Our Story
Cyprus is divided. In 2014, divided for 40 years. Now Cyprus faces new challenges and opportunities. For the first time people are realising that not everything is linked to what has happened in the past, but that the unfinished business and the impact of division
undermines progress and opportunites today. It overshadows reality. Cyprus does not have a system which nurtures innovation, enterprise and investment, and this is a fundamental weakness.
This weakness means peace and resolution is not enough, because Cyprus will always face complex challenges as a result of its location and existence as an island economy. Peace is only a start. It needs that system to build a sustainable future.
It is crucial to nurture new social, economic and environmental ideas and their innovators, and strengthen the foundations for a sustainable breakthrough. You can find out more about the background of our campaign on our venture page:
http://startsomegood.com/Venture/futurebridge
Our Project
FutureBridge is about building an endowment to create the supply of money needed to invest in this innovation. We will work with others to provide support to potential innovators, and develop their ideas into plans for new businesses and project proposals about
change. We will communicate these opportunities to show potential funders what impact and opportunities exist, and change their expectations about what is possible.
Uniquely, we want to communicate these ideas internationally to where the Cypriot Diaspora live. Very few institutions exist with a vision and mission that is so focused on a positive future in Cyprus. We don't think any have tried to rebuild links with
the displaced communities in this way.
Our main income stream will be fund management. The returns on the endowment will provide a sustainable supply of funding to support innovators.
Our Goal and Objectives for this Campaign
Some of what we are doing has been tried in other areas successfully. We need to learn how to make this work for Cyprus in a way which might work in other post-conflict areas. In particular, we need to test this concept of how displaced communities can work
to support innovation.
We would like raise at least £10,525 so that we can prototype our idea and test the concept. We will support a small number of innovators to improve their ideas and plans, and communiate these effectively to a targeted part of the Cypriot
community living abroad.
Cyprus is a small country, divided unequally. Uniquely, Cyprus has a large community, displaced by conflict, to engage in this ambitious undertaking, including high net worth individuals and hard working families.
We need to understand our potential donors in order to design an excellent service which encourages them to give and invest together. This will enable us to create a new form of funding for innovation, which will grow into a large endowment. If we get the
relationship right, then people will continue to contribute, helping us to raise more money in addition to the endowment, which will allow us to expand. We need to test whether innovative proposals developed in Cyprus capture the imagination of those donors
in target groups. This also needs to be an excellent support package, which helps the innovators succeed.
Having engaged the Cypriot advisors behind the project we have chosen to engage with the Greek Cypriot community community based in London, and the Turkish Cypriot community in Cyprus. But this is just the beginning. We used strategic marketing techniques
to choose these communities to achieve proof of concept. This is based on our analysis that this idea meets their needs most. Of course this is just to test the idea; we aim to communicate with all communities once we have proof of concept and throughout
the process.
Why Does This Matter?
The prize is a real peace breakthrough in Cyprus, a conflict transformation going further than a delicate resolution. A democratic movement in which many people can participate.
This won't be achieved overnight, but it can be possible in the near future because innovation can inspire change by showing it is possible. Behaviours and expectations will change through new leadership, starting with individuals, extending through familes
and into communities and amplified through the enterprises they build and new ways of working they adopt. This journey will take decades of innovation, enterprise and investment because there is a lot to unravel and a lot of bridge building to be done.
Research shows that the economic outcome from this real peace could be worth EUR12,000 to each Cypriot family a year, and perhaps create 33,000 more jobs and a 3% growth of GDP. The northern economy is embargoed. The southern economy is crippled by a banking
crisis. Finding and exploiting hydrocarbons is certainly an opportunity. This can be a catalyst, but it won't be enough on its own. Money isn't everything. Cyprus needs more than peace. It needs a system which nurtures Cypriots as innovators, creates the conditions
for enterprise and inspires investment. Otherwise it will be reliant on outside help and ideas which will continue to undermine talent and squander potential.
From other post-conflict zones we can see political agreements are just the beginning. Our idea is about changing the culture in an independent and sustainable way. If we, a Cypriot community, can collaborate on this project, then social, health and wellbeing
will be enhanced by repairing and rebuilding links between people and communities, locally and internationally.
If We Are Right, Here's How Our Idea Can Grow
1. We will finish the business plan for the enterprise and use the evidence to raise working capital. We will create three local jobs. Donors will be engaged and the approach to collaborative support for innovators will be implemented. If this 3 year
phase is a success, our aim is to hit our endowment target within 10 years and invest an average of £450,000 per year in innovation.
2. We believe one area we will grow is in the development of more ambitious social investment products, e.g. bonds. This is the first area where we expect further job creation and international collaboration.
3. We can diversify and collaborate more with our alumni, such as by providing them loans, buying equity in the businesses they may build and helping their success help others, through education programmes for example.
Why are We Crowdfunding This Project?
Like crowdfunding, the success of our model will rely on a networking effect. We need a lot of people to give a little and a smaller number of people to give a lot, and we have to do this as a community.
The mindset of the people that may support this campaign is similar to the mindset we need to nurture among a community of donors, including Cypriots abroad.
Crowdfunding enables us to show people locally that a global community believes in the fundamentals of our idea and is prepared to invest.
We started the process with our own funds. From March 2012 approximately £20,000 has been used to build the networks with Cypriots, Cypriot organisations, and to understand what has worked and what hasn't. This experience helped us design the concept. The
idea has captured the imagination of some funders, but their feedback suggests we need to get a proof of concept.
Our own funds, through limited, continue to meet all the travel and engagement costs of trying to keep those relationships alive and develop the concept. Crowdfunding is part of our fundraising campaign. We are seeking crowdfunding to cover the costs of
the proof of concept.
The concept was an Echoing Green Fellowship Semi-finalist in 2013, meaning it was in the top 10% of more than 3000 applications.
How You Can Help
Beyond backing our campaign with your welcome financial help, we also need contacts and introductions.
Do you know Cypriot philanthropists, businesses or foundations that support innovation in post-conflict zones and are interested in more sustainable ideas about engaging communities in economic development and conflict transformation? If you do then we
would welcome the introduction.
You can find out more about me and the thinking behind this campaign by looking at the venture page here:
http://startsomegood.com/Venture/futurebridge
Contact us:
Any potential donor or interested person can contact me directly at [email protected]. I can provide more information about our project or any of the pledges.
