Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus has confirmed its support for the second phase of the European Tech Champions Initiative, joining all EU member states in backing a programme aimed at mobilising up to €80 billion for fast-growing technology companies.
The initiative, known as ETCI 2.0, was presented in Brussels last week alongside the Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting, with support from the EIB Group, EU governments, institutional investors and fund managers.
Growth capital focus
The Finance Ministry said Cyprus’ participation reflects its commitment to strengthening European innovation and improving access to growth capital for innovative businesses.
The expanded programme is intended to address a shortage of late-stage funding for technology companies that have moved beyond the start-up stage and require substantial investment to compete internationally.
Programme targets
ETCI 2.0 aims to raise up to €15 billion, around four times the size of the original fund launched in 2023. It is expected to mobilise total investments of up to €80 billion for more than 1,500 European scale-ups.
The final size of the programme will be determined in the second half of 2026, after participating parties complete contributions through the first closing process.
The EIB Group is expected to contribute up to €1.25 billion from its own resources.
Expanded investment scope
The second phase follows the original ETCI programme, which supported 15 major investment funds and contributed to the creation of 12 European unicorns, or companies valued at more than €1 billion.
ETCI 2.0 will support large technology funds and, for the first time, mid-sized growth funds exceeding €300 million. The initiative is expected to support the creation of more than 100 investment funds, including up to 45 mega-funds investing in scale-ups with average investments of about €200 million per company.
