Informatics Valley Venture Capital Investment Fund started to bear fruit. In addition to Informatics Valley, the fund contributed by Albaraka Turk Participation Bank, Vakıf Katılım and KOSGEB, invested in 11 startups. The companies that received investment from the fund, which was implemented for the first time in Turkey in partnership with a technopark and participation banks, were introduced in Informatics Valley, Turkey's technology and innovation base.
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank stated that they will announce the National Technology Entrepreneurship Strategy they have prepared in a short time and said, “Our goal is to establish 2030 thousand technology enterprises by 100. By 2030, Turkey will be among the world's top 10 most developed ecosystems in technology entrepreneurship. We will make Istanbul one of the world's top 20 centers for entrepreneurship.” said.
FUND SIZE 300 MILLION TL
The Venture Capital Investment Fund was launched in 2021 with the initial capital of 100 million TL from Bilişim Vadisi, Albaraka Türk Participation Bank and Vakıf Katılım Bankası. Later, with the additional investments of KOSGEB, the relevant institution of the Ministry of Industry and Technology, and Vakıf Katılım, the fund size reached 300 million TL.
THOUSAND INITIATIVES REVIEWED
The fund, which was established with the aim of investing in startups in the field of civil technologies, examined nearly a thousand startups and decided to invest in 11 companies. 11 companies that received investment from the fund were introduced with a program held in Informatics Valley.
11 CEVVAL INITIATIVE
Speaking at the promotional event, Minister of Industry and Technology Varank stated that he is proud to be in such programs and said, "Today, we came together with eleven responsive startups that we believe will mark the entrepreneurship league, to meet the new technology stars of Turkey." said.
THEY BECOME A SHOWCASE OF OUR COUNTRY
Emphasizing that the first rule of being an entrepreneur is to be brave, Minister Varank said, "While there were no companies, namely unicorns, that reached a billion dollar valuation in Turkey two years ago, the number of unicorns has reached 6. Peak games, fetch, dream games, trendyol, Hepsiburada, insider reached billion dollar valuation and became a showcase of our country in the world.” he said.
NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURSHIP STRATEGY
Varank stated that they will announce the National Technology Entrepreneurship Strategy they have prepared in a short time, “Our goal here is to establish 2030 thousand technology enterprises by 100. In line with this goal, we planned the entire infrastructure from end to end. If we can successfully implement our strategy, by 2030, the Turkish technology entrepreneurship ecosystem will be among the top 10 most developed ecosystems in the world. We will make Istanbul one of the world's top 20 centers for entrepreneurship.” said.
OCCUPATION 92 PERCENT
Explaining that the biggest of the Technology Development Zones is Informatics Valley, Varank said, “We expanded Turkey's mega technology corridor from Kocaeli to Istanbul and Izmir. We achieved 92 percent occupancy rates at Bilişim Vadisi Kocaeli campus. There are 311 companies working in the sectors of Information and Communication Technologies, Software, Electronics, Energy, Design and Games, especially mobility. Firm settlements started in Bilişim Vadisi Istanbul. Informatics Valley Izmir, for which we laid the foundations in the past months, continues to rise rapidly.” he said.
VENTURAL CAPITAL FUNDS
Pointing out that one of the driving forces in the acceleration of the entrepreneurship ecosystem is venture capital funds, Varank said, “We are gradually increasing the volume of entrepreneurship funds with funds such as the Tech-InvesTR Venture Capital Fund, Technology and Innovation Fund, Regional Development Fund and Istanbul Regional Venture Capital Fund. Here is the Informatics Valley Venture Capital Investment Fund, which we launched in 2021, which we launched today, also creates a leverage effect in the entrepreneurship ecosystem.” said.
IT VALLEY WILL LEAD
After the ceremony, Minister Varank met with the entrepreneurs who received investment. sohbet he did. Answering the questions of the journalists here, Varank underlined that they established this Venture Capital Investment Fund to provide financial support to entrepreneurs and said, “We have established this fund in a way that encourages the private sector to invest in these areas by investing especially in promising technologies. We set out on this path with Vakıf Katılım, Albaraka. Today, KOSGEB is also included. There are bidders from different institutions. Informatics Valley will lead Turkey's technology development adventure. Currently, our buildings are being built in İzmir. We will direct technology in Turkey under the brand of Bilişim Vadisi.” he said.
WE WILL STRONGLY SUPPORT
KOSGEB President Hasan Basri Kurt noted that they are at a very important point in the entrepreneurship ecosystem and said that KOSGEB has made a significant contribution to the startups that receive investment. Indicating that KOSGEB transferred funds to Istanbul Venture Capital in 2007, KOSGEB President Kurt stated that they also evaluated the returns from this in the Venture Capital Investment Fund. Kurt drew attention to the importance of catching startups at an early stage and said: "As KOSGEB, we will continue to strongly support both funds and the funds of funds." he said.
THE PRODUCT OF 16 MONTHS OF WORK
Informatics Valley General Manager A. Serdar İbrahimcioğlu mentioned that Informatics Valley was designed to pioneer useful technologies that will change the world in the national and international arena, "We are working to create an environment where we can transfer the technologies we have developed in the defense industry in the last 20 years to civilian areas." said. Emphasizing that they implemented the Venture Capital Investment Fund for the purpose of accessing finance, which is the biggest problem of startups, General Manager İbrahimcioğlu said that as a result of 16 months of work, they decided to invest in 11 startups working in the field of civil technologies.
ALBARAKA PRESENTATION
Prior to the opening speeches of the program attended by Kocaeli Governor Seddar Yavuz and Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Albaraka Portfolio Management A.Ş. Mustafa Keçeli, Director of Venture Capital Investment Funds, gave information about the fund. Explaining that they are trying to bring the right investor and the right entrepreneur together through this fund, he noted that they are looking for companies that will export technology to the world.
INVESTMENT VENTURES
11 companies that received investment in the program also made their presentations. The 11 startups that received investment from the fund are as follows: Vagon Teknoloji, Syntonym, Cowealthy, Virtual AI, For Farming, Peyk Cyber Security, Kronnika, Dusyeri, Forwarder Smart Delivery, Jetlexa, Craftgate.
CIVIL TECHNOLOGIES
Informatics Valley Venture Capital Investment Fund; It was realized with the strategy of investing in companies in the fields of "Civil Technologies" such as information and communication technologies, games, finance, cyber security, mobility, agriculture, health, energy, which have achieved product and market harmony from technology-based companies and whose target market is established and ready for high growth.
WHO CAN APPLY TO THE FUND?
Enterprises applying for the fund must have completed their corporate structure and made sales. The companies that the fund invests in are required to move/establish their headquarters or R&D offices to Informatics Valley. For this reason, it is expected that the applicants will meet the conditions to operate in technoparks.
Be the first to comment