Startup Centrum Honors Türkiye's Entrepreneurship Ecosystem

Turkey's entrepreneurship ecosystem has been strengthened and outstanding achievements have been honored through the StartupCentrum Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Awards, organized by StartupCentrum, an entrepreneurship ecosystem-focused data provider, with the sponsorship of 1773 İTÜ Technopark, at an awards ceremony attended by Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Zekeriya Çoştu.

 

The StartupCentrum Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Awards, presented for the second time this year by StartupCentrum, an entrepreneurship ecosystem-focused data provider, to strengthen Turkey's entrepreneurship ecosystem and honor outstanding achievements, found their owners at a ceremony held on 16 September with the participation of Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Zekeriya Çoştu.

 

At the ceremony honoring all stakeholders of the entrepreneurship ecosystem, the most active angel investor of the year, portfolio management company, venture capital company, corporate venture capital company, venture capital investment fund, angel investment network, and the university with the most funded graduates, as well as startups operating in different verticals, non-governmental organizations, and incubation centers were awarded.

 

Turkey's first data-driven award

On 16 September, the awards ceremony held at ITÜ Süleyman Demirel Culture Center under the sponsorship of 1773 ITÜ Technopark began with opening remarks by StartupCentrum Co-Founders Müge Bezgin and Sami Harputlu. At the awards ceremony, which included remarks by Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Zekeriya Çoştu, current data on Turkey's entrepreneurship ecosystem was presented. In the public voting awards session held later in the evening, where 117,000 votes were cast, startups and organizations were honored, and in the report awards session, the most active technology investors of the year were recognized.

StartupCentrum, which brings together entrepreneurs, investors, and other important players in Turkey's entrepreneurship ecosystem and creates networking opportunities, provided a platform through its data-driven approach, offering a fair and transparent evaluation process and enabling all components contributing to the entrepreneurial world to share their achievements with the ecosystem.

 

"Demonstrating Turkey's potential in technology and innovation"

Sharing assessments about the awards ceremony, StartupCentrum Co-Founder Müge Bezgin said, "The StartupCentrum Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Awards, which are the first in Turkey to employ a data-driven evaluation process, aim not only to recognize achievements but also to demonstrate Turkey's potential in technology and innovation. As StartupCentrum, we are pleased to contribute to strengthening the technology ecosystem."

Noting that StartupCentrum brings the ecosystem together, StartupCentrum Co-Founder N. Sami Harputlu said, "We are honored to recognize the roles of startups, investors, and institutions in the startup ecosystem and to bring together everyone supporting these achievements."

 

This year's most active investors named

Based on reports prepared by StartupCentrum at regular intervals, which monitors Turkey's entrepreneurship ecosystem through a data-driven approach, the Report Awards determined the most active angel investors, portfolio management companies, venture capitalists, corporate venture capitalists, venture capital investment funds, angel investment networks, and the university with the most funded graduates of the year. According to data-driven results, the investors that added the most value to the ecosystem in terms of financing and vision were ranked as follows:

 

-      Most active angel investor of the year: Ahu Büyükkuşoğlu Serter, Koray Gültekin Bahar

-      Most active portfolio management company (PMC) of the year: Maxis Girişim Sermayesi PMC, Re-Pie Portfolio

-      Most active venture capital (VC) of the year: 500 Emerging Europe, TechOne VC

-      Most active corporate venture capital (CVC) of the year: Inveo Ventures, Logo Ventures

-      Most active venture capital investment fund (VCIF) of the year: Founder One, Bilişim Vadisi VCIF (APY Ventures)

-      Most active angel investment network of the year: EGİAD Angels, ŞirketOrtağım Angel Investment Network

-      University with most funded alumni of the year: Boğaziçi University

 

Tech giant Trendyol wins public voting

As a result of the public voting conducted as part of the StartupCentrum Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Awards, in which 117,000 votes were cast, startups from different verticals of Turkey's entrepreneurship ecosystem were identified for their outstanding achievements. Trendyol was chosen as technology giant of the year, while EasyCep won the growth category of the public voting.

 

-      Tech giant of the year: Trendyol

-      Growth startup of the year: EasyCep

-      Fintech startup of the year: Figopara

-      Gaming startup of the year: Fortune Mine Games

-      Healthcare startup of the year: Kidolog

-      SaaS startup of the year: ServisSoft

-      Artificial intelligence startup of the year: B2Metric

-      Social startup of the year: WeWalk

-      Sustainability and environment startup of the year: GT Carbon Tracking

-      EdTech startup of the year: Eduverse

-      Marketplace startup of the year: Varsapp

 

In the public voting, in which other stakeholders supporting the development of the entrepreneurship ecosystem by contributing in different areas were also honored, the year's technology center, development agency, chamber of commerce, bank supporting entrepreneurship, non-governmental organization, incubation center, and media were ranked as follows:

 

-      Digital entrepreneurship media of the year: Webrazzi

-      Incubation center of the year: T3 Entrepreneurship Center

-      Acceleration program of the year: Workup by Türkiye İş Bankası

-      Technopark of the year: Teknopark Istanbul

-      NGO supporting entrepreneurship of the year: Entrepreneurship Foundation

-      Coworking space of the year: Justwork

-      Bank most supporting entrepreneurship of the year: Akbank

-      Chamber of commerce of the year: Istanbul Chamber of Commerce

-      Open innovation and corporate entrepreneurship program of the year: Doğuş Technology

-      University entrepreneurship club of the year: ITÜ Entrepreneurship Club

-      Development agency of the year: İSTKA

-      TEKMER of the year: Ankara Tekmer

-      Startup of the year in Azerbaijan: Digital Expo Center

-      Incubation center of the year in Azerbaijan: Sabah.hub