Jobs and innovation at Nicosia start-up weekend

by Annette Chrysostomou, Cyprus Mail

http://cyprus-mail.com/2017/05/03/jobs-innovation-nicosia-start-weekend/

Start-up weekend Cyprus, an event which gives budding entrepreneurs the chance to develop their ideas will be held in Nicosia for the second time this weekend.

When it was organised for the first time in December 2013 a number of related events followed from ideas emerging over the weekend.

“Start-up Weekend Cyprus is a real marathon for creative entrepreneurship where participants are invited within 54 hours to develop integrated business plans,” said the organisers. “Participants have the opportunity to discuss their ideas, get critical advice, network with the right people, and win prizes that translate into international business opportunities.”

This year’s event will start on Friday at 6pm, and by 10pm teams will be formalised which should be ready to start a busy weekend. Saturday’s programme starts with breakfast at 9am, and the day will end at around 10pm. Sunday is the last day and after the teams have presented their prototype creations, judges who are experts in the field of entrepreneurship will chose the winners. During the whole weekend, the teams will have the opportunity to listen to talks by industry leaders and receive feedback from entrepreneurs.

The interactions will give the winners chances to present their idea to accelerators and investors and to take part in international conferences and specialised seminars for start-ups in future.

The event which is called ‘Step One’ as it is meant to be the first step for participants to launch a start-up is jointly organised by the Bank of Cyprus, team ‘Start-up Cyprus’ and the University of Nicosia which is the host.

“Start-up Weekend Cyprus represents a great opportunity for Cyprus to push ahead in its quest to become part of the innovation core for our region,” Michalis Persianis, corporate affairs director at the Bank of Cyprus said on Wednesday. “The Bank of Cyprus aims to be at the centre of such a vital component of the island’s economy and it is for this reason we are partners in this global initiative. This is where growth, jobs and innovation come together. We wish the organisers the best of luck in finding tomorrow’s new generation of Cypriot start-ups, and we will continue to actively support this effort.”

“It is one of those rare start-up events that brings together the whole start-up community of Cyprus. Universities, policy makers, talent, stakeholders, investors, trainers, supporting organisations,” said Nicholas Nicoli from the University of Nicosia. “The event will bring together 100 participants and more than 50 experts from Cyprus and abroad. Everyone involved, all voluntarily by the way, has one goal: to help these newly created start-up teams reach their goals, and by so doing, strengthen Cyprus’ start-up ecosystem.”

Start-up Weekend is the largest start-up community in the world and has set up over 2000 meetings in 500 cities in the past five years. This global initiative was created by Techstars, a worldwide network founded in the USA in 2006 that helps entrepreneurs succeed.

Those wishing to take part in the three-day event from May 5 to 7 can register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/startup-weekend-cyprus-0517-tickets-30590807930

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