PwC hosted the Climate Launchpad 2017 National Finals

The organisation supports the biggest competition for green business ideas, through a series of activities and the voluntary participation of its executives

PwC Cyprus hosted at its headquarters in Nicosia the National Finals of Climate Launchpad, the biggest competition for green business ideas organised in Cyprus by Chrysalis LEAP.

Nine start-ups from across Cyprus participated in the finals, which took place on 26 July. The three winners were the growgreen, echofixer and berightbag teams, which will represent our country in the Grand Final where, they will seek a place amongst the top ten start-ups that will be granted direct access to the Climate-KIC accelerator, which aims to develop and commercialise clean-tech start-ups, as well as access to additional funding. The organisation’s CEO Mr Evgenios Evgeniou was a member of the jury for the selection of the teams that will be representing Cyprus at the Grand Final.

As a strategic partner of Chrysalis LEAP, PwC Cyprus provided active support to the competition and the participating teams through a series of activities but also the voluntary participation of its executives as team mentors.

Within this framework, PwC Cyprus also provided support during the two-day bootcamp at Governor’s Beach in June, with four of its volunteering members. During the bootcamp, participants received expert training and coaching as well as useful advice from the volunteering mentors. The programme continued with six follow up intensive coaching sessions, preparing the teams for the National Finals.

It is worth noting that the Grand Final of this year’s competition, of which PwC Cyprus is a Platinum Sponsor, will take place for the first time in Cyprus, on 17-18 October, with the participation of more than 105 teams from over 35 countries. The Grand Final, which is expected to attract over 500 investors and researchers from across the world, will be held under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Cyprus.  The Grand Final is organised by Chrysalis LEAP and co-hosted by the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency.

The aim of the competition is to find new talent in the field of green technology and provide support to develop their ideas in order to make them sustainable and turn them into international businesses, in the framework of a broader effort to deal with climate change.  The competition is also supported by Gold Sponsor Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement and Bronze Sponsor George Z. Georgiou & Associates LLC. It is placed under the auspices of the Minister of Education and Culture, Dr Costas Kadis as well as the Minister of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Mr George Lakkotrypis.

In statements, Mr Evgeniou said: “For the third consecutive year, PwC remains steadfast in its effort to support youth entrepreneurship and innovation, contributing towards the organisation of a leading competition in the field of green technology. We are proud of the level and quality of the participations and believe that our country will once again be well represented in the world finals. We are also especially moved to present the three winning teams with a special award in memory of Hara Phitides Granath, member of the PwC Cyprus family, with faith in the power of innovation and entrepreneurship.”

Stelios Yiatros, Co-Founder and Director of Chrysalis LEAP stated: “We are very pleased that, in the fourth edition of ClimateLaunchpad, we continue to attract interesting, innovative ideas by enthusiastic young entrepreneurs.”

It is noted that as part of its Corporate Responsibility programme, PwC Cyprus offers longstanding support to Cypriot, non-governmental organisations which aim to promote entrepreneurship and innovation, particularly among young people.