While exploring the Cyrpiotic start-up Scene, we met with a further active woman, who gave us an enthusiastic insight. Lydia Zannettou is the organizer of Open Coffee Cyprus, Curator of Startup Live Cyprus, Startup Weekend Cyprus and TEDxLimassol.
esi: Who are you, what do you do and what makes you an expert on your start-upcountry?
Lydia: My name is Lydia Zannettou. I am a corporate communications consultant at a Public Relations Agency, the organizer of Open Coffee Cyprus, Curator of Startup Live Cyprus, Startup Weekend Cyprus and TEDxLimassol. I have previously worked in the field of start-ups in Greece (co-working space employee for four years, Open Coffee Athens, TEDxAthens, Startup Weekend Athens and others). The expertise and knowledge I acquired while in Greece allowed me to introduce the aforementioned events in my home country of Cyprus.
esi: What is cool about your start-upcountry, what inspires you and keeps you thriving?
Lydia: It is my personal ambition and challenge to create a thriving start-up community in cooperation with a team of people who share the same ambitions and to cultivate inspiration and a network which expands into Europe.
esi: What makes you shake your head about your start-upcountry, what needs to be improved?
Lydia: Even though the country has an entrepreneurial culture, no attention has been given to youth entrepreneurship and to the possible uses of the opportunities that come with the digital era. The lack of interest and investors, who can show trust and can take risks to invest in praiseworthy entrepreneur ideas, is the source weakness in the field of start-ups in Cyprus.
esi: What’s some cool fact we are likely not to know about your start-upcountry?
Lydia: To begin with, Cyprus has one of the highest percentages of university graduates in Europe. All companies are subject to a uniform tax rate of 10%, the lowest corporate tax rate in the European Union. Cyprus also plays an important role in the sectors of Financial Services as well as in Technical Consulting and Technology Solutions. These are good reasons for any investor and business to invest.
esi: Thank you for the interview.
About the interviewpartner:
Lydia Zannettou is a stark supporter of Cypriotic start-ups.
