Crowdfunding platforms further empower startups in Turkey, with 44 campaigns in the first nine months of 2023 raising a total of $16 million, according to data released by Industry Monitor Startups Watch.
Turkey has 21 authorized equity-based crowdfunding platforms, nine of which are actively conducting campaigns.
On average, startups secured $363,000 in funding through crowdfunding platforms, marking a 58% increase from the previous year’s average.
Foreign investors participated in 10% of angel and venture capital (VC) transactions, marking a six-year low.
Overall, startups in Turkey raised a total of $154 million from 219 investment rounds in the January-September period. The rounds span seed, early, and late-stage ventures.
The overall investment amount declined 47% compared to the previous quarter, marking the lowest figure among the last 13 quarters, the data showed.
By sector, financial technology startups, or fintechs, in Turkey continue to expand through investments and acquisitions. Companies like Param, Colendi, and Papara are inching closer to the billion-dollar valuation mark through collaborations, acquisitions, and investments.
Since the beginning of 2020, Turkey has witnessed the emergence of six unicorns, companies valued at over $1 billion.
Despite a global tightening in investment climates in 2023, fintech startups like Param, Colendi, and Papara are persistently expanding both domestically and internationally through acquisitions, banking, insurance, and payment licenses, as well as collaborations.
The growth of these potential unicorn startups has been significantly influenced by regulatory decisions.
A detailed analysis of startup watches data positions Turkiye as the fourth most active player in the European and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for seed-stage investments, trailing behind the United Kingdom, Germany and France.
In terms of the size of the deals, standout sectors included software as a service (SaaS), artificial intelligence (AI), gaming, retail technology and energy.
As for the number of deals, startups engaged in gaming, AI, SaaS, energy and financial technology, or fintech attracted significant attention from investors.