For the seventh consecutive year Cyprus participated in the international entrepreneurship survey “Global Entrepreneurship Monitor” (GEM). The National Entrepreneurship Report was coordinated by the Centre for Entrepreneurship of the University of Cyprus, with the support and kind sponsorship of the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry, and PwC.
The GEM survey is one of the largest entrepreneurship surveys conducted on a global scale for the past 24 years, capturing entrepreneurship indicators for over 70 economies, with over 200,000 participants each year.
The participation of our country in GEM is particularly important as it creates comparable data on entrepreneurship in Cyprus, placing it on the global map of entrepreneurship and innovation.
The event, which took place on 17 May 2024 at the University of Cyprus, was attended by representatives of Cyprus’ entrepreneurial ecosystem, including ministers, deputy ministers and other government officials, representatives of institutions and organisations, entrepreneurs, public and private sector officials, academics, members of the student community and others.
The event was opened by the Vice Rector of Academic Affairs of the University of Cyprus, Professor Tatiana Synodinou, followed by greetings from the Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry, Mr. George Papanastasiou and the Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship of the University of Cyprus, Professor Andreas Sotiriou. This was followed by the presentation of the results of the research by Dr. Ariana Polyviou.
The results of the GEM, as derived from a sample of more than 2,000 respondents, paint an encouraging picture regarding Cypriots’ views on overall business activity and the wider business environment in the country. In particular, 52.7% of the population believe that they have the skills needed for successful entrepreneurship, while 48.4% believe that starting a business is easy. Only 26.8% of the population believe that business opportunities exist in their home region, a decrease of 23.4% compared to last year. In addition, Cypriots appear increasingly familiar with entrepreneurship as 82.4% of respondents said they know an entrepreneur. Over time, 50% of the population report a “fear of failure” from entrepreneurship which is partly due to a lack of entrepreneurial and risk-taking culture.
The advanced stage entrepreneurship rate has decreased compared to the previous year (from 8.6% to 5.7%), while for early stage (<42 months) businesses the rate is 8.3%, with a stabilising trend in recent years. On the contrary, early-stage entrepreneurs register a higher sensitivity to the social and environmental impacts of their business activity, compared to the previous year. Cyprus’ physical infrastructure, commercial and service infrastructure as well as government policies related to taxes and bureaucracy are identified as strengths of the business ecosystem in Cyprus.
The presentation of the survey results was followed by a roundtable discussion on “Women’s participation in very early stage entrepreneurship in Cyprus” moderated by Associate Professor Alexia Panayiotou, UNESCO Chair for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, University of Cyprus. The panel consisted of Mr. George Papanastasiou (Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry), Ms. Cleo Papadopoulou, (Partner and Head of Inclusion and Diversity at PwC Cyprus), Ms. Jozi Christodoulou (Gender Equality Commissioner) and Dr. Marianna Prokopi Dimitriadis (Co-founder of Theramir Ltd. Promed Bioscience Ltd, RSL, Revolutionary Labs Ltd).
During the discussion, a number of issues related to women’s entrepreneurship were highlighted, such as the long-standing existence of the gender gap and ways to address it, the possibilities of developing actions and infrastructure to support the family and the real fear of failure which is more pressing, socially, for women.
The research is sponsored by the Ministry of Energy, Trade, Industry and Tourism and PwC Cyprus. A recording of the presentation is available on the university’s website.
You can read the results of the report here:
https://www.c4e.org.cy/reports/2024/GEM-Report-2022-23-WEB.pdf
Source: University of Cyprus | Latest news (https://shorturl.at/1Lgqs)