Automotiv Exports July 2022

More than 300 Turkish
startups attract over
$1.5B investment in 2021
More than 300 startups from Turkey
received a total investment of over $1.5
billion last year, breaking the record of all
time, Industry and Technology Minister
Mustafa Varank said.
He said, accordingly, Turkey “was promoted
to the highest league in Europe.”
Varank was speaking in a video message he
sent to the 6th New Generation
Varank stated that until a few years
ago, Turkey was unfamiliar with the
term “unicorn” and reiterated that in
the Industry and Technology Strategy
announced in 2019, the target of at least
10 unicorns by 2023 was set.
Stating that six unicorns – startups with a
valuation of over $1 billion – have emerged
from Turkey to date, Varank said, “Two of
them reached the decacorn level, that is, a
valuation of over $10 billion.”
“This of course aroused great excitement
about the potential of our entrepreneurial
ecosystem both at home and abroad,” he
said.
Noting that such successful developments
took place during the heaviest period of
shocks such as the pandemic, Varank said
that “Turcorns,” which were produced in an
environment where production and trade
almost came to a standstill, are the sign of
a new generation economy for the country.
Varank uses the term “Turcorn” to describe
Turkish “unicorns.”
JULY 2022 52