Participants attending a workshop at the "Marketing and Partnerships Academy", hosted in Nicosia, Cyprus, in June 2024. (Credit: ANIMA Investment Network).
BEIRUT – Lebanese entrepreneurship support organization Berytech is teaming up with ANIMA Investment Network and Invest Cyprus, a national investment promotion agency, to help Lebanese entrepreneurs and stakeholders tap into a 100 billion Euros fund set up by the European Union and expand into the European market.
Launched a year ago and funded by the European Union, Berytech’s new program “Lebanon Innovate” – which will be implemented over three years and a half – aims to support the transformation of innovations and technological findings emerging from universities into market-ready products and commercial ventures to boost the Lebanese productive sectors. Its main focus lies within three sectors: Information and communication technology (ICT), agri-food and healthcare.
“We work with many Mediterranean partners, like Invest Cyprus, ANIMA investment network, and others, to empower the Lebanese ecosystem, foster opportunities for entrepreneurs and stakeholders in the region, and offer them soft-landing opportunities in the region, including in the Cypriote market,” said Krystel Khalil, program director of Lebanon Innovate.
Nadine Slim, program manager of Lebanon Innovate, also said they are working to bridge the gap between academic research and industries on the ground both locally and across the European market.
The program is carrying out an array of activities, from building the capacity of innovation stakeholders to empowering and setting up technology transfer and grants offices across different Lebanese universities, and facilitating the creation of linkages through professional match-making activities, explained Slim. “We’re helping Lebanese universities and research institutions with trainings addressing fundraising, designing projects, developing proposals and budgets, and applying to EU funding opportunities. One out of two academies has been hosted for that purpose so far.”
Organized by Invest Cyprus and ANIMA, the latest academy was held in Nicosia in June and focused on partnership development and EU interregional cooperation through a series of workshops. Amongst the attendees were fourteen Lebanese participants from eight universities and research centers in Lebanon.
“The aim was to allow Lebanese academics and entrepreneurs to connect with Cypriote counterparts to collaborate, identify partnership opportunities, exchange knowledge, and apply for EU funding,” noted Slim.
The Cypriot market offers many advantages, explained Jihad Bitar, president of French Tech Beirut, including “apart from its strategic geographical location which allows entrepreneurs to do business with Europe, Africa, and GCC countries, intellectual property (IP) is highly protected, and taxes are lower [compared to other markets].”
Bitar also stated that setting up in Cyprus is relatively easy in terms of visas and overall travel processes. “It’s also generally very welcoming of Lebanese people,” he added.
“Exchange of expertise and close cooperation can largely contribute to the continued improvement of the increasingly interconnected broader Mediterranean region,” said Marios Tannousis, CEO of Invest Cyprus.
A new academy is set to take place in November in France, said Slim, as part of fostering Mediterranean collaboration, with details to be shared at a later date.