An event organized by one of the pioneering private banks in Türkiye this week brought together entrepreneurs engaged in agriculture with stakeholders in the investment ecosystem to discuss cooperation and partnership opportunities.
The “Innovative Agricultural Technologies” event of the Turkish Economy Bank (TEB) promotes five startups focused on new generation agricultural technologies and brings them together with an experienced angel investment network.
One of the oldest financial institutions in Türkiye, TEB itself launched the Private Angel Investment Platform in 2013 aimed at supporting data-based innovation in the investment world and offering its customers alternative investment areas. .
New areas of investment
Supporting applications that contribute to the creation of a sustainable economy, society and environment, TEB says it focuses on providing social benefits by placing sustainability at the center of business systems and manufacturing processes. decision.
This led the lender to group its activities under the Private Angel Investment Platform to support the changing world of investment and continue to provide customers with new areas for investment. It regularly organizes various events to bring together the startup ecosystem and investors.
Data-oriented innovation
The “Innovative Agricultural Technologies” event took place just a few months after TEB organized its latest gathering under the theme “Social Entrepreneurs Aiming at Ecological Sustainability.”
Its final meeting brought together technology and data-oriented entrepreneurs operating in the field of agriculture with ecosystem stakeholders.
Held with the support of TEB Venture Banking, TIM-TEB Venture House, TEB Women Banking and TEB Fintech Future Four, all of whom have experience working with entrepreneurs and investors, the event was marked by an opening speech by TEB Retail Banking Group marketing and customer experience director, Hayri Telekoğlu.
In addition, the founder of the industry monitor startups.watch Serkan Ünsal shared the latest data related to the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Türkiye and revealed the Agritech Startups Map in Türkiye, prepared with the support of TEB.
5 startups on stage
The executives of the five startups, namely Cowealthy founder and CEO Ismail Bican, GÖRSENTAM Agricultural Technologies founder and CEO Mert Demirel, Nanomik founding partner and CEO Buse Berber Örçen, Ne Ekersen founding partner and CEO Emre Taşkıran and Uptechlabs founding partner and CEO Mert Kalaycı, talked about their initiatives and answered the questions of angel investors in the event that also discussed technologies and investment opportunities in the field of agriculture.
Initiatives that develop solutions in agriculture, animal husbandry, biological conservation and hydroponic farming answer questions about investment and growth potential.
Key to smart money
The closing panel of the event saw ŞirketOrtağım Deputy Chair Mehmet Buldurgan, Keiretsu Forum Türkiye General Manager Duygu Eren, Galata Business Angels Secretary-General Ata Uzunhasan and Angel Effect Chair Board Gökhan Akar discussed the functions and work of angel investment networks in Turkey’s investment world.
The panelists particularly emphasized that venture capital investment funds, whose number has recently exceeded 200, will have different functions in the future. They also draw attention to the differences that angel investment networks offer in teaching and investing money.
Technology-oriented agricultural enterprises
Gökhan Mendi, deputy general manager of the Turkish Economy Bank, emphasized that the lender took the first steps in 2013 through the simultaneous implementation of the Angel Investment Platform and Venture Banking.
“Venture Banking has been working with entrepreneurs for many years. Under this umbrella, we have established TIM-TEB Venture Houses in seven provinces so far, and we have created 11 Technology Portfolios in eight of our branches. Thank you of this, we have worked with more than 1,700 startups and supported the establishment of a scaleup company,” said Mendi.
He recalled that they organized the first meeting in June with the theme “Social Entrepreneurs Aiming at Ecological Sustainability,” before turning to discussions about agricultural technologies.
“There are successful startups that want to invest in this regard. Therefore, we want to unite entrepreneurs operating in the field of agriculture and corporate customers by organizing the meeting on ‘Innovative Agricultural Technologies’,” added said Mendi.
“Our goal is to discuss technological investments in agriculture and to promote changes in this area. We think that technology-based startups should increase in a country with fertile soil, lots of water and sun like Türkiye.
New cooperation platform for health startups
Meanwhile, the Turkish pharmaceutical company Sanofi Türkiye launched a cooperation with TT Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Türk Telekom, under the PharmUp Hub, which aims to strengthen the startup ecosystem involved in the field of health.
The PharmUp Entrepreneurship Program, implemented by Sanofi Türkiye in 2019, has for three years successfully brought together entrepreneurs from all fields and sectors to create solutions for the healthcare sector.
Aiming to get the project even this year, the company started working on transforming PharmUp into a multi-stakeholder trading platform based in Türkiye to increase global competition in the field of healthcare. health and strengthen the country’s innovation ecosystem.
In this context, the PharmUp Hub Platform, one of the largest innovation interfaces in Türkiye in the field of digital health, was launched.
The scope of cooperation is aimed at supporting project development processes for entrepreneurs and transforming value-added innovation and technology-based projects into products by creating a scientific platform.
Potential startups can benefit from the workplace offices offered by TT Ventures, mentoring support and the know-how that will help them turn their ideas into products and services.
The cooperation process that started between Sanofi Türkiye and TT Ventures is intended to be expanded with the participation of technoparks, incubation centers and the private sector.
Innovation platform
PharmUp Hub, which, together with corporate partners, universities and incubation centers, offers startup laboratories, thematic innovation programs, workshops, expert support and information sources, has become a innovation platform this year, said the head of the country of Sanofi Türkiye and Sanofi Türkiye, Africa and the Middle East Basic Products President Cem Öztürk.
“The cooperation that we have made with TT Ventures is an important step that we have taken to realize our goal. We are happy that we will create value for entrepreneurs in the field of health and for the national economy with the support that will be offered to this cooperation,” said Öztürk.
For his part, TT Ventures General Manager Muhammed Özhan said that they believe that the cooperation that will start with Sanofi will also find itself a place in the global arena by expanding to Türkiye in the near future.
“As TT Ventures, we will continue to develop the entrepreneurship ecosystem by adapting the technical knowledge we have to various projects with the aim of becoming a bridge that opens startups to the world,” said Özhan.
