Turkey's entrepreneurial ecosystem booms with seed-stage investments

The entrepreneurial ecosystem in Turkey continues to grow in 2017. A recent report by the market intelligence website startups.watch demonstrates that the total investments reached $67.2 billion, a 5.9 percent increase in growth in 2016. The report shows that "seed-stage investments" were able to receive more funding, with a record-breaking rise in these types of investments, which now total more than 120.

For the past few years, seed enterprises based in Turkish universities' incubation center techno-parks have found investment funding. However, none of them have been able to reach the "next stage" of success, having yet to achieve international advancement.

"In Turkey, enterprises that are currently at the idea stage or in product production can find funding much easier. Last year, seed investments grew about 43 percent," said Serkan Ünsal, the founder of startups.watch.

There is still a long way to go, as the amount of seed-stage investments has not reached the expected figures. "The number of enterprises should be on the rise. More capable entrepreneurs are emerging, and there is more local and international support for enterprises. To introduce quality companies to the "upper level," the number of small scale companies needs to increase, as most of them have a high fail rate," said Burak Büyükdemir, the founder of E-Tohum. "Although these small enterprises often fail, they gain valuable experience," Büyükdemir added.

Startupbootcamp

A leading enterprise acceleration program with no geographical limitations, Startupbootcamp Istanbul held a demo day at Soho House last week. Key investors had the chance to meet 14 enterprises from eight countries. Five former graduate teams and nine others that joined the program last year delivered presentations to investors and other important names from the business world.

After four-minute presentations, small-group meetings took place at the venue. Çiğdem Toraman, the executive director of Startupbootcamp, said, "Almost 80 percent of our graduates have found places in the global market since 2014, and so far they have received more than $8 million of investment funding - around $1.7 million came from StartersHub."

There were more than 800 applications from 92 countries submitted in 2016 to Startupbootcamp Istanbul, breaking the 17-country record of previous Startupbootcamp programs. The following are some of the participants from Turkey and abroad:

- Botler (the UAE): A Chatbot creation platform, Botler aims to utilize advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and the novelty of messaging to bridge the gap in communication between businesses and their customers. https://botler.io

- Composy (Bulgaria): A music platform designed with an AI, the easy and affordable computer generated music platform has been designed for videos and games. http://composy-music.com

- ECG 4 Everybody (Serbia): It is the world's first mobile ECG platform. As a heart health check platform, it can operate without electrodes and capture up to six leads. http://ecg4everybody.com

- Genz Biotech (Turkey): Designed by biomedical engineer Umut Ağyüz of Boğaziçi University, Genz Biotech is a genetic test that can detect the risk of breast cancer faster and cheaper than previously used methods. http://www.genzbiotech.com

- Human Electric (Greece): Human Electric has developed SpotFerret™ a network of wireless solar-powered sensors to help users park, pay and retrieve their cars, coupled with a powerful platform that leverages outdoor ads to monetise free parking. http://humanelectric.co http://SpotFerret.com

- Moodnode (Poland): Moodnode is a WiFi-enabled smart light switch that lets you effortlessly automate your home lights. http://moodnode.com

- Poltio (Turkey): A social polling platform that aggregates and monetizes data, it also drives engagement with embeddable SaaS features. http://poltio.com

- Thread in Motion (Turkey): Turkey's first smart textile technology company for resourceful living. http://threadinmotion.com

- VRex (Georgia): A mobile virtual-reality platform for promoting tourist destinations. http://www.vreximmersive.com

E-Tohum Entrepreneurial Summit

Each year, around 5,000 applications are received for the E-Tohum Entrepreneurial Summit, taking place on Saturday at Istanbul Technical University's Süleyman Demirel Culture Center. The summit will announce the new entrepreneurs that have been found suitable for funding. Sixteen new Internet enterprises, which have successfully completed E-Tohum's program, will also be announced there.