The Cabinet approved on Friday a grant scheme to support new entrepreneurial activity in the British Bases in Cyprus.

The scheme which will be launched within October will be financed by national resources and has been drafted on the basis of a similar EU co-funded scheme which is ongoing, the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry said in a press release.

It is estimated that €500,000 will be enough to meet the requirements of the scheme for the purposes of the first tender, it added.

People entitled to apply for the scheme include unemployed or employees, young men and women 18 to 29 years of age, men 30 to 50 years of age and women 30 to 55 years of age.

The maximum budget per application can be up to €120,000. The scheme will subsidise young people up to 70% and persons of older ages up to 60%. The maximum grant which can be given is €84,000 for young people and €70,000 for older people irrespective of the field of investment. The scheme includes additional credits for smart expertise activities sectors which is in accordance with the National Strategy for Smart Expertise, as well as funding for the purchase of buildings.

A scheme guide can be found at the Ministry`s website.

The press release also noted that the amount of €1 million has been included for such schemes in the 2021 budget and €1.2 million has been included in the 2022 budget.

To date two such schemes have been launched in 2021 for which great interest was shown, it said, adding that applications received have exceeded the budget allotted which will be also covered by the 2022 budget.