‘Empowering Startups: The Mentors' Hub Story’ presented at the TechIsland Summit

Tanya Romanyukha, General Manager, TechIsland and Yioulika Antoniades, Systems Deployment Consultant, Capacitor Partners presented The Mentors’ Hub to audiences at the TechIsland Summit in Limassol, encouraging startups to make the most of the initiative.

Mentors’ Hub is a curated startup support programme by TechIsland in collaboration with Capacitor Partners.

As noted by Romanyukha and Antoniades, the Mentors’ Hub is designed to bridge the gap between emerging startups and experienced industry leaders.

Introducing the initiative, Romanyukha explained that the Mentors' Hub is TechIsland’s startup support initiative, in partnership with Capacitor Partners, and which started last year as a side event of the TechIsland Summit.

“The initiative aims at supporting startups through curated one-on-one mentorship sessions with top-level mentors,” she said, adding that, “Through this programme, startup founders are invited to apply for a structured, outcome-driven mentorship experience. Selected applicants will be matched with experienced mentors for online sessions tailored to their specific needs.”

The General Manager went on to share TechIsland’s Vision, for the specific programme and beyond.

“TechIsland believes in transferring knowledge and bridging gaps, and bringing those who are starting now with those who have been in their shoes,” Romanyukha said, continuing that, as an association, TechIsland initiates or supports such initiatives that foster knowledge transfer, expert support and ultimately support the growth of the ecosystem.

“Cyprus needs a strong startup ecosystem to turn the island into a launch pad when innovation happens. Based on latest data there are over 800 startups and scale ups in Cyprus. Since 2020, the number of startups increased by five times,” she noted.

Romanyukha also noted that Cyprus is 6th globally in number of startup exits below $1b, adding that according to the “Venture in Eastern Europe” Cyprus has 27 recorded transactions in 2024 and a total investment volume of ~ €85.2 million.

She went on to mention that Cyprus entered the top five countries list with the max VC funding amount among the CEE countries during the period of 2021 to August 2024.

The number of deals reached 190 with total funding amounting to USD 1,200 million and average funding reaching the amount of USD 9.8 million.

“These numbers clearly show momentum. But to sustain and amplify this growth, founders need the right support—not just capital, but guidance,” the General Manager said.

“It is important to give founders the necessary guidance to find solutions and succeed,” Romanyukha said, continuing, “And what better way to do it than through having access to experienced people who have done it before them or who have technical expertise on product development or any other targeted expertise that they need to overcome challenges.”

She underlined the value of mentorship, adding that this is where the Mentor’s Hub came in.

“Founders face countless challenges—from product development to go-to-market strategies, team building, and fundraising. There’s no better way to tackle these challenges than by connecting with experienced professionals—mentors who have been there, done that, or who have deep domain expertise,” she said.

Romanyukha underlined that, by creating these connections, learning was accelerated and avoidable mistakes were minimised, “And it helps our founders move from idea to impact faster and more confidently.”

On her part, Yioulika Antoniades noted that Capacitor Partners was collaborating with TechIsland to lead the Mentors’ Hub for for the second year in a row, “The goal is to give startups in Cyprus access to focused, high-impact mentorship tailored to their stage, industry, and growth goals,” Antoniades said, adding that in 2024, the programme matched 30+ startups with 10+ experienced mentors—CEOs, founders, CTOs, investors, and product leaders.

“In 2025, it’s grown even further,” Antoniades continued, with 30+ mentors participating across areas including Founders, Investors, CTOs, Product Managers, Growth Experts, AI Specialists and Marketing Professionals.

The Systems Deployment Consultant also explained how the Mentors’ Hub aligns with Capacitor Partners’ work.

“We started the Mentors’ Hub to provide what we once needed—practical, relevant advice from people who’ve built and scaled businesses,” she said, noting that “Capacitor was once a startup too—this is our way of giving back.”

Antoniades also pointed out that Cyprus is at a pivotal moment with the ICT sector now contributing 16% of the national GDP.
“Local companies are expanding abroad and international tech firms are relocating to Cyprus, bringing talent, capital, and know-how,” she said, continuing, “To turn this momentum into long-term impact, we need to connect the ecosystem: Industry with talent, Knowledge with opportunity and Experience with ambition.”

She pointed out that, “This is exactly what Capacitor does—bridging insight with execution across 11 industries and six countries. The Mentors’ Hub is a natural extension of that work.”