Start-ups meeting with New Generation Financing

ENHANCER aims to gather national and international companies and Turkish and Syrian entrepreneurs to facilitate business relations and, explore new marketing opportunities. For this purpose, the Start-up and Investor Meeting, which brought together entrepreneurs with investors and financing channels and provided information on their access to alternative finance, took place online on June 8, 2022. This organization carried out both capacity building and access to alternative finance functions.

20 selected start-ups from 85 participants made presentations to investors. At the end of the day, a total of 6 start-ups were awarded in the categories of presentation performance, persuasion, innovation, team, social impact, and investment potential. The winners received an award of 200 thousand TL in total.

The winning teams were ECO-MBM with 98 points, Mikropix with 94 points, Digitalwisers with 92 points, Tolkido with 83 points, Tipstory and Dr@Need with 70 points.

Hakan Yurtseven, who graduated from Istanbul University Faculty of Business Administration, started his banking career as a Commercial Banking Branch sales manager at Interbank in 1997. After ten years in the field as a portfolio manager and Branch Manager, Hakan Yurtseven continues to work as the Corporate Banking Sales and Marketing Business Line Manager at the Head Office of Türk Ekonomi Bankası; In 2013, he assumed the duty of Aegean Regional Director of Turkish Economy Bank. He has been working as Marketing and Business Development Director at Teb since October 2019.

Ali Tirkeş is an entrepreneur who graduated from Middle East Technical University, Department of Business Administration. Tirkeş, who started his working life at Unilever after university, entered the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the following years. He was among the founders of many startups, such as Fongogo, Paybyme, Vivlive, Fintegre, and Oberon. He is still actively working as a manager at Fongogo and Fintegre. Tirkeş, also an angel investor, continues investing in young entrepreneurs

Rasha Alfakhry, Financial Advisor, is the CEO and co-founder of startup consultancy Angels Board. She is also the founding partner of CFO and CRM solutions AARAM GROUP and a founding member of the Digital Istanbul organization for the Arab technology community. She specializes in financial modeling, financial management, business valuation, and credit risk management.

Merve Yaşaroğlu graduated from Middle East Technical University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Environmental Engineering.She worked as a research assistant in the same department during his graduate studies. She holds an MBA degree from Bilkent University.Yaşaroğlu started her professional career at the Technology Development Foundation of Turkey (TTGV) in 2010; During her term at TTGV as a project and program manager, she managed the project finance activities of the private sector for sustainability investments, private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) fund investments, and acceleration and investment programs for startups. She managed the investment processes for early and growing technology startups at Teknoloji Yatırım A.Ş, where she worked as a portfolio manager between 2019 and 2021. Joining the Turkish Development Fund in 2021, Yaşaroğlu has managed the venture capital (VC) funds under the Turkey Development Fund since that date.

Hale Umul graduated from Ankara College in 1985 and from Boğaziçi University, Department of Business Administration, in 1989. She has twenty years of corporate management history at two leading companies in their sectors, Procter & Gamble and Frito Lay. In 2015, he started active angel investing as one of the founders of TRAngels Financial Services AŞ and Angel Investment Network.

Ali Halabi, a former Procter & Gamble employee with more than 8 years of sales and marketing experience covering the Middle East, North Africa, and Caucasus geographies, studied Marketing and Business at the University of Lebanon in Beirut. Ali Halabi has over 3 years of UI/UX experience.

İmran Gürakan was born on August 30, 1988, in Ankara. Imran Gürakan, who spent her primary and high school years in Ankara, graduated from the Department of Statistics at Middle East Technical University and then completed her master’s degree in Business Management at Hacettepe University. She received training on international technology entrepreneurship and technology center management in many different countries, especially in South Korea and America, and published 3 different international articles, 1 of which was awarded. Imran Gürakan, who has accomplished successful projects in the entrepreneurship ecosystem, started her business life at BNB Project Management company in 2013; Between 2015 and 2021, she worked as a Specialist, Leader, and then Manager in the Entrepreneurship, Collaboration and Technology Transfer Unit at Bilkent CYBERPARK. At the end of 2021, she became the CEO of Ankara TEKMER and LEAP Investment. Ankara TEKMER is Turkey’s first private enterprise Technology Development Center and provides a comfortable and
modern working environment for entrepreneurs. LEAP Investment, which set out with the aim of providing smart capital to early-stage technology startups, supports the development of
entrepreneurs with the capital, consultancy, and mentorship it provides.

Ahu Büyükkuşoğlu Serter was born in 1973. Ahu Büyükkuşoğlu Serter graduated from Bilkent University Faculty of Science and received an Investment Management master’s degree from Pace University. After returning to Turkey, Serter took part in the Farplas Board of Directors, of which she is currently the chairwoman. In 2006, she invested in MATA Wood Coated Decorative Parts company. She carried the company, which was about to go bankrupt, to the top of its field. By creating Turkey’s first art hotel, Casa dell’Arte, she proved once again that she is one of Turkey’s most successful women entrepreneurs. Focusing on technology, smart transportation, and women-led companies, Serter is one of the most respected angel investors in Turkey with more than 35 investments and was selected as the “Enterprising Women of the Year” in the US $100M and above category. Ahu Serter is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Fark Holding, which consists of companies operating in the fields of automotive (Farplas, Farform, Faraero), white goods (Farel), and tourism (Casa dell’Arte Hotels of Art & Leisure). In addition to Fark Holding, she is a board member of many industrial companies. Serter is also the founder of Fplus Ventures, a venture arm of Farplas.

  • Tamer Kılıç (Head of Region, Western Balkans and Turkey Regional Office, ICMPD)
  • Ahmet Şimşek (Assistant General Manager, Ministry of Industry and Technology, General Directorate of Development Agencies)

Pınar Yapanoğlu (Portfolio Manager, ICMPD)

Moderator: Filiz Alsaç (Head of Department of Regional Development Agencies, Ministry of Industry and Technology, General Directorate of Development Agencies)

  • Hakan Yurtseven (SME Banking Director, TEB)
  • Ali Nihat Tirkeş (Co-founder, Fongogo)
  • Rasha Alfakhry (Startup Financial Advisor, Angels Board)
  • Merve Yaşaroğlu (VC Projects Leader, Turkey Development Fund)

Moderator: Pınar Yapanoğlu (Portfolio Manager, ICMPD)

  • Hale Umul (Co-Founder, TR Angels)
  • Ali Halabi (CEO & Founder, Volt Lines)
  • İmran Gürakan (CEO, Ankara Tekmer & LEAP Investment)
  • Ahu Büyükkuşoğlu Serter (Founder, Arya Kadın Yatırım Platformu)

Selin Kılıç, (Corporate Trainer, Entrepreneur and SME Mentor, Mentor-Der)

  • Enis Erdem Yurdatapan, (Entrepreneur Relations Director, fonbulucu)

Kıvılcım Çaylı (MBA,FMVA Managing Partner, Pareto Ventures)

“Connecting Worlds Through Social Entrepreneurship”

Room 1 Start-up Presentations for Jury Members

(5 minute-presentation, total 15 minutes)

Jury Members:

  • Rasha Alfakhry (Startup Financial Advisor, Angels Board)
  • Kemal Payza (Invester Relations Director, fonbulucu)
  • Kjell Hausmann (Co-Founder, NorwegianFashionOutlet.no)
  • Start-up 1: Ebdaa Yazılım / 13:35 – 13:50
  • Start-up 2: Tipstory / 13:55 – 14:10
  • Start-up 3: Teknofidan / 14:15 – 14:30
  • Start-up 4: Crowia / 14:35 – 14:50
  • Start-up 5: Developed Technologies / 14:55 – 15:10
  • Start-up 6: Bidustry / 15:15 – 15:30
  • Start-up 7: Matbaat / 15:35 – 15:50
  • Start-up 8: Tolkido / 15:55 – 16:10
  • Start-up 9: Dr@need / 16:15 – 16:30
  • Start-up 10: Kargoing / 16:35 – 16:50

Room 2 Start-up Presentations for Jury Members

(5 minute-presentation, total 15 minutes)

Jury Members:

  • Hakan Yurtseven (SME Banking Director, TEB)
  • İmran Gürkan (CEO, Ankara Tekmer)
  • Michael Topolnytsky (Leader and Consultant, , Human Capital)
  • Start-up 11: Tradfo / 13:35 – 13:50
  • Start-up 12: Anadolu Robotic / 13:55 – 14:10
  • Start-up 13: Iatranslate / 14:15 – 14:30
  • Start-up 14: Mikropix Elektronik/ 14:35 – 14:50
  • Start-up 15: Intelligent Recruiter Smart HR / 14:55 – 15:10
  • Start-up 16: Tunna Tarım / 15:15 – 15:30
  • Start-up 17: EKO-MBM / 15:35 – 15:50
  • Start-up 18: Alnemer Arge/ 15:55 – 16:10
  • Start-up 19: DigitalWisers / 16:15 – 16:30
  • Start-up 20: Dostfood / 16:35 – 16:50

Tamer Kılıç (Head of Region, Western Balkans and Turkey Regional Office, ICMPD)