EBRD, EU and the Republic of Cyprus have signed a €2.2mn agreement to strengthen small business (SME) support in Cyprus.

EBRD President Sir Suma Chakrabarti and the Minister of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Toursim of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Yiorgos Lakkotrypis have signed a €2.2mn agreement to strengthen small and medium-sized business (SME) support to increase the competitiveness and growth potential in the country.

The agreement was signed on the last day of the 2017 EBRD Annual Meeting and Business Forum, which took place in Nicosia on May 11, according to EBRD. This is the first this kind of agreement that the EBRD has signed with one of its countries of operations within the EU.

The €2.2mn set aside for small business support come from the EU Structural and Investment Funds with the aim to cover and expand the EBRD Advice for Small Businesses programme in Cyprus for further three years.

The programme will provide SMEs with access to business advice in order improve their competitiveness and to boost growth. The programme will also focus on supporting women entrepreneurship and promoting trade by introducing new and innovative services, like mentoring, training and coaching.

The EBRD has expanded on a temporary mandate its operations in Cyprus in May 2014 until 2020 to support economic recovery following the crisis in the country’s banking and financial sector. Since then the Bank has employed approximately €2,5mn of donor funding from the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund and EU to support more than 60 SMEs access a broad range of consulting services including marketing, strategy, export promotion and energy efficiency. It has also invested more than €220mn in various sectors of the economy, including the financial sector, trade finance, SME support and renewable sources of energy in order to support economic recovery.

EBRD President Sir Suma Chakrabarti said: “I am delighted to be signing this agreement with the Republic of Cyprus here in Nicosia during the EBRD Annual Meeting and Business Forum 2017. Small and medium-sized enterprises are vital to generate economic growth in Cyprus and the EBRD is contributing to this effort through our Small Business Initiative.”

Mr Lakkotrypis stated the following upon signing the agreement: “SME development is one of the top priorities for the Republic of Cyprus. Boosting their competitiveness and promoting women entrepreneurship are very important to long term growth for the country and we are very pleased to partner in this effort with the EBRD.”

For more information regarding the programme or for a personalized consultation for your business needs please do not hesitate to contact us.

If you are interested in the SME programme and how it can benefit your company’s competitiveness and growth please contact our director, Savvas Shiatis at SShiatis@oneworldweb.net.