RIF announces results of “DISRUPT” programme evaluation

The Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) announced the results of the STAGE B’ evaluation for proposals submitted for the DISRUPT/0123(C) Call for proposals of the “DISRUPT” Programme. The evaluation results were announced via the IRIS portal and are available here.

The “DISRUPT” programme was launched on 20 January 2023, and is the first of its kind in Cyprus, offering blended finance by combining public funding with private investment capital to support the exponential growth of businesses in international markets. The programme was implemented through three submission deadlines, with the final one being DISRUPT/0123(C) on 22 March 2024.

The eligible organisations of “DISRUPT/0123” Programme are local enterprises with mature cutting-edge ideas, which, at the proposal submission, have a legally binding agreement with a VC Fund, which foresees a direct investment in equity of at least €1m in the company, from an investment fund regulated by the competent authorities of Cyprus or another Member State of the European Economic Area.

According to the RESTART 2016-2020 Work Programme’s provisions, proposals were evaluated in two phases. In Stage A, a preliminary check and remote evaluation by two Independent Experts took place. Proposals with a score of at least 12.00/15.00 proceeded to Stage B, where they were evaluated by an Independent Committee with international Experts with business backgrounds.

It is noted that the 3rd deadline was the final one for the DISRUPT/0123 programme. A total of 21 proposals were submitted, out of which seven (7) were approved for funding. The total funding amounts to nearly €23 million, with €10.46 million from RIF and €12.5 million as a result of private investments from six (6) different investment funds, five (5) of which are regulated by the competent authorities of Cyprus and one by the competent authorities of an EU member state.

As a result of the investment, sixty (60) new work positions are expected to be created in the seven (7) enterprises that secured funding.

It is worth mentioning that the European Commission’s report “Digital Decade Country Report 2024: Cyprus” makes a special mention of the DISRUPT programme, stating that it “aims to connect enterprises, which develop cutting-edge innovations with the potential to create new markets or disrupt existing ones, with venture capital which can support further developing and scaling-up these enterprises in international markets.”

The programme is funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Cyprus Tomorrow.