Innovation Excitement at the Summit of Uludağ

The final series of the TechXtile Start-Up Challenge, the entrepreneurship program organized for the fifth time this year by Uludağ Textile Exporters Association (UTİB) and Uludağ Ready-made Clothing and Apparel Exporters Association (UHKİB) with the support of the Ministry of Commerce of the Republic of Turkey, witnessed intense excitement. Entrepreneurs, exporter union presidents and many company representatives showed interest in the award ceremony held at Bursa Business School, which is a subsidiary of Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BTSO), one of the supporters of the program.

In the 5th TechXtile Start Up Challenge, to which many entrepreneurs applied, 10 projects from the Level Up Category, where projects at the idea stage competed, and 9 projects from the Scale Up category, where projects that have passed the idea stage and have become commercialized, competed to be among the top three. With the votes of our jury consisting of leading names in the field, Beyza Aslan came first in the Level Up Category with her project "Obtaining Composite Raw Materials from Textile Wastes", while Ahmet Haris Lala came first in the Scale Up category with her project called "Harcy". Sun Tekstil became the champion of the 10th TechXtile Innovation League, where companies, R&D and Design Centers that raise awareness with their innovation-oriented investments competed, with the project "Smart Clothing Development for Use in Extreme Cold Environments". Almaxtex won the Most Sustainable Project Award with its "Bio-Solution Transforming into Nature" Project.

PINAR TAŞDELEN ENGİN: “TECHXTİLE START UP CHALLENGE HAS BECOME A BRAND”

Speaking at the opening of the program moderated by Ufuk Batum, UTİB Chairman of the Board of Directors Pınar Taşdelen Engin stated that TechXtile Start Up Challenge is a success story in itself and said, "We are grateful to Bursa Trade and Industry, especially our Ministry of Commerce of the Republic of Turkey, who supported our event in which we brought young entrepreneurs to the sector." I would like to express my gratitude to the Chamber (BTSO), Bursa Eskişehir Bilecik Development Agency (BEBKA) and Bursa Technology Coordination and R&D Center (BUTEKOM) for their support. The synergy that emerged with the collaboration of these institutions enabled our event to grow and become a brand with each passing year. We have undertaken a valuable mission in terms of increasing the value of Turkish textile and ready-made clothing and contributing to the development of innovative products in the sector. Every year we move forward thinking about how we can make the program better. This is not a competition or an event, it is a process and this is actually its biggest reward. "Our entrepreneurs come with their ideas and experience incredible development on this journey," he said.

SPECIAL AWARD IN NAME OF BAHAR KORÇAN AND FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Beyza Aslan and her team won the "Sustainability Special Award", given in the name of the famous Fashion Designer Bahar Korçan, who passed away in recent years, with her project "Obtaining Composite Raw Materials from Textile Wastes". Saadet Alpdağtaş won the Female Entrepreneur Special Award, which was given for the fourth time this year to encourage women into entrepreneurship, with her "Waste To Rainbow" project.

Together with UTİB President Pınar Taşdelen Engin and UHKİB President Nüvit Gündemir; TİM Deputy Chairman Ahmet Fikret Kileci, BTSO Assembly President Ali Uğur, AHKİB President Gürkan Tekin, DENİB President Hüseyin Memişoğlu, EHKİB President Recep Burak Sertbaş, ETHİB President Jak Eskinazi, İTHİB Board Member Sultan Tepe, İMA President Jale Tunçel, Arya Women's Platform Bursa President Berna Aşıroğlu gave awards to the winners.

AWARD WINNERS LIST

LEVEL – UP CATEGORY TOP THREE:

1. Beyza Aslan – Obtaining Composite Raw Materials from Textile Wastes

2. Sena Cimilli Duru – Underwear Design for Pilots

3. Bilge Koyuncu – Ecoshieldpro (Environmentally Friendly Protective Clothing Design)

SCALE – UP CATEGORY TOP THREE:

1. Ahmet Haris Lala – Harcy

2. Saadet Alpdağtaş – Waste To Rainbow

3. Cansu Başer – Healthy Race – Smart Textile Ecg

TECHXTILE INNOVATION LEAGUE TOP 10 COMPANIES: (In Alphabetical Order)

– ASTER TEXTILE

– BERTEKS TEXTILE

– BOSSA

– ELYAF TEXTILE

– ISKUR TEXTILE

– KIRAYTEKS

– KİPAŞ TEXTURES

– CORTEX

– SPINTEX

– YÜNSA

TECHXTILE INNOVATION LEAGUE HONORABLE MENTION AWARDS (In Alphabetical Order)

– AKBAŞLAR TEXTILE

– AYDIN ​​MENSUCAT

– BAYKAN DENIM

– BURSALI TEXTILE

– CAN TEXTILE

– EMIRALI TEXTILE

– KARACASU TEXTILE

– KUCUKCALIK TEXTILE

– POLYTEKS TEXTILE

– TEPAR TEXTILE