Türkiye’s tech startups attract billions in global investments

Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir reports a surge in international venture capital interest in Turkish tech startups, highlighting significant advancements in health, green, digital transformation and AI technologies

Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir revealed a growing interest from international venture capital funds to invest in Turkish technology startups in a recent series of meetings held in London.

These meetings were attended by venture capital fund managers and demonstrated Türkiye’s advancements in health technologies, green transformation technologies, digital transformation technologies and artificial intelligence.

Kacir emphasized the significant progress made by Turkish technology startups, particularly in next-generation mobility technologies. “Investors expressed their desire to increase their presence in our country,” he stated.

He believed that Türkiye’s approach to utilizing public resources to support technology startups serves as a global example.

“Our work demonstrates how public resources are being used and evaluated to support technology startups at a level rarely seen worldwide,” Kacir noted.

Over the past three years, Turkish tech companies and startups have attracted $4 billion in investment, a significant increase from the $100 million annual average between 2010 and 2020.

This influx of capital has accelerated the emergence of billion-dollar startups, known as “Turcorns,” in sectors such as gaming, e-commerce, software, and fintech. “Today, we have several tech startups valued at over a billion dollars,” Kacir remarked.

Kacir outlined an ambitious vision for Türkiye’s technology and entrepreneurship ecosystem. By 2030, Türkiye aims to foster 100,000 technology startups, with 100 achieving Turcorn status.

“To achieve this, we must strengthen our international collaborations and more effectively communicate the country’s success stories in technology entrepreneurship to the world,” he said.

The meetings in London, a global hub for venture capital and asset funds, were crucial in enhancing relationships with over 500 capital funds. These funds allocate substantial resources annually to technology and entrepreneurship. “We will organize similar events in Türkiye together with them and continue to accelerate the growth of the country’s technological startups,” Kacir noted.

A significant part of the discussions focused on Türkiye’s innovation-friendly regulatory environment. Kacir attributed the success of fintech startups to the public sector’s innovative approach and noted the ongoing legislative efforts on crypto assets.

“We talked at length about how the public sector’s innovative and innovation-friendly approach has been crucial to the success of fintech startups in Türkiye,” he said.

Moreover, Kacir emphasized the improvement of Türkiye’s macroeconomic indicators as a key topic of discussion. He pointed out the rapid decline in credit default swaps (CDS), indicating the Turkish economy is on the right track. “We foresee a significant acceleration of investments in Türkiye in the coming period,” he said, adding that this sentiment is shared by international investors and venture capital fund managers.

Minister Kacir concluded by stressing the need to promote Türkiye’s success stories in technology entrepreneurship globally. “We will enhance our relationships and communication with these funds, organize similar events in Türkiye together with them, and continue to accelerate the growth of the country’s technological startups,” he affirmed.

Türkiye currently hosts over 10,000 tech companies operating in more than 100 technoparks, focusing on innovation and R&D. Kacir stressed the importance of growing venture capital investment funds in Türkiye to further support these startups.

“We have initiated programs that enable public resources to act as a fund of funds, creating leverage for venture capital investments,” he explained.

This strategy has proven effective in attracting global investment funds to Türkiye.

In his vision for the future, Kacir expressed confidence in Türkiye’s ability to create new success stories. “Türkiye will realize new success stories and, this time, more powerfully, with value-added, competitive, and efficient production and high-tech initiatives taking center stage,” he said.

Source: Newsroom