FLOSS developers, open technology innovators, researchers, and small teams in Cyprus and Greece are invited to apply for the latest round of NGI0 (Next Generation Internet) funding, with upcoming deadlines on October 1st and December 1st, 2025.

NGI0 is a European Commission initiative, coordinated by NLnet Foundation, that provides grants ranging from €5,000 to €50,000 to support Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS), open hardware, open standards, and open data projects. More than 1,000 projects across Europe have already been supported, all contributing to a more open, resilient, human-centric, and trustworthy internet.

The program is known for the immediacy and ease of its application process, allowing developers to apply directly and be assessed on the technical excellence, impact, cost-effectiveness, and interoperability of their proposal. This makes NGI0 particularly attractive to small teams and independent developers.

The program directly connects with global digital rights movements such as Public Money, Public Code, the Right to Repair, and other campaigns for privacy, transparency, and sustainability. This cascade funding mechanism empowers innovators at the grassroots level, ensuring their work strengthens the digital commons.

Funded projects include privacy-preserving tools, secure communication platforms, decentralized identity systems, new internet protocols, open-source search engines, and open hardware solutions. Developers are encouraged to propose projects that strengthen user autonomy, digital sovereignty, and resilience. Notably, NGI0 has also funded components of larger, well-known projects such as Mastodon, Matrix, Nextcloud, Jitsi, Tor, and other major open-source infrastructures, showing the breadth of potential impact. For a full list of the funded projects go here.

Earlier this week, an NGI0 InfoSession took place in Cyprus, showcasing how local FLOSS talent can access EU opportunities and contribute to Europe’s open-source ecosystem.

The positive response to EL/LAK’s position in relation to the ChatControl debate earlier this month, as well as the debate around the recent government hybrid cloud tender suggest that the country is at a tipping point regarding public debate in Tech Policy, and a drive towards investment in open, freedom-respecting, sovereign, and community-controlled infrastructures, and away from dependencies on Big Tech proprietary giants, whose concentration of power, lack of transparency, and creation of technological lock-in pose systemic risks.

Applicants can submit proposals through this link.

Local support is also available: Dr. Chrystalleni Loizidou, Regional Representative for Cyprus, will be present at the Open Tech booth’s Repair Café, organised by 101.cy and EL/LAK Cyprus, at LaouLaou, Limassol, this Saturday 20/9. She can be contacted at [email protected].