BY HILAL SONMEZ
The venture capital company Kultepe Yatirim has invested TRY 2m in seven different business ideas since 2020, according to Ibrahim Ulukaya, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kultepe Yatırım. The company will carry out various projects to provide fast and flexible smart money support needed by ventures towards rapid growth.
Kultepe Yatirim was founded in 2019 by 20 licensed angel investors reside in Kayseri. The firm, which focuses on technology and invests in ventures from all fields able to rapidly be scaled, is the first venture capital (VC) company established among the Anatolian cities, according to Ulukaya. “We primarily evaluate the early-and-seed-stage ventures. We provide the technology-based ventures located in Anatolia to quickly access to the required capital, knowledge and networks. This contributes to the development of technology and ecosystem in the region,” said Ulukaya.
Kultepe Yatirim also explore the future of the relevant sector, technology and innovations by hearing entrepreneurs at the entrepreneur-investor meeting organized at least once a month with its partners and investors.
Eyes TRY 50m venture capital investment fund
As Says Ulukaya, Kultepe Yatirim started to actively invest in 2020, while they make investments in a 6-digit process and set up a system in which both idea owners and investors win. The company aims to contribute to rapid growth of ventures in Anatolia by supporting them. “We carry out joint works for entrepreneurs’ investment processes with the incubation centers, institutions implementing the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey’s (TUBITAK) Individual Young Entrepreneur program and acceleration programs in Anatolia for qualified ventures to exist,” said Ulukaya.
They also want to develop collaborations across the region so that incubation centers provide mentorship support with programs they implement and ventures ready to invest can emerge. Moreover, the company plans to make investment in more ventures and develop its portfolio with the aim to launch the SPK-confirmed (Capital Markets Board of Turkey) venture capital investment fund with a size of TRY 50m. “People and companies that believe the future is in technology driven ventures, will be able to invest in this fund. Moreover, investors will benefit from the 35% tax advantage,” said Ulukaya.
USD 120m investment in 132 ventures
USD 120m investment was made in 132 ventures in 2020, according to the Turkey Investment report. Seven of these ventures received over USD 5m funding, while six ventures received two funds in a year. “As Kultepe Investment, we contributed to one of these ventures, Art Lbas’ funding round,” Ulukaya noted. “The amount and number of investments increased in 2020, compared to previous years. We’re determined to make Kayseri the city where entrepreneurs meet with investors in the upcoming years,” he added.
