” With an 84M dynamic and growing population, coupled with high caliber and economically competitive human capital, Turkey is a potential hotbed for both consumption and creation of technology. with over 70M mobile subscriptions, spanning an average age of 30 across the country.
Turkey consistently ranks among the top users of social media networks globally. Turkey currently has one of the highest growing GDPs across the globe and the 2nd highest credit card rate in Europe, but only 5.3% of total retail is done online. Therefore, there is significant disposal income ready for consumption and also a retail economy ripe for digitization. As a likely gateway to both MENA and CIS regions, we believe Turkey is likely a hub for technology and innovation with minimal existing VC activity. We believe this is a deserving, underserved market and have set up shop in 2016, completing 40 investments in total. 2018 was a record year for Turkey in terms of the liquidity technology startups have seen. The likes of Alibaba Group, Microsoft, Atlassian, and Zynga have all made sizable acquisitions in the market, providing handsome returns both to founding teams and investors.“
An interview with Rina Onur,
General Partner at 500 Istanbul,
about “The state of Turkish Startup Ecosystem”,
for Investment Office,
Presidency of The Republic Of Turkey
