We are SocialTech Lab – builders, innovators, and community leaders working to strengthen positive peace through social and environmental innovation. We believe peace is not only the absence of conflict, but the presence of opportunity, inclusion, collaboration, and shared prosperity. Our work focuses on empowering entrepreneurs, innovators, and communities to design solutions that help societies thrive – socially, economically, and environmentally. Born in Cyprus and shaped by lived experience in a divided context, SocialTech Lab has grown into a regional platform driving positive peace–driven innovation across Europe and beyond.
About Us
Our Story
2022 — Strengthening ecosystems, not just startups
By 2022, our focus had evolved beyond supporting individual ventures to strengthening entire innovation ecosystems. Through hands-on workshops, mentorship hours, hackathons, accelerators, and sector-focused programs, we supported early-stage founders addressing social, environmental, and economic challenges. Our community expanded to include social entrepreneurs, creatives, researchers, and technologists - all contributing to a growing culture of collaboration. This ecosystem-based approach laid the foundation for what would become SocialTech Lab’s long-term model for positive peace–driven innovation.
2023 — Scaling impact and unifying under SocialTech Lab
In 2023, CyprusInno and The Base by CyprusInno formally came together under the umbrella of SocialTech Lab, reflecting the full scope of our work at the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, and peacebuilding. That year alone, we delivered over forty programs, workshops, bootcamps, venture builders, and networking initiatives, engaging more than 1,500 participants and supporting over 60 startups and teams. We launched new flagship initiatives, including the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) in Cyprus, empowering more than forty women founders, and co-implemented the first UNDP Youth Innovation Factory, supporting twenty teams developing tech-based solutions to social and environmental challenges, with several teams receiving early-stage funding. Our work gained international recognition through awards, global media features, and selection for the European Enterprise Promotion Award for Responsible & Inclusive Entrepreneurship, reinforcing SocialTech Lab’s role as a leading social innovation actor in fragile contexts.
2024 — Scaling beyond borders and conflict lines
In 2024, SocialTech Lab expanded beyond Cyprus, scaling its ecosystem-based approach across the Western Balkans, the Middle East, and other conflict-affected contexts. Over the year, we delivered more than forty entrepreneurship and innovation programmes, engaging over 1,600 participants and supporting 130 teams across multiple regions, while distributing over €100,000 in non-dilutive funding and strengthening Cyprus’s role as a neutral hub for cross-border collaboration. The BOOST: Urban Future Finance Accelerator, delivered in partnership with UNDP Europe and Central Asia, marked a key milestone in our regional work by supporting urban innovators operating in complex and rapidly changing environments. Alongside BOOST, we deepened our engagement with conflict-affected communities through initiatives such as the AI/ML Hackathon co-organised with Microsoft and FINOMENA, and the 50:50 Startups programme, demonstrating how positive peace–driven innovation can foster collaboration, resilience, and opportunity across divided societies.
2025 — Recognition, consolidation, and future pathways
In 2025, SocialTech Lab’s growing impact was recognised on a global stage. We were selected as a MIT Solve semifinalist, received the UN SDG Digital GameChangers Award for Peace at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, and were named finalists for the New European Bauhaus Prizes 2025. This year also marked our integration into the NEBA South Hub consortium and our participation in the EUSOME project, strengthening European collaboration across innovation, sustainability, and social impact. Alongside these milestones, we launched our first Erasmus+ project, Y-PLAN, reinforcing our commitment to youth participation, urban innovation, and community-led action as we continue to build the foundations for positive peace–driven innovation.
Meet Our Team
Steven W. Stavrou
Co-Founder, Director of Strategy & Impact
steven@socialtechlab.org
Burak B. Doluay
Co-Founder, Director of Innovation & Commercialization
burak@socialtechlab.org
Annita Tsolaki
Innovation Programmes Manager
annita@socialtechlab.org
Berfu Ilgililer
Incubation Lead & Growth Specialist
berfu@socialtechlab.org
Ready to create impact together?
We’re always looking to partner with organisations and changemakers who share our vision for a more inclusive and innovative future. Book a call with us to explore how we can collaborate and grow impact side by side.