Türkiye: A Rising Hub for Entrepreneurship in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa

In recent years, Turkey has emerged as one of the fastest-growing entrepreneurial ecosystems across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). The TÜSİAD report, “Türkiye: A Leading Hub for Startups and Tech Companies in EMEA,” highlights Turkey’s strengths, potential, and unique advantages for international investors seeking growth opportunities in this dynamic region.

In recent years, Turkey has emerged as one of the fastest-growing entrepreneurial ecosystems across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). The TÜSİAD report, “Türkiye: A Leading Hub for Startups and Tech Companies in EMEA,” highlights Turkey’s strengths, potential, and unique advantages for international investors seeking growth opportunities in this dynamic region.

A Strong Investment Landscape

Between 2021 and 2024—a period marked by the challenges of the pandemic and post-pandemic recovery—Turkey attracted $7.1 billion in domestic and international investments, positioning itself among the leading startup ecosystems in EMEA.

Local and global investors have capitalized on Turkey’s expanding market, large consumer base, and robust tech infrastructure. Key verticals such as gaming and fintech have shown remarkable growth. With accelerated digital transformation and broader internet penetration, e-commerce startups have also flourished. Market leaders like Getirand Hepsiburada alone have raised more than $4 billion in funding over the past four years.

Unicorns and Success Stories

Companies such as Dream Games, Hepsiburada, Getir, Peak Games, Insider, and Trendyol exemplify Turkey’s ability to produce unicorns and globally competitive scale-ups. These success stories underscore Turkey’s strength in the domestic market as well as its global competitiveness.

Key Drivers of a Strong Startup Ecosystem

• Strategic Location: Positioned between Europe and Asia, Turkey serves as a natural gateway to multiple markets.
• Young and Dynamic Population: With over 85 million people, Turkey provides a vast consumer base and a fertile environment for tech-driven innovation.
• Investment Diversity: Over 550 venture capital firms, VC funds, corporate VCs, and institutional investorsoperate in the country, reflecting the ecosystem’s maturity.
• Institutional Support: Corporate innovation, a strong industrial base, and the research capacity of universities and tech development centers create an enabling environment for startups.

R&D and Innovation-Focused Investments

Turkey is home to more than 90 technoparks, offering tax incentives, talent support, and investment benefits for companies. The increase in patent applications reflects growing innovation capacity. Programs such as Turkey Tech Visaattract global tech talent with critical expertise, helping startups access the human capital needed to scale innovation-driven business models.

Technical Talent Capacity

Turkey’s technical talent pool is one of its strongest assets. Developers, engineers, and specialists are building solutions that meet market demands while driving sectoral transformation.

• Turkish startups leverage this talent to accelerate product development and market entry, gaining an edge in global competition.
• The country ranks prominently on Stack Overflow and GitHub, with Turkish developers making up 1% of the Stack Overflow survey base and 1.2% of GitHub traffic. This highlights a thriving community of developers and tech enthusiasts actively contributing to global innovation.

From Local to Global: Ease of Doing Business

Turkey’s ecosystem enables startups to pilot locally before scaling globally. The regulatory framework is aligned with EU standards, creating an accessible environment for company formation and operations.

Turkey: Opportunities Await

With its innovation-focused R&D ecosystem, technical talent, and strategic location, Turkey is positioned as a unique hub for both local and international investors. The entrepreneurial landscape offers a gateway to global markets, making it a compelling destination for startups and venture capital alike.

We invite you to explore TÜSİAD’s comprehensive report, “Türkiye: A Leading Hub for Startups and Tech Companies in EMEA,” which vividly illustrates Turkey’s growing capacity and potential. We believe sharing this report across your networks will contribute to strengthening the global connections and dynamism of Turkey’s startup ecosystem.

Learn more: www.entrepreneurshipturkiye.com/en