ANALYSIS OF INVESTMENTS TO STARTUPS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC PERIOD IN TURKEY

Abstract

COVID-19 affected many industries in the world; the increasing uncertainty about how long the process will continue in the world economy has caused a decrease in consumer demand and a decline in money flow in the financial system. In the present study, it is targeted to deeply analyze the period which is called as new-normal and guide ecosystem members in terms of the investments received by the Turkish entrepreneurship ecosystem. Content analysis is one of the qualitative research methods used in this study. Content analysis was applied to two news bulletins from March 2020 to May 2021. As a result of the study, it is found that total investments exceed 1 billion $, average investment per startup was up to 10 thousand $, more than 200 startups receive investment. Investments were mostly made in a seed funding round. Investment amounts of Pre-seed, Seri A, B, C, D, F funding rounds were consistent with Turkey averages. On the other hand, the seed funding rounds’ investment amounts were significantly above the Turkey averages. The highest number of startups which receive investments were seen in the information technologies and services field of activity. The highest amount of investments was made in the marketplace field of activity. The maximum investment amount of 2021 belongs to the marketplace startup Getir. During the new-normal period the Turkish entrepreneurship ecosystem continued to grow but the average investment amount per startup was below the European and American averages. It is crucial to carry out studies in the Turkish entrepreneurial ecosystem through the public and private sectors and the ecosystem still needs to increase investments.