Three former university classmates won €100,000 for their holiday rental business, Nomads Properties, at the 2026 Stelios Awards for Young Entrepreneurs in Cyprus. The Stelios Philanthropic Foundation awarded €200,000 in total at its Nicosia headquarters on 10 November. Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou congratulated the winners via Zoom, and Deputy Minister to the President Irene Pikis presented the top prize.
Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram
Launched in Cyprus in 2023, the awards give young founders cash to grow their businesses. This year’s competition drew 50 applications. It was open to entrepreneurs under 34 who had founded a company in the Republic of Cyprus within the previous five years and whose business had an annual turnover of at least €40,000.
Nomads Properties Takes First Prize
Elena Kourti, Giorgos Theofanous and Nicolas Gavriel brought backgrounds in engineering, management and finance to Nomads Properties. The company manages villas and other holiday homes for owners in Cyprus, handling bookings, pricing and guest services. The founders said they plan to keep investing in digital tools and expand in Cyprus and abroad.
MC Farm Solutions Wins €60,000
Michalis Christodoulou founded MC Farm Solutions in 2024 to supply, install and maintain equipment for livestock farms. The company sells milking systems for cows and sheep, as well as equipment that lets farmers monitor their animals electronically.
DermLux Will Put Its €40,000 Towards A New Clinic
Last year’s first-prize winner, Giorgos Chrysostomides, presented the €40,000 third prize to DermLux. Doctors Therapon Constantinou, Andriana Constantinou and Christos Karapatakis opened the first clinic in Limassol in 2023 with two treatment rooms. The founders say the business grew to five locations across four cities and a team of 44 by reinvesting its earnings without taking out bank loans.
They plan to put the full prize towards their next clinic in Nicosia, where it will help pay for treatment rooms, equipment and new hires.
