Cypriot start-up EMBIO wins innovation award

Cypriot start-up EMBIO Diagnostics is among five winners of the first online Startup Innovation Challenge by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to encourage creative and innovative responses to COVID-19.

Some 226 companies from 30 countries participated in the online competition, and the five winners will share the US$ 500,000 of mixed cash rewards and vouchers to cover costs within the Star Venture programme.

It includes business diagnostics, tailored one-on-one technical advisory support, mentoring and access to international investors. The competition targeted highpotential scalable start-ups that have innovated their business models in response to the coronavirus pandemic and organised entirely online.

The EBRD’s mandate in Cyprus expired last year. The Bank has now ceased investing in any new projects in the country. Still, the Start-up Innovation Challenge was open to companies based in any country, the Bank clarified.

EMBIO is a science and technology company that created the proprietary B.EL.D. (Bio Electric Diagnostics) the device, related software and algorithms.

B.EL.D is one of the very few multi-use handheld chemical analyser systems that within minutes can accurately detect bacteria and other harmful chemicals in food categories such as dairy and leafy greens.

It aims to provide quick and accurate answers on the point of care, to prevent the spread of harmful bacterias and infectious diseases, like Listeria.

Top 5 Winners

• Otsimo (Turkey) - EdTech, an education platform for children with special needs.

• Fazla G›d (Turkey) - Technology |

Food, a surplus management platform helping to mark products for expiry.

• 1Trolley (Egypt) - E-commerce, the last-mile delivery convenient goods service.

• Plant an App (Romania) - IT | LowCode development platform that accelerates software systems delivery by a factor of up to 40 times.

• EMBIO Diagnostics (Cyprus) – Biotechnology, a portable testing system for Listeria.