The President of the Investment Office of the Presidency of Turkey Burak Dağlıoğlu called on countries to strengthen their efforts to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) amid the rise of globalization and technology.

In an op-ed piece penned for the World Economic Forum, Dağlıoğlu said entrepreneurship has expanded thanks to more opportunities and innovative projects, which have an impact on the national, global and local economies.

“To attract FDI, countries need to get serious about their own startup ecosystems and their own value propositions in order to sell them to the world. That’s why now investment promotion agencies (IPAs) are more important than ever,” Dağlıoğlu said, adding that IPAs need to have a grasp of their local startup ecosystems and keep up with their global counterparts.

He continued by highlighting that they can play an “intermediary role in connecting startups and investors.”

Dağlıoğlu also suggested that IPAs should cooperate with public and private stakeholders to devise and maintain a suitable startup ecosystem.

Academics and industry experts also need to collaborate to create a talent pool and work as a platform to put the ideas into action, he said.

Referring to the example of Turkey, Dağlıoğlu said Turkish startups were able to raise $2.3 billion in funding between 2011 and 2021.

“Early-stage investments averaging $100-$150 million per annum skyrocketed to $1.6 billion in the year 2021, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. That growth momentum has continued into 2022 as well, securing $1.2 billion in the first quarter,” he outlined.

Dağlıoğlu noted that Turkey now has several unicorns and decacorns thanks to the snowball effect of recycling capital into the ecosystem.