The first anniversary of Borsa İstanbul Private Market, which brings entrepreneurs and companies with growth potential together with investors without going public, and the official opening of the Global Entrepreneurship Week started with an opening-bell ceremony at Borsa İstanbul. Borsa İstanbul CEO Tuncay Dinç, Habitat Association & International Entrepreneurship Center Chairman Sezai Hazır and Endeavor Turkey Board Member and Entrepreneurship Association Founder and Chairman Sina Afra participated in the ceremony. Aslanoba Capital Chairman Hasan Aslanoba delivered a keynote speech at the panel organized as part of the ceremony.
Borsa İstanbul Private Market, a web-based and member-based platform which brings companies and investors for equity trading without going public, celebrated its first anniversary. Having convened numerous entrepreneurs with growth potential and investors under a single roof during the last year, Borsa İstanbul Private Market hosted the official opening of the Global Entrepreneurship Week. Borsa İstanbul Private Market’s first anniversary and the official opening of the Global Entrepreneurship Week were celebrated at an opening-bell ceremony participated by Borsa İstanbul CEO Tuncay Dinç, Habitat Association & International Entrepreneurship Center Chairman Sezai Hazır, Endeavor Turkey Board Member and Entrepreneurship Association Founder and Chairman Sina Afra, and Aslanoba Capital Chairman Hasan Aslanoba.
In his speech at the ceremony, Borsa İstanbul CEO Tuncay Dinç said; “We are pleased to celebrate the first anniversary of the Private Market as well as the opening of the Global Entrepreneurship Week. Turkey is still far behind its potential in terms of entrepreneurship. Innovation and value-added work require entrepreneurs. Turkey ranks 37th among 58 countries in entrepreneurship. In order to improve this rank, we need to solve entrepreneurs’ problems in accessing capital and consequently, failure to create a business model. Borsa İstanbul Private Market offers this opportunity for entrepreneurial companies that want to raise financing without going public. We believe that Borsa İstanbul Private Market will significantly contribute to Istanbul’s vision to become a financial center”.
At the ceremony, the official opening of the Global Entrepreneurship Week was celebrated. On this occasion, Habitat Association & International Entrepreneurship Center Chairman Sezai Hazır and Endeavor Turkey Board Member and Entrepreneurship Association Founder and Chairman Sina Afra delivered keynote speeches.
Endeavor Turkey Board Member and Entrepreneurship Association Founder and Chairman Sina Afra said, “Successful entrepreneurship will not only provide employment and positive results in the long term, but will also inspire numerous people. This is very important for Turkey’s development and future”.
Habitat Association & International Entrepreneurship Center Chairman Sezai Hazır said, “As co-coordinator of the Global Entrepreneurship Week for Turkey, our most important responsibility is to support the perception of entrepreneurship in all parts of the country, in addition to three metropolitans of Turkey. Within this framework, we now operate in 27 different cities. In line with corporate governance principles, we had access to more than 280 stakeholders and 154 thousand people through nearly 300 activities. Furthermore, we support establishing bridges between the ecosystems in other countries and Turkey by making use of the Global Entrepreneurship Week network”.
The keynote speaker of the Global Entrepreneurship Week was Aslanoba Capital Chairman Hasan Aslanoba. In his speech, Aslanoba said, “There are venture capital funds in Turkey, however, they are few in number and small in size; therefore they are insufficient compared to Turkey’s potential. Currently, a large portion of capital is in the hands of the old decision makers while they fail to understand the business models of the new economy, and therefore, they are afraid to invest. If we want to get closer to the world standards, we need a capital of minimum TL 1 billion in the next five years. Currently, our resources stand at around, roughly TL 200 million; that is to say, our resources must increase by 5 fold. In order to better understand the effects of digital economy and use it to our advantage, we need to improve our digital intelligence. In the past, intelligence in trade was important to succeed, while the key to success today is digital intelligence”.
As part of the Global Entrepreneurship Week, a panel on the Turkish investment ecosystem was organized to celebrate the first anniversary of Borsa İstanbul Private Market. The panel entitled “Venture Capital Ecosystem: Step by Step from Apprentice to Master” was moderated by Endeavour Turkey Secretary General Didem Altop. The speakers were ARYA Women Investment Platform and Farplas Smart Transportation Ventures Founder Ahu Serter, AirTies CEO Bülent Çelebi, 500 Startups Turkey Investment Partner Erhan Erdoğan, Modanisa Chairman Kerim Türe and Borsa İstanbul Executive Vice President Associate Professor Mustafa Kemal Yılmaz.
Following the panel, winners of the competition organized on the occasion of the first anniversary of Borsa İstanbul Private Market as well as persons and institutions that supported the development of the Market were presented their awards.
Global Entrepreneurship Week will be celebrated in 160 different countries between November 16 and 22. Mynet is the digital media sponsor of the event. Events of the week can be followed from www.globalgirisimcilikhaftasi.com as well as social media channels.
Award Winners:
BEEO & APIHEAL / SBS Bilimsel Bio Çözümler Sn. ve Tic. LTD. ŞTİ. - Borsa İstanbul Private Market Fastest Growing Start-Up Company in 2014
HESAPKURDU / Konut Kredisi Com Tr Danışmanlık A.Ş. – Borsa İstanbul Private Market Second Fastest Growing Start-Up Company in 2014
WORDEGO / Metin Madenciliği Yazılımları A.Ş. – Borsa İstanbul Private Market Third Fastest Growing Start-Up Company in 2014
DECKON ASMA TAVAN SİSTEMLERİ / Şems Metal San. Ve Tic. A.Ş. – Borsa İstanbul Private Market Fastest Growing Rising Company in 2014
MODANİSA ELEKTRONİK MAĞAZACILIK VE TİCARET A.Ş. – Borsa İstanbul Private Market Second Fastest Growing Rising Company in 2014
UZAY GÜVENLİK DANIŞMANLIKVE ÖZEL EĞİTİM HİZMETLERİ TİCARET A.Ş. – Borsa İstanbul Private Market Third Fastest Growing Rising Company in 2014
HASAN ASLANOBA – Borsa İstanbul Private Market Largest Individual Investor of Venture Companies in Turkey in 2015
REVO CAPİTAL - Borsa İstanbul Private Market Largest Institutional Investor of Venture Companies in Turkey
TEB ÖZEL MYP AĞI – Borsa İstanbul Private Market Largest Angel Investor Network of Venture Capital Companies in Turkey in 2015
Atilla Köksal
Burak Büyükdemir
Cenk Bayrakdar
İhsan Elgin
Göktekin Dinçerler
Murat Özgen
Sina Afra
Özlü Yalaza
