Cypriot tech experts living in London are to get a visit from their President wanting to lure them home to take up jobs in the booming STEM sector.
The strategy – dubbed the ‘Brain Gain’ – is backed up with lucrative incentives including tax breaks, free health care and housing subsidies.
It comes as a report by Invest Europe said European tech could be worth £6tn by 2035 and employ 20 million people.
Currently tech-talent in Europe moves to the US, a trend that has shown a 15% increase since 2019. Canada, Australia, the Gulf states and some Asian countries are also proving to be a brain drain.
According to the State of European Tech report by venture firm Atomico there has been movement either way with 20,900 workers leaving Europe for other regions, but 30,500 coming in the other direction.
Estonia, Ireland, Romania and Poland have all launched campaigns to attract tech talent home, with Warsaw currently outpacing China, India and Brazil for growth in online services and the leading producer of STEM graduates in Europe.
Now Cyprus is getting in on the act seeking to draw on talent from among its 400,000 diaspora living in the UK.
The country recorded £2.67bn in foreign direct investment for 2023, according to Invest Cyprus, the agency tasked with driving investments to the island.
This included the creation of over 2500 jobs, with over 800 technology companies now operating in the Mediterranean country, of whom 250 were established between 2021-2023.
President Nikos Christodoulides, who is travelling to London in May, said his government has a “clear” strategic direction, which is to “truly strengthen Cyprus’ position as a hub of innovation and technology”.
He added: “The continued growth of the economy is creating new jobs, creating increased demand, coupled with a reduction in unemployment, and it is for this reason that I will be going to London to meet with Cypriots working there to present an attractive package for their return to Cyprus.
“I will also be accompanied by Cypriot and foreign business people who are looking for staff. We will go to try – and I think it will be successful – to bring back to our country and have a brain gain instead of brain drain.”
Full details of the incentives package will be revealed ahead of the May visit.
The number of Cypriots living abroad is approaching half the island’s million-strong population, which is visited by 1.3m British tourists every year.
Marios Tannousis, Chief Executive of Invest Cyprus, said: “We know there is a lot of tech talent among the Cypriot diaspora living in the UK and we are hoping that our generous incentive scheme will attract many of them to come home to work in the sector, which is booming and with their help can continue to grow”.
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