ISTANBUL has been regarded as the capital of commerce, investment and culture for centuries. In line with the 21st century’s changing approach to business and investment, this megacity is now taking a new step to strengthen its mission of being a new-generation investor and startup centre. Terminal Istanbul will be actualized with the transformation of Atatürk Airport’s former terminal buildings and become an attraction centre for global startups, investors and technology companies.

While intending to boost Türkiye’s technology, innovation, and startup ecosystem, the project also aims to position Istanbul at the top of global technology rankings. The terminal’s buildings will be transformed this year, opening the centre to international business.

TWO THOUSAND TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES

Terminal Istanbul will become the world’s most extensive technology and startup centre, serving 2,000 technology startups in a 138,600-square-meter venue.

Thus, Türkiye’s largest technopark capable of holding tens of events yearly, will be founded. This technopark will host modern offices, business incubators, accelerator programs, joint workspaces, and R&D laboratories that will speed up innovative projects.

A GIANT ECOSYSTEM

Terminal Istanbul has been designed as an ecosystem to facilitate the technological cooperation of local and foreign investors. This ecosystem will provide many facilities, such as modern office areas, research and development centres, accelerator programs, and mentorship services. Various events will be held to support the startup ecosystem, allowing direct contact with investors.

A TECHNOLOGY BASE

Reflecting Türkiye’s vision of digital transformation and technology development, Terminal Istanbul intends to elevate Türkiye to higher ranks in technology. Aiming to build a strong connection with the European, Asian and Middle Eastern markets with the help of Istanbul’s strategic location, the centre will enable the startups to access global platforms.

CAPITAL OF STARTUPS

Upon the launch of Terminal Istanbul, Istanbul has the potential to become one of the most influential centres of startups like Silicon Valley. This centre will shape Türkiye’s future in innovation, and startups will assume a critical role in global technology and innovation.

NEW GENERATION TECHNOPARK

Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Minister of Industry and Technology, noted that Istanbul’s visionary project, Terminal Istanbul, would become the world’s largest centre for technology startups. Underlining that Atatürk Airport, hosting flights for many years, served as a meeting point, Kacır added, “We are turning the terminal into a technology startup centre. We will be building Türkiye’s largest technopark in a vast space, yet it will differ from our traditional technoparks. It will be a gigantic centre where diverse stakeholders implement tens of accelerator programs, where instead of a single technopark, multiple technoparks carry out accelerator programs with the private sector companies.”

STARTUPS IN ALL AREAS

Minister Kacır underlined that Terminal İstanbul would simultaneously become a center with development infrastructures, workshops, and laboratories and continued, “Terminal İstanbul will genuinely contribute to Istanbul and Türkiye’s quest for technology startups. We have been planning 34 accelerating programs for Terminal Istanbul and wish to cooperate with different stakeholders of each vertical ecosystem.”

Stating, “We do not plan this site to develop through public administration; we aim to realize the Terminal Istanbul dream with all the ecosystem.” Kacır added, “We dream of a centre where hundreds of stakeholders from finance technologies to gaming technologies, healthcare technologies to the defence industry and aerospace technologies gather.”

Europe and Middle East’s technology hub

Terminal Istanbul will not only become a local technology fort. The site aims to become a technology hub of Europe and the Middle East. The centre aims to draw critical investments to the country and create new business opportunities. In Türkiye, the number of teknoparks increased to 101 from 2, while the startups focusing on R&D and innovation in these technoparks rose to over 10 thousand from 56. R&D and design centres emerged, and their number exceeded 600. TÜBİTAK’s BiGG programs enabled the establishment of 2 thousand 293 technology

startups.

ICOC’s role in the project

Şekib Avdagiç, President of ICOC, stated that they have always supported startups and entrepreneurs through the Data Commercialisation Center and Teknopark, claiming that Terminal Istanbul would become one of the world’s largest startup and innovation centres.

Avdagiç mentioned ICOC’s role in the project, and underlined that Istanbul

would become a technology attraction centre with the launch of Terminal Istanbul.

Avdagiç added, “Terminal Istanbul will provide opportunities for local and global startups to develop business areas and open to global markets. This centre will not suffice with offering a physical venue to startups; it will also enable them to build global ties and benefit them from its technological infrastructures.”

Technology workshops and science centres

Experimental Technology Workshops, Science Centers and a Children’s University will remain within Terminal Istanbul to contribute to young people’s development. Terminal Istanbul will revitalize the city’s economic, social, and cultural aspects. Talented students in middle and high schools will attend the experiment and teamwork-based training courses at the Experimental Technology Workshops, which will extend over a 2 thousand 700 square meter area.

SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT SCHOOLS

The Science Center to be founded will host over a million visitors annually in a 31,000-square-meter space and will be Türkiye’s largest science centre. The Software Development Schools will offer free software development training to young people over 18 in a 3,000-square-meter venue.

CHILDREN’S UNIVERSITY

A 2,700 square meter education environment where a thousand children between the ages of 10-13 will learn theoretical information in science and technology by experimenting will be formed with the Children’s University.