33East closes €26m fund to invest in Cyprus

33East, a Cyprus-based venture capital firm, has announced the launch of its inaugural fund with a first close of €26 million.

The fund will invest in pre-seed and seed-stage founders and startups with a connection to Cyprus, offering capital, support and network to help drive Cyprus’ transformation into a hive for innovation and entrepreneurship.

33East is the first VC fund in Cyprus to receive backing from the European Investment Fund (EIF), supported by the Government of Cyprus, the National Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF), the Bank of Cyprus, and other prominent local investors. This marks a transformative step for the country’s startup ecosystem.

The €26 million first close comprises €19 million from the Cyprus Equity Fund (CEF), a program backed by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, and €7 million from private investors, including a €2 million contribution from the Bank of Cyprus.

The fund will invest in startups in the pre-seed and seed-stages, with initial investments ranging between €500,000 to €1 million per company. The fund will also allocate €2.5m in an acceleration compartment to support entrepreneurs at the earliest stages of their journey.

Co-founded by Demetrios Zoppos (pictured above on the right) and Yiannis Eftychiou (pictured above on the left), 33East benefits from its partners' extensive experience. Demetrios is a seasoned entrepreneur and angel investor with over 25 years of experience in early-stage technology companies. Yiannis brings a strong background in venture capital, having worked with high-growth companies across Europe, Africa, and Asia.

The duo believe that Cyprus has a lot to offer budding entrepreneurs and plan to use their startup expertise to support the fast-growing technology ecosystem and attract high potential entrepreneurs to the country.

“Cyprus has so much to offer budding entrepreneurs. We want to help transform Cyprus into a hive for innovation and entrepreneurship”, said Zoppos. “At 33East, our mission is to be the catalyst for this vision for Cyprus by backing founders and providing them with the capital, support and connections to build scalable businesses”.

“We go beyond providing capital to startups”, said Eftychiou. “We are looking to back founders who have the ambition to scale internationally. We approach every partnership with optimism, friendliness, and a straightforward commitment to helping founders succeed”.

33East invites startups who are interested in applying to the fund or who wish to have a friendly discussion with the team to contact them through their website.