Cyprus has the talent to build globally successful startups, says Plug and Play

Cyprus has the potential to become a regional innovation hub , but turning that ambition into globally successful companies will require startups to look beyond the domestic market , stronger corporate partnerships and easier access to international customers and investors. In an exclusive interview with the Cyprus Mail , director at Plug and Play Cyprus, Filippos Kyprianou , discussed how the global innovation platform is connecting Cypriot founders with more than 600 corporations across over 60 locations, while helping them develop the commercial skills needed to scale internationally. He also examined the role of local corporate partners , the challenges facing startups and what success should look like over the next five years. Plug and Play has a global network spanning more than 60 locations.

What does bringing that network to Cyprus mean in practical terms for a startup based on the island, and what can founders access through Plug and Play that they could not easily access before? In practical terms it means a founder in Limassol is one introduction away from a decision-maker at a bank in Frankfurt or a shipping company in Singapore. Plug and Play works with more than 600 corporations across 60-plus locations, and those are not logos on a wall. They are relationships where the corporate has a team, a budget and a mandate to work with startups. Until now a Cypriot founder who wanted that kind of conversation had to get on a plane and hope. The second thing is people. Every week of the programme we bring in mentors from across the network: operators who have scaled companies, investors, people who have run innovation inside large corporations. They would not normally be in Cyprus on a Tuesday morning, and our founders get time with them, one to one, on whatever…