Entrepreneur-Investor Meet-up, hosted by Borsa İstanbul Private Market, organized jointly with Istanbul University Technology Transfer Office, brought technology start-ups together with investors
Istanbul University Technology Transfer Office and Borsa İstanbul Private Market, engaged in mutual support towards creating a technology-oriented entrepreneurial ecosystem, jointly realized an “Investor-Entrepreneur Meet-up” at Borsa İstanbul. 28 companies established in Istanbul University Teknokent and Technology Transfer Office, some of which are also members of Borsa İstanbul Private Market, met investors of the Private Market at the event.
In his speech, Borsa İstanbul Chief Operating Officer Çetin Ali Dönmez noted that Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME) constitute 99.8% of the total number of businesses and 74.2% of employment in Turkey, and in most countries, certain measures are taken to facilitate access by SMEs to finance for the sake of supporting entrepreneurship. Dönmez added that, within this framework, capital markets actors must focus more on the financing of entrepreneurship and it is necessary to establish and operate more effective mechanisms to allow entrepreneurs to meet investors.
Dönmez went on to say, “With this in mind, we established the Private Market in 2014. Private Market does not operate as a trading platform only, but offers entrepreneurs the mentorship and network they need, in addition to allowing investors to exit investments. We believe that, if only we can provide the required financing structure, we can create global success stories from the Turkish entrepreneurial ecosystem, which includes the entrepreneurs operating in Istanbul University Teknokent and Technology Transfer Office, and some of which are here with us today. We believe that the Private Market plays a key role in the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Turkey”.
In his speech on behalf of Istanbul University, Acting President Prof. Halis Yunus Ersöz expressed their gratitude to Borsa İstanbul for their support, and said, “Despite the global crisis, Turkey is rapidly growing. However, we are short of savings, and cannot find sufficient resources for investments. Turkey has some deficiencies with regard to attracting investors. We have targets for 2023; but despite this, the share of high-tech products in the total exports is quite small. Unless we can increase this share, and grow the current investments with companies, it would be impossible to realize the 2023 targets in exports. Borsa İstanbul’s Private Market truly deserves appreciation and shows the efforts aimed at creating similar structures. There should be more of such environments that bring together investors and entrepreneurs. Universities work hard, governmental bodies work hard, the business world works hard; but we just need investments to accelerate these efforts”.
Ersöz emphasized that the Turkish business world should learn to allocate resources to Research & Development in order to settle their problems, and went on to say, “It does not seem possible to create a competitive and globally leading Turkey merely on the basis of public resources only. Therefore, I believe that the resources allocated by the private sector to R&D activities should be increased”.
Tens of investors that participated in the company-investor meet-up had an opportunity to meet innovative companies at Istanbul University Teknokent and Technology Transfer Office. Through stands and presentations, companies promoted the technological products they developed to investors and had access to investment through the Private Market.
Borsa İstanbul Chief Operating Officer Çetin Ali Dönmez
Istanbul University, Acting President Prof. Halis Yunus Ersöz
