CROSSING THE BRIDGE - March 2016

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND SEED-STAGE VENTURE CAPITAL FUNDS IN TURKEY

As the technology transfer ecosystem in Turkey is changing swiftly, new players as Turkey’s first independently managed technology transfer and venture capital funds come into the picture. These funds are co-financed by the European Union (EU) and the Republic of Turkey.

European Union started to support teams in Turkey in 2014 through the Technology Transfer Accelerator Turkey (TTA Turkey).

TTA Turkey is an initiative designed by the European Investment Fund (EIF) in cooperation with the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology, the Scientific and Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), the Delegation of the European Union to Turkey and the DG Regional Policy of the European Commission. (www.eif.org/what_we_do/resources/tta/index.htm)

TTA aims to achieve two main objectives:

(i) Setting-up a financially sustainable fund by facilitating the commercialization of scientific research and development (R&D) confined at universities and research centers
(ii) Catalyzing development of the technology transfer market in Turkey, with a particular emphasis on spill-overs to the less developed/developing regions of Turkey. The project will encourage the commercialization of R&D is an underserved value chain in Turkey, lacking private investment.

In the first call of TTA Turkey, the Diffusion Capital Partners (DCP) became the first selected managed technology transfer and venture capital funds in Turkey. The total funding raised by DCP is approximately $30M. The DCP exclusively invests in technology, IP intensive projects, and start-ups and aims to work side by side with scientists to build business from the ground up and accelerate diffusion of innovations from lab to market. (www.dcp.vc).

In 2015, another group, Accelerating the Commercialization of Technology Venture Capital (ACT), was selected by EU and the total funds raised by ACT is $27.95 M. Similar to DCP’s mission, ACT also provides proof of concept, prototype and seed stage investments to IP intensive projects and university spinouts & startups. ACT plans to invest in 20-25 projects by the end of 2017. The fund solely invests in technologies in “Technology Readiness Level” (http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/wp/2014_2015/annexes/h2020-wp1415-annex-g-trl_en.pdf) (TRL) 4 and up with global expansion potential.  DCP pays specific attention to the following disruptive technologies: micro and nano-electronics, Internet of Things, robotics, advanced materials, clean technologies, biotechnology and medical technologies. The investment size ranges between EUR 50K and EUR 2,5 Million (http://act-vc.com).

These funds can be an interest to the innovators from all over the world, including the Turkish science diaspora in the US as long as they are actively involved in research in Turkey.  If you have an exciting technology with a potential for fast transition from lab to market and if you are ready to explore market in Turkey, then you may consider seeking investments from both DCP and ACT funds.

Please explore these opportunities further and contribute towards improving the R&D commercialization capabilities of Turkey. Considering the volume of the deal flow in the US, competing for investment in Turkey may be advantageous and profitable for the researchers/innovators/entrepreneurs in the US.

References:
1. http://www.eif.org/what_we_do/resources/tta/index.htm
2. http://www.dcp.vc
3. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/act-venture-partners#/entity
4. http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/wp/2014_2015/annexes/h2020-wp1415-annex-g-trl_en.pdf
5. http://act-vc.com