Online Info Day: LIFE funding for start-ups

June 19 2020

The LIFE Cyclamen team organised an Online Info Day titled: “The LIFE Programme helps close-to-market projects: Start-ups driving the green revolution!” on Wednesday June 17, 2020.

The purpose of this Info Day was to introduce businesses and start-ups to this funding instrument, and encourage them to participate in close-to-market LIFE projects.

What was discussed

Our guest speaker, Dr. Alexandros Charalambides, gave useful advice for successful participation of start-ups in the LIFE Programme, while using practical examples to describe the main reasons why most start-up fail and how this can be avoided. Dr. Charalambides is an Associate Professor at the Cyprus University of Technology and one of the founders of Chrysalis LEAP – the first idea accelerator in Cyprus for green development in the energy sector and proud partner of EIT Climate-KIC.

Participants also had the opportunity to learn about the basic characteristics of the LIFE Programme, such as priority areas, rules for proposal submission and co-funding percentages. Particular reference was made to the LIFE 2020 novelties introduced by the European Commission in this year’s call for proposals. These novelties can benefit start-ups by enabling them to move to a full market development.

In addition, our experts used a plethora of examples of LIFE projects under Environment & Resource Efficiency, and Climate Action thematic priorities, showcasing how the business sector and particularly start-ups in Cyprus could benefit from participating in a LIFE project.

Who participated

The workshop attendees included representatives from the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation and Cyprus Energy Agency, business consultants, as well as start-ups from Cyprus and Greece. Moreover, participant from academic institutions and NGOs also joined this online event.

Our team will be available for future meetings and we will gladly offer our consulting services whenever they are requested.