions”.

Raevskaya said that Prospectacy, who offer legal and corporate services, primarily deal with young business people and entrepreneurs, something which further highlights the need for efficient and tech-savvy staff.

What is more, Raevskaya also echoed the thoughts of the other panellists regarding the need to attract talented and technologically inclined workers to Cyprus.

Finally, Invest Cyprus CEO George Campanellas said that Cyprus’ evolution to an international business hub began in the 1980s with the growth of the local shipping industry.

“Our country, and especially Limassol, is capable of hosting such companies,” Campanellas said, saying that a number of major technology companies have already moved to the city.

Moreover, he pointed out the fact that the country now has “an even friendlier framework to welcome technology companies and significant legislative changes are already being discussed in parliament, while the state is also implementing a strategy fully intertwined with modern needs and foreign interest”.

Source: Cyprus Mail