Turkish domestic startups attract global investments

By Azernews

By Burak Karaca

Turkiye's recent entrepreneurial success has grabbed the interest of global investors, Yeni Shafak newspaper reports.

Some 160 Turkish startups have received $1.4bn in investments in the first six months of 2022. While investors are showing a strong interest in technological companies, the Turkish gaming industry, in particular, is outperforming its European peers.

The Turkish entrepreneurship environment expands rapidly year by year. Turkish startups, the foundations of which were laid in previous years, have received major investments in the global arena in a very short period of time.

Positive examples in this area also inspire entrepreneurs in other sectors. In the first half of 2022, $168m was invested in 124 startups, setting a new high in terms of quantity. In the same period last year, $59m was invested in 139 businesses, followed by $67m in 2020 and $35m in 2019.

It is expected that overall startup investments would remain at last year's level of $1.5bn in 2022. On the other hand, total worldwide investment in the first half of 2022 was $258bn, a 20 percent decrease from the first half of 2021.

Technology is one of the sectors, where Turkish startups write success stories. Especially in the gaming industry, many domestic enterprises have succeeded in increasing their value in a short time.

Peak, the first technology startup in Turkiye, to enter the Unicorn companies’ league by achieving a $1bn valuation, leads the way as a success story in the sector. At the same time, the company's success has been a driving force behind the achievements of other firms in the same sector.

The Turkish gaming industry received $266m in investment in 2021. In the first half of 2022, it received an investment of $333m, surpassing the total of 2021 in six months. Thus, the Turkish gaming industry broke its own record and became the first in Europe.

A total of $1.4bn dollars were invested in the Turkish entrepreneurship sector in the first six months of 2022 and the gaming industry received $333m of these investments. In the first six months of 2022, 160 Turkish enterprises received investments, with the financial sector leading the way with 20 investments.

The gaming, health, artificial intelligence, and machine learning industries each received 12 investment packages for each. Finance startups received an average investment of $1.35m, ranking first in terms of the number of investments.

Startups must have a solid brand strategy from the time they join the market until the time they become a significant participant in the industry. A corporate identity design that is related to the correct branding strategy, the company's professional discourse, and the messaging it provides on social media are the key components of future success. An effective brand management strategy that addresses these challenges influences how customers view an organization.