President of the Republic, Nicos Christodoulides, proudly declared that Cypriot businesses are making significant strides in innovation, as evidenced in the "European Innovation Scoreboard 2023" by the European Commission.

In his speech at the Cyprus Innovation Awards ceremony by the Federation of Employers and Industrialists (OEB) and the Cyprus Research Awards by the Research & Innovation Foundation (RIF) for 2023, the President noted that the “collaboration of innovative SMEs with other entities in the ecosystem” is one of the categories showing the greatest progress in Cyprus.

"Despite the progress achieved, our joint efforts need to be intensified. As the Government, in cooperation with all of you – whom we consider our partners and collaborators – it is imperative, among other things, to create infrastructures that further encourage and strengthen the cooperation of businesses with research centers," he said.

He also emphasized the need to establish an effective regulatory and legal framework that encourages the commercial exploitation of applied research results. He mentioned the forthcoming modification of the legislative framework to create favorable conditions for the establishment of spin-offs from Public Universities, to be submitted to the House of Representatives within 2024, as a necessary action in this direction.

He further extolled the creation of seven Centers of Excellence in Cyprus, gathering expertise and high-level know-how, which should be leveraged for the development of synergies among businesses, academia, and public authorities.

He added that in December 2023, the Cyprus Equity Fund was also established, to which the state will contribute a total of €30 million. It is expected to start its investment activity within 2024, thus becoming a significant source of alternative financing for Cypriot startups and innovative businesses.

He noted that the Government, recognizing the need to support and modernize the Cypriot business community, is implementing a series of measures aimed at creating a new model of development based primarily on green and digital transition.

"Our goal is the development of innovative products and services of high added value that will contribute to the sustainability, competitiveness, and extroversion of Cypriot businesses," he said.

He added that the Governance Program, at the same time, focuses on promoting and facilitating investments and structural reforms that will support the transition of the economy to a new model of sustainable and resilient economy and development.

He also stated that the Government aims, if the right actions and cooperation are undertaken, to establish itself as a regional hub for Technology, IT, and Communications companies.

He also highlighted the significant role that attracting highly specialized labor plays in strengthening the local ecosystem of research and innovation, emphasizing the need for the development of domestic potential, which can only be achieved through necessary adjustments in the educational system and its effective linkage with labor market needs.

In addition, he mentioned that in recent years, Cyprus has made significant strides in the fields of research and innovation, showing one of the highest average annual growth rates in Research and Innovation investments among the 27 EU Member States.

"According to recent results, Cyprus has been upgraded to a strong innovator country," he noted.

The President stressed the importance of recognizing and rewarding the bright innovative achievements of Cypriot businesses. At the same time, he added, it is necessary for the State to understand the real challenges that businesses face in their efforts to innovate and to support them through very specific actions.

Additionally, he noted, the new Strategy for Research and Innovation 2024-2026, approved in December by the Council of Ministers, sets the framework in which the Government will move over the next three years to achieve positive and substantive changes, within the priority areas outlined in the Strategy for Smart Specialization.

The President noted that within the framework of the new Strategy for Research and Innovation, the creation of a new framework for the evaluation and granting of institutional grants to research institutions in the country is being promoted, with the aim of further promoting excellence and the optimal utilization of state resources.

In his speech, the Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation, and Technology, Dimitris Skourides, stated that Cyprus hosts a well-educated, highly educated, multilingual, and technologically trained workforce.

As a result, he mentioned, Cyprus is ranked as a strong innovator in the European Innovation Scoreboard 2023, for the second consecutive year, taking the 10th position among the EU Member States. Simultaneously, Cyprus is ranked 28th among 132 economies in the most recent Global Innovation Index, while standing out in 2nd place in the Middle East and North Africa region.

He also noted that since 2016, the RIF has channeled funding through competitive programs of more than 148 million euros into the local ecosystem. He added that the new programming period, which is in progress for 2021 - 2027, continues in the same context, with targeted investments of 150 million euros in the pillars of research, knowledge transfer, innovation, infrastructure development, and internationalization.

He also said that Cyprus, beyond its 12 universities, 7 centers of excellence, and private and public research institutes, has more than 400 startups and innovative companies, more than 2500 researchers, and over 4000 entrepreneurs. Noteworthy, he stressed, is the high absorption of R&I funds from European Union financial programs, while the country's startups managed to gather more than 130 million euros in venture capital in 2022, offering their products and services to international markets.

"These figures demonstrate that Cypriot businesses now recognize the importance of innovation for their sustainability and development, as evidenced by the dozens of entries in the OEB Innovation Awards competition, which this year have reached a record number," he said.

Through the 17-year history of the competition, he added, it is clear that the Cypriot business environment aligns with international and European practices and maintains a keen interest in the field of innovation.

In his speech, the President of OEB, Antonis Antoniou, noted that OEB inaugurated the innovation awards in 2006, supporting business competitiveness and enhancing research and development. He noted that it was the first innovation competition in Cyprus and one of the first in Europe, continuously supported by the state and recognized by the European Commission as a best practice in rewarding and promoting innovation in businesses.

He noted that despite the challenges of the last 10 years, which constantly bring uncertainty to the forefront for businesses, emerging problems enhance entrepreneurship and create groundbreaking opportunities that overturn negative data.

"It is important to address challenges in a timely manner through scientific knowledge and innovative thinking," he said that this is how the OEB operates, maintaining a high level of services and institutions it creates.

The OEB Innovation Awards were given in the Primary Sector category to Levantina fish. In the Manufacturing Sector, the award went to The Mighty Kitchen.

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The Services Sector had two winners, with awards going to MAP Financial Technologies (Europe) Ltd and 2050 Materials.

OEB awarded the "Social Innovation" Category award to Ablebook Ltd.

The 2023 Distinguished Researcher Award in Life Sciences was received by Professor Leonidas A. Phylactou, General Executive Director and Medical Director, Director of the Department of Molecular Genetics, Function and Therapy at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics.

The 2023 New Researcher Award in Physical Sciences and Engineering was received by Dr. Chrysouvalantis Voutouri, Postdoctoral Scientist at the Cancer Biophysics Laboratory of the University of Cyprus and Founder of AnaBioSi-Data Ltd.

The 2023 New Researcher Award in Life Sciences was received by Dr. Fotios Bekris, Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering of the University of Cyprus.

The 2023 New Researcher Award in Social and Human Sciences was received by Dr. George P. Georgiou, Assistant Professor of Linguistics at the University of Nicosia.

Finally, the 2023 Research Commercialization Award was received by Dr. Alexis Kyriakou, Founder and Managing Director, LELANTUS Innovations Ltd.