2024 has begun at a time when hopes for economic recovery
around the globe have been revived and the search for political stability has
become more evident. For Turkey's entrepreneurship ecosystem, this new year
symbolises a new beginning full of both opportunities and challenges. Drawing
strength and learning from the events of the past year, Turkey's innovative
spirit has begun to manifest itself as early as the first days of 2024.
The first quarter of the year provided valuable insights
into the evolution of Turkey's entrepreneurial dynamics by providing a detailed
analysis of the ecosystem's activities at various investment stages.
Developments in the processes from seed stage investments to early and advanced
stages revealed the health of the ecosystem and investor confidence.
In 2023, natural disasters and socio-economic challenges
reminded Turkey's entrepreneurship ecosystem of the vital importance of social
solidarity and cooperation. Against this backdrop, as we enter 2024, local and
international investors have become more determined to support resilient and
innovative startups.
This year will be critical for Turkey, especially in terms
of giving a new direction to its entrepreneurial ecosystem and moving forward
on the path of economic development. 2024 may go down in history as a year of
accelerated innovation and transformation, where investments will stand out not
only in quantity but also in quality and diversity.
In the first quarter of 2024, 72 investments were realised.
However, when we look at previous years, there has been a decrease in the
number of investments made in the first quarter.
In the first quarter of 2024, it received $ 133.6 million in
investment. The median investment amount was $573,500. Most of these
investments, $ 94 million, were attracted by three prominent startups:
Intenseye with $64 million, Ikas with $20 million and Upstash with $10 million.
The investments obtained by these three initiatives account for almost
two-thirds of the total investment volume of the period.
When we analyse on a sector basis, Artificial Intelligence
and Machine Learning with 84.3 million dollars, Cyber Security with 64 million
dollars and E-commerce with 27.8 million dollars are the three sectors that
received the most investments. When we look at the sectors on the list, we see
sectors such as Gaming, Fintech and Transport & Logistics.
However, 18 Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, 10
Gaming and 7 E-commerce sectors received investments. In recent years, it is
possible to say that investments have increased as a result of the rise of
Artificial Intelligence and households getting used to meeting their shopping
needs online after the pandemic. However, although the gaming sector ranks
second in terms of number, we see that it has fallen behind in terms of the
amount of investment it receives. We can say that the main reasons for this are
that the mobile game market has reached saturation and the US Central Bank has
increased interest rates, as a result of which some investors have withdrawn
their money from the game market.
The first quarter of 2024 allowed for a comprehensive
assessment of the Turkish entrepreneurship ecosystem from various aspects.
Fluctuations in the total volume and number of investments show some
similarities and significant differences when compared to the performances of
previous years.
Total investments made in the first quarter of the year were
more modest than in previous years' bright periods. In particular, the decline
in mega investments of USD 100 million and above led to a significant drop in
total investment amounts. However, excluding these large investments,
investments in the first quarter of 2024 were at similar levels to the first
quarter of 2022. This shows that there is resilience and resilience at the core
of the ecosystem.
Resource:startupcentrum.com/ 2024 - Q1 Turkish Startup Ecosystem Funding Report
