EU cohesion funds back €50m startup scheme as Cyprus Forum highlights regional spending
A €50 million entrepreneurship programme supported by EU cohesion money is expected to help launch roughly 800 businesses and over 1,600 jobs, officials said at the Cyprus Forum 2026 in Nicosia.
An entrepreneurship scheme bankrolled jointly by Brussels and Nicosia should give rise to about 800 new companies and more than 1,600 positions, a figure highlighted at the Cyprus Forum 2026 in Nicosia, as reported by Cyprus Mail. The estimate covers the whole €50m New Entrepreneurship Activity Scheme, which was rolled out in two rounds — €30m in 2021 and another €20m in 2024 under the THALIA 2021–2027 programme.
The money is meant to help people set up sustainable, competitive ventures, with young people and women singled out for particular attention, and it can go towards equipment, premises, renovations and promotion. Separately, EU cohesion spending on the island is funding a €13m engineering research laboratory at the University of Cyprus, close to €3m to restore three historic municipal buildings in Limassol, €2m for Salina Municipal Park in Larnaca and €44m for public transport infrastructure and the shift to electric mobility.
Roughly €2m has also gone into the Evagoras integrated information system, which is designed to widen the digital services municipalities offer; the EU funds portal lists the project's total budget at €2.9m, with a 60 per cent EU contribution. Themis Christophidou, Director-General of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, also pointed to the Commission's emerging “Right to Stay” strategy, aimed at the economic and demographic pressures that drive younger and skilled workers out of rural and remote areas.
What it means for residents
For anyone on the island thinking about starting a business or hiring, the scheme is a concrete pot of money rather than a distant Brussels pledge, though the headline numbers cover the full €50m rather than the 2021 tranche alone. The wider cohesion spending should show up in everyday surroundings — transport, parks, municipal services — over the coming years.
- Watch the calls: The two rounds are closed, but similar THALIA-funded windows are likely to open; keep an eye on the EU funds portal if you plan to apply.
- Expect local works: Limassol restorations, the Larnaca park and transport upgrades mean road works and construction in those areas.
- Digital services: The Evagoras system is meant to make municipal paperwork easier to handle online, cutting trips to the town hall.
This text is written from the source article and is not a translation of it.
