33East closes €26M fund to invest in Cyprus

Cyprus-based venture capital firm 33East has launched its inaugural fund with a first close of €26M. The fund will invest in pre-seed and seed-stage founders and startups with a connection to Cyprus, with the aim of transforming the country into a hive for innovation and entrepreneurship.

33East is the first VC fund in Cyprus to receive backing from the European Investment Fund. It was also supported by the Government of Cyprus, the National Recovery and Resilience Fund, the Bank of Cyprus and other local investors.

The €26M first close comprises€19M from the Cyprus Equity Fund, a program backed by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, and €7M from private investors, including a €2M contribution from the Bank of Cyprus.

The fund will invest in startups in the pre-seed and seed-stages, with initial investments ranging between €500,000 to €1M per company. The fund will also allocate €2.5m in an acceleration compartment to support entrepreneurs at the earliest stages of their journey.

Cyprus's technology and venture capital ecosystem has been experiencing steady growth in recent years, particularly centered around Limassol and Nicosia. The island has positioned itself as an emerging tech hub in the Mediterranean, leveraging its strategic location between Europe, Asia, and Africa, along with its favorable tax regime and high quality of life to attract startups and investors. The ecosystem has seen particular strength in fintech, blockchain, and gaming sectors, with companies like Wargaming establishing significant operations on the island.

Local initiatives such as Leap Cyprus and the Cyprus Seeds funding program have been working to bridge the gap between research and commercialization, while accelerators and co-working spaces like Gravity Ventures and RISE have been fostering entrepreneurship. However, the ecosystem still faces challenges, including a relatively small local market, limited access to early-stage funding compared to more established European tech hubs, and the need to attract more international venture capital attention.

33East was co-founded by Demetrios Zoppos and Yiannis Eftychiou. Demetrios is an entrepreneur and angel investor with over 25 years of experience in early-stage technology companies. Yiannis comes from a background in venture capital, having worked across Europe, Africa and Asia.

“Cyprus has so much to offer budding entrepreneurs. We want to help transform Cyprus into a hive for innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Demetrios. “At 33East, our mission is to be the catalyst for this vision for Cyprus by backing founders and providing them with the capital, support and connections to build scalable businesses”.

“We go beyond providing capital to startups”, said Yiannis. “We are looking to back founders who have the ambition to scale internationally. We approach every partnership with optimism, friendliness, and a straightforward commitment to helping founders succeed”.