Fintech
TÜBITAK and Fintech Firms Support Startup Ecosystem in First Half
According to industry data, in the first half of the year, the Turkish entrepreneurial system managed to raise a total of $587 million in investments through 235 deals in the seed, early and later venture capital stages.
Of those, 53 deals were closed in the second quarter, bringing in $476 million, startups.watch data showed, announced at an event this week. Excluding the deal from rapid delivery pioneer Getir, $337 million was invested in the first six months.
Compared to the pre-pandemic period, deal size in the first half of 2024 was 417% higher than in all of 2019, even excluding the Getir deal, which raised $250 million.
BiGG Fund of the Scientific and Technological Research Institute of Turkey (TÜBITAK), previously a grant fund and now a pre-seed fund, has once again demonstrated its important role in the ecosystem.
According to data from startups.watch, the fund alone financed 136 of the 142 initial investments made from January to June.
In the later stages, ongoing investments have helped fintech startups set new records. This shows the substantial impact of TÜBITAK and fintech startups on the ecosystem.
The TÜBITAK BiGG fund supports startups in sectors such as biotechnology, health technology and electronics. The fund helped Türkiye rank second in Europe in seed investments in the first half of 2024.
The total investment in the first six months highlights the dynamism of the startup ecosystem. The TÜBITAK BiGG Fund provides crucial support, especially to startups in the seed stage.
Fintech Impact
Fintech startups have managed to attract record amounts of investment. Capitalizing on the momentum it has gained, the financial technology sector continues to grow by attracting large amounts of capital and making international acquisitions.
In the first half of 2024, companies such as Colendi, Dgpays, Midas and Sipay have received investments of over $15 million.
These large-scale investments brought total capital raised by fintech startups from January to June to $181.5 million across 13 deals, as the sector continues to grow through both local and international acquisitions.
For example, Papara acquired Pakistan-based SadaPay and iyzico acquired Paynet. This growth positions the fintech sector as a key player in Turkey’s startup ecosystem.
In the first half of the year, women entrepreneurs were involved in 66 of the 235 investments, reaching the highest rate in the last five years (28%) and demonstrating growing support for women entrepreneurs.
Startups funded through seed
In Turkey, only 3.4% of startups that secure early-stage investment manage to raise Series A funding. This percentage is 15.8% in the UK and 21% in Germany.
Of the 235 investments made in the first half of the year, only 12 involved foreign investors, indicating little international interest.
The number of crowdfunding campaigns continued to decline in the second quarter. In addition to economic factors, a lack of adequate investment, a lack of successful returns, and poor reputation management are also believed to contribute to this decline. This shows that alternative financing methods are not being used effectively.
Spyke Games Investment
Colendi, Dgpays, Midas and Sipay have each received over $15 million in investments, taking fintech investment to a new level.
Data showed that artificial intelligence (AI) was the most invested vertical in the first half of 2024.
Turkey ranked second in Europe in terms of the amount and number of gambling investments, just after the United Kingdom.
Spyke Games has become the second most invested in gaming startup in Europe in the first half of 2024, raising $50 million.
The number of venture capital investment funds (VCIFs) approved for incorporation has reached 380, of which 15 are inactive. More than half of these funds were incorporated after 2022.
As of the end of the first half of 2024, there were 85 corporate venture capital (CVC) funds active in Turkey.