Turkey's Start-Up Scene Comes of Age

ANTALYA — With Turkey displaying that rare commodity among European economies — growth — the country has attracted a great deal of attention from venture capitalists looking for investments. Burak Buyukdemir, founder of the Startup Turkey conference, says the last six months have seen a big change in Turkey’s start-up scene, fueled by Amazon’s deal last December to acquire a minority stake in online flower retailer, Ciceksepeti. This follows eBay’s purchase of GittiGidiyor, one of the country’s leading marketplaces.

Mr. Buyukdemir, speaking at this weekend’s Startup Turkey conference in Antalya, says this has made Turkish start-ups start to look outside their own borders. Last year, when TechEurope interviewed Mr. Buyukdemir on the TechTour, he characterized the Turkish start-up community as still being heavily dependent on “clones,” Turkish copies of successful models. Now, he suggested, more original companies are coming to the fore. (WSJ)
Last modified onSaturday, 06 May 2017 10:07