2nd Limassol Business And Investment Summit
On June 3rd, we attended and supported the “2nd Limassol Business and Investment Summit” at Parklane Hotel.
The summit consisted of major business stakeholders who got together to discuss how Limassol can continue to capitalise on the notable growth it has been experiencing over the past few years. Limassol city has continuously been attracting foreign direct investments and has become the ideal Mediterranean destination for the regional headquarters of international tech companies.
Mr Petr Valov, Board Member of TechIsland and Founder and CEO of Exness, participated in the panel discussion “The foreign investor’s impact in Limassol businesses” together with:
Max Portelli, CFO, BrainRocket, Member of TechIsland
Oren Plotkin, Managing Partner of Emerland Real Estate by Gilad Shabtai
The panel expanded on the ways Limassol could become more attractive to foreign investors.
Mr Valov highlighted that Cyprus should have a clear strategy to acquire and accommodate more digital companies with foreign incomes and the importance of building more affordable residential buildings for talents relocated here.
Mrs Isavella Frangou, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at online payment services of our member company Payabl, reflected on the Cyprus prospects in the technology and business sectors, as well as the challenges that it faces, with the identification and attraction of workers being at the centre of her analysis.
“The work that companies on the island need to do must be done digitally,” she said, noting that the banking sector, in particular, needs to simplify and speed up its processes and procedures.”
“Limassol is making a great effort to bring talent to Cyprus and create the necessary infrastructure,” she added.
The panel discussion also featured Cyprus Information Technology Enterprises Association (CITEA) secretary Mr George Malekkos, Prospectacy legal department manager Yanna Raevskaya, and Invest Cyprus CEO George Campanellas.
Malekkos emphasised that Cyprus must form clusters, emphasising that no institution, authority, or entity can achieve everything independently.
Cluster formation refers to the organic or inorganic collection of interconnected companies and institutions in a concentrated geographical area. This generates an unintentional ecosystem in which firms and organisations profit from their proximity.
The Harvard Business Review explained that “clusters affect competitiveness within countries as well as across national borders, so they lead to new agendas for all business executives—not just those who compete globally”.
“More broadly, clusters represent a new way of thinking about location, challenging much of the conventional wisdom about how companies should be configured, how institutions such as universities can contribute to competitive success, and how governments can promote economic development and prosperity,” it added.
Malekkos urged all parties to accelerate progress in Cyprus, stressing that Limassol is the finest city on the island for technology firms, particularly those looking to experiment with new ideas and innovate. As he explained, the reason behind this is that Cyprus has comparatively lower costs in relation to other EU areas. Hence on the occasion of a failed project, the potential losses would be significantly lower.
Mr Malekkos also stressed that “politicians need to take certain decisions and leave other organisations and bodies to implement the necessary actions”.
Mrs Raevskaya shared her thoughts with the other panellists regarding the need to attract a talented technology-focused workforce in Cyprus. As she continued, Prospectacy, which provides legal and corporate services, primarily deals with young business persons and entrepreneurs, emphasising the need for efficient and tech-savvy employees.
Lastly, Invest Cyprus CEO Mr George Campanellas stated that the emergence of Cyprus into an international commercial centre began in the 1980s with the expansion of the local maritime sector.
"Our country, particularly Limassol, is capable of hosting such organisations," Campanellas said, adding that several significant technology firms have already relocated to the city.
Furthermore, he stated that the country now has "an even friendlier framework to welcome technology companies and important legislative reforms are now being contested in parliament, while the state is also implementing a plan completely linked with modern needs and foreign interest."
Source: Cyprus Mail
