Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
In this section you may find information on National Schemes published by the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation (formerly know as the Research Promotion Foundation – RPF).
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
The “BOOST” Programme aims to foster strong partnerships between enterprises developing groundbreaking innovations and private investors, with the goal of supporting the further development and scaling-up of innovative companies in international markets. Through the Programme, the funding provided by RIF ensures strategic equity investments to enable the successful penetration of enterprises in international markets, while enhancing the competitiveness of the Cypriot economy.
Detailed Call Description
The “BOOST” Programme supports enterprises that hold the Innovation Certificate issued by the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digital Policy (valid at the time of the proposal submission) and have pioneering ideas at a mature stage. These enterprises must, at the time of proposal submission, have a signed binding agreement with private investors (such as venture capital funds, business angels, individual investors, crowdfunding platforms, etc.), which specifies a direct investment in equity of at least €200.000 to support its development in international markets.
Cutting-edge innovations are:
- Products or services based on new technologies and have the potential to create new international markets.
- Products or services based on adapting existing technologies and have the potential to create new international markets or to attract new customers in existing international markets.
- Products or services based on new technologies and have the potential to disrupt to a large extent existing international markets.
At the proposal submission stage, enterprises should have a Minimum Viable Product-MVP, for which beta testing of the product’s/service’s functionality, utility, and reliability by intended end users has already been completed. For innovations in the field of biomedicine, it is expected that at least the in-vitro testing stage has been completed.
Furthermore, by the proposal submission, the applicants must be able to justify that they have taken all appropriate measures to ensure the unobstructed commercial production, use and exploitation («freedom to operate»), including ownership of intellectual property rights (IPR) in a way that does not infringe third parties’ IPRs, any pending patent applications, as well as issues related to licencing of results.
In the frame of the RIF funded Projects, experimental development activities can be implemented which aim at the advancement of the technology readiness level of the innovation, the improvement/finalisation of the innovative product/service in a way to fully cover new functionalities/uses which the market seeks, and the completion of product/service development. The Program also covers activities related to the implementation of the project’s feasibility study. It is clarified that the aforementioned activities are those that can be funded by the RIF.
The investment funds may cover any activities deemed necessary by the investorsfor the scaleup and market deployment of the innovation, including the company’s own contribution to the RIF funded project.
Call Budget: €2.000.000
- The available budget for the 1st Deadline is €1.000.000
- For the 2nd Deadline, an amount of €1.000.000 will be allocated, plus any unused budget from the 1st Deadline, based on the announced results of Evaluation of the 1st Deadline, will be made available.
Deadline:
- 1st Deadline: 13 June 2025, time 13:00
- 2nd Deadline: 12 December 2025, time 13:00
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
0%
Thematic Categories
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
Eligibility for Participation
- Large Enterprises
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
Eligibility For Participation Notes
BENEFICIARIES: Enterprises
SPECIFIC RESTRICTIONS AND CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION:
The Host Organization (HO) must be an Enterprise that, at the time of proposal submission:
- holds a valid Innovative Enterprises Certificate issued by the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digital Policy (DMRID), and
- has a signed legally binding agreement, signed within the period from the date of the Call announcement to the proposal submission deadline, providing for a direct investment in equity of at least €200.000 in the company to support the development of the service/product/process to be made available on international markets.
The investment must be made between the announcement date of the Call for Proposals and no later than the end of the project funded by the Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF).
Specifically, at least 30% of the minimum required investment must be implemented (including the issuance/transfer of equity) by the time the contract with RIF is signed, with the remaining investment amount to be completed by the end of the RIF-funded project. Otherwise, the contract preparation process will be terminated (if 30% of the investment is not implemented), or the HO should return funding awarded back to the RIF (if the remaining investment is not implemented by the end of the project). To verify the investment, RIF will require the submission of supporting documents related to the transaction (such as a certificate of issued equity, bank deposit to the company’s account, certificate of beneficial owners, etc.). There are no restrictions on the geographic location of the investor, except for countries subject to sanctions imposed by the Republic of Cyprus.
The enterprises must have operations in Cyprus, as specified in the RESTART 2016-2020 Work Programme.
Enterprises that, on the day of proposal submission to RIF, have funding (ongoing projects) from RIF’s Innovation Programs (Pre-Seed, Seed, Innovate, Disrupt) are not eligible to participate in this call.
An enterprise can be funded for only one project under this Call.
Participation of Partner Organisations or Foreign Research Organisations is not permitted.
For the “Personnel Costs” category, all eligible entities that have not previously participated in the RESTART 2016-2020 programs are required to use the simplified method of “Standard
Scales of Unit Cost” to calculate personnel cost.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Research and Innovation Foundation
Partner Service Center
Telephone: 22205000
Email: support@research.org.cy