Turkish minister outlines ambitious national vision to create 100,000 startups
Industry Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir has announced Türkiye's goal to foster 100,000 tech startups and achieve a combined $100 billion valuation for its "turcorns" by 2030. Speaking at a summit, he highlighted support from inception to global scaling, noting the country now has seven homegrown unicorns, six directly backed by the ministry.
Türkiye has laid out a comprehensive and ambitious national strategy to position itself as a global powerhouse for technology entrepreneurship, Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir announced on Wednesday. Addressing the Take Off Istanbul Startup Summit, Kacir stated the country's goal is to cultivate 100,000 technology startups and have its cohort of high-value "turcorn" companies reach a collective valuation of $100 billion by the year 2030.
Holistic Support System and Global Success Stories
Minister Kacir emphasized that Türkiye is building a complete support ecosystem covering every stage of a startup's lifecycle—from initial ideation and company formation to sustainable growth and international expansion. He cited tangible success, noting that Türkiye now boasts seven unicorns (dubbed "turcorns"), a significant leap from having none before 2019. "Six of these turcorns have been directly supported by our ministry," he said, highlighting the impact of state-backed programs.
Expanding Capital Access and the Turcorn 100 Program
Recognizing that traditional, collateral-based financing is unsuitable for most early-stage innovators, Kacir stressed that the ministry has "broadened the capital pipeline available to entrepreneurs." A flagship initiative, the Turcorn 100 Program, provides end-to-end support for scaling companies aiming for global markets, with 35 candidates already receiving comprehensive backing from both government and private sector partners.
Foundation in R&D and Defense Industry Transformation
The minister linked the startup drive to a broader national transformation in research and development. He reported that annual R&D expenditure has surged from $1.2 billion in the early 2000s to $20 billion today, with R&D personnel skyrocketing from 29,000 to over 310,000. This capacity, he argued, underpins advanced technology development, most visibly in the defense industry, where self-reliance has become a strategic imperative given regional security challenges.
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