Cyprus's National Report on Entrepreneurship 2023/2024, conducted by the Centre for Entrepreneurship at the University of Cyprus and presented on Tuesday, reveals that 39.8% of Cypriots believe there are good opportunities for starting a business in Cyprus, while 60.5% feel they have the capabilities to do so. However, 53.3% of respondents reported fear of failure, according to the findings.

The Cyprus survey involved a representative sample of 2,000 adults aged 18-64 and 36 experts between May and June 2023. The findings were presented by Dr. Ariana Polyviou, Lecturer at the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT).

According to the results, in 2023-24, the percentage of adults perceiving good entrepreneurial opportunities increased significantly to 39.8% from 26.8% in 2022-23. Similarly, those confident in their entrepreneurial capabilities rose to 60.5% from 52.7%, well above the European average of 51.8%.

At the same time, fear of failure increased to 53.3%, compared to 51.7% previously, much higher than the European average of 45.1%.

Notably, 66.9% of respondents reported knowing an entrepreneur, compared to the European average of 52.1%.

However, the report notes that, traditionally, fewer Cypriots believe starting a business is easy compared to their European counterparts.

An important indicator, the Total Early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity rate, which measures individuals either starting or running a new business, stands at 11% in Cyprus—up from 8.3% in 2022-23 and above the European average of 9.2%.

When asked about their motivations, 85.4% of those starting a business cited "to build great wealth," 65.5% "to earn a living," 39.7% "to make a difference," and 27.1% "to continue a family tradition."

Cyprus ranks sixth in Europe for established business ownership (businesses operating for more than 42 months) with a rate of 8.2%, above the EU average of 7.6%.

However, the National Entrepreneurship Context Index has declined compared to the previous year. Respondents pointed to natural infrastructure as a key strength of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, while commercial infrastructure, government policies (taxes and bureaucracy), and market entry ease received lower scores compared to last year. Cyprus also lags behind in government programs supporting entrepreneurship.

The research also highlighted gender disparities. Men engaged in early-stage entrepreneurial activity account for 14.5%, while women account for only 4.9%, with the gender ratio improving slightly to 0.6 from 0.4 in 2022-23, still below the European average of 0.7.

Young adults aged 18-34 are the most active entrepreneurs, with a rate of 14.4%, compared to just 5.8% for those aged 35-64. Across Europe, these figures are 12% and 7.9% respectively.

Based on these findings, the Centre for Entrepreneurship proposed several recommendations, including integrating financial literacy into education curricula, training teachers in entrepreneurial pedagogical methods, creating programs to guide students in developing startups, and offering short courses for university graduates on business development and transformation.

Regarding government policies, recommendations include creating regional entrepreneurship councils with active entrepreneurs' participation, providing incentives for university-business collaborations, and offering grants and advisory support to women and vulnerable groups.

Additional proposals involve offering incentives for investments in early-stage businesses, creating tax incentives for international investment funds in Cypriot businesses, and establishing innovation funds aligned with public sector needs.

Finally, the Centre suggested developing services offering guidance on digital strategy, providing grants for technological upgrades, improving physical infrastructure, and establishing a national mentorship network with experienced entrepreneurs across key sectors.