Institutions are setting up venture capital funds to earn the agility of young entrepreneurs. In 2016, global corporate venture capital investments totaled $24.9 billion. According to a CBINSIGHT www.cbinsights.com report, giants like Intel, Google, Salesforce, Comcast, and Qualcomm find the adaptability and agility for new technologies and services in the enterprises they invest in. Investments in internet and mobile technology enterprises have recently gained weight. The number of investment contracts increased by 2 percent to 1,352 in comparison to the previous year. Apart from the U.S., the mobility of investment contracts has also been made mainly in England, China and India.

Technology giants lead the way

The net strategies of the institutions have not yet emerged in Turkey. They are collaborating with global venture capital companies for now. Even companies that have not been operational for 20 years, such as Google, are injecting themselves with young entrepreneurial vaccination in order not to miss online trends. Entrepreneurs also earn the long-term perspective, discipline and corporate culture of the institutions. Corporate investors like Google and Intel are operating in Europe and Asia as well as the United States. Investments made in the U.K. have gained significant momentum recently. Cities like London, Berlin and Barcelona are making improvements to attract corporate investors and entrepreneurs.

Telecom and Banks

Institutions only invest in real estate in Turkey in general. There seems to be almost no technology company that does not do business in the real estate sector. Even those companies that have not actively invested in this field have chosen to welcome the opportunities. However, unlimited opportunities are waiting on the side of the enterprise.

Turk Telekom, Turkcell and Vodafone closely follow the enterprises in the sector. Thanks to its entrepreneurial acceleration program PILOT, Turk Telekom closely follows and supports new initiatives. Turkcell currently prefers Aikovian crowd-funding method, while Vodafone Turkey controls the enterprises in technoparks via Oxygen. Apart from the telecom sector, the biggest interest comes from the banks.

Entrepreneurial support is a must

We can call the real estate sector the only enterprise that attracts investments from a majority of companies in the technology sector. Moreover, investments in this field do not vary, and the innovations brought by the industry are never used. On the contrary, only the rent return is taken into consideration. Yet, investing so much in a company that may bring only one achievement in real estate is not reasonable. It is certainly not sustainable.

Support for PILOT enterprises

Türk Telekom is starting to choose new enterprises with PILOT, the first enterprise acceleration program in the Turkish telecom sector. The PILOT project will receive the applications for the fifth period at www.turktelekompilot.com.tr. The telecom sector is not so far from entrepreneurship. Even the logo melody services have created significant enterprises in the 1990s. Now it is not unreasonable to expect more from the telecom companies that have end-to-end internet infrastructure. The new application period of the PILOT Enterprise Acceleration Program, which has been launched by Türk Telekom in order to support the technology enterprises, strengthen the entrepreneurship ecosystem and provide innovative products and services to its customers through enterprises, has begun. The fifth period applications, in which initiatives in the fields of education and health technologies, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, internet of things, cyber security and business solutions will be primarily supported, are accepted via www.turktelekompilot.com.tr. Applications made to PILOT are assessed from a variety of perspectives, by taking into account potential business partnerships, the innovativeness and applicability of the idea, the size of the targeted market and growth potential, the consistency of the business model and the competence of the team.Support from Mercedes for 50 startupsThe automotive industry is injecting an entrepreneurial vaccination into its aging vessels against the risks of emerging technology. The international giants in Turkey have also taken action in this regard. Mercedes-Benz Türk A.Ş. (MBT) is launching "50 startups, 50 years" project in order to contribute to approaches that benefit society and the environment, produce solutions that have positive social effects and make life easier, by supporting innovative, sustainable and creative ideas.

Applications for the competition organized by MBT in collaboration with Yaşama Dair Vakıf (YADA Foundation), Impact Hub Istanbul and Startupboothcamp Istanbul started on March 14.

Startups that are connected to the technology, have a market value, have passed the idea stage, have conducted a business plan study and have come to the prototype stage or have produced prototypes will be able to apply to "50 startups, 50 years" project through the microsite (www.startup50mbt.com) created for the project. During the project, all announcements and stages will be followed through this site and jury members will also provide support for the applicants.