Women in Business (WiB) Programme in Cyprus

The Women in Business (WiB) programme in Cyprus is promoted by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) under its Advice for Small Businesses (ASB) facility. It supports women entrepreneurs and women-led SMEs with access to finance, business advice and networking, aiming to close the gender gap in entrepreneurship.

The programme funds 65-80% of the net cost of local consulting fees and provides direct advisory support from local consultants and international advisers, entrepreneurial-skills training, mentoring, and outreach seminars and visibility events.

EBRD reports 62 women-led enterprises received advisory project support, 28 women completed entrepreneurial-skills training, 30 women-led enterprises received mentoring, and 328 women were reached through outreach and visibility events. Across the wider ASB programme in Cyprus, 117 advisory-client SMEs reported an increase in employees and 93 reported an increase in female employment; more than 1,100 jobs were created in total, of which 410 were held by women; and 177 SME advisory clients reported an increase in turnover one year after completing the programme, equivalent to an additional €153 million in turnover.

These are EBRD's own self-reported administrative monitoring figures; some (the employment and turnover figures) are described as covering the wider ASB programme in Cyprus rather than the Women in Business component specifically, and no comparison/control group is described.