Fractional CFO services in Istanbul

Istanbul ranked second globally in Dealroom's Tech Ecosystem Index 2025 and third in Startup Genome's Emerging Ecosystems ranking - an eleven-place climb in twelve months driven by $2.6 billion in startup investment in 2024, a 423% year-on-year increase.

The city has produced six unicorns: Trendyol ($16.5 billion, Turkey's most valuable tech company and Alibaba's largest e-commerce asset outside China), Dream Games ($5 billion - Royal Match is the world's #1 puzzle game), Insider (Sequoia-backed enterprise SaaS), Getir (acquired controlling stake by Kaspi.kz in January 2025), Hepsiburada (NASDAQ-listed) and Peak Games (acquired by Zynga for $1.8 billion). Istanbul is also home to Turkey's fastest-growing gaming export cluster, whose combined revenues rank Turkey among Europe's top five games-producing nations.

We work with Istanbul-based startups from seed to Series B+, supporting them on financial modelling, fundraise prep, FP&A, cap table management and M&A readiness.

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Istanbul startup ecosystem

What makes Istanbul's startup ecosystem distinct - its six unicorns, sector concentrations, geographic clusters and the regulatory incentives that make Turkey one of Europe's most tax-advantaged markets for tech company formation.

Six unicorns and a $31 billion combined valuation

Istanbul has produced more unicorns than any other emerging-market city in EMEA: Trendyol ($16.5B), Dream Games ($5B), Insider, Getir, Hepsiburada and Peak Games. In May 2025 alone, Uber paid $700 million for 85% of Trendyol Go (Trendyol's delivery vertical), and Dream Games raised at a $5 billion valuation as Royal Match dethroned Candy Crush as the world's top puzzle game. The combined valuation of Turkey's unicorn cohort exceeds $31 billion.

Gaming and consumer tech as the city's export engine

Istanbul's gaming cluster - anchored by Dream Games in Beşiktaş, Peak Games (Zynga-acquired for $1.8B), and Gram Games - has made Turkey one of Europe's top five games-producing nations by revenue. The Technopark tax-exemption regime (0% corporate income tax on R&D and software revenues for companies operating within Technology Development Zones) has structurally lowered the cost of building IP-heavy, export-oriented gaming and SaaS businesses from Istanbul.

Maslak–Levent, Beşiktaş–Şişli and Kadıköy

The Maslak–Levent corridor in European Istanbul - home to İTÜ ARI Teknokent, the financial district, and the headquarters of Insider and Hepsiburada - is Istanbul's primary technology and financial-services cluster. Beşiktaş and Şişli anchor the startup co-working density (Kolektif House Beşiktaş, Workinton), and Dream Games is headquartered in Beşiktaş. The Kadıköy community on the Asian side hosts a dense pre-seed and early-stage cluster, particularly strong in direct-to-consumer and creator-economy companies.

ITÜ, Boğaziçi, Koç and Sabancı talent pipeline

Istanbul Technical University (ITÜ) in Maslak/Ayazağa is Turkey's premier engineering school and the founding institution behind İTÜ Çekirdek, the country's oldest startup incubator (est. 2012). Boğaziçi University in Bebek produces strong computer science and mathematics graduates. Koç University in Rumelifeneri and Sabancı University in Tuzla combine engineering with business school pipelines that feed directly into the startup ecosystem - making Istanbul one of the deepest engineering talent pools in the MENA+Turkey region.

Accelerators and angel networks active in Istanbul

Istanbul hosts Turkey's deepest accelerator and investor infrastructure. These are the most active programmes and funds that founders engage with from pre-seed through Series A.

İTÜ Çekirdek

İTÜ Çekirdek is Turkey's oldest startup incubator, established in 2012 within Istanbul Technical University's Maslak campus. It provides pre-seed funding, mentorship and office space to deep-tech, hardware and software founders, with direct access to İTÜ's engineering faculty and research infrastructure. The programme is the origin point for many of Istanbul's highest-profile early-stage companies.

Workup (İş Bankası)

Workup is İşbank's (İş Bankası) corporate accelerator - a 6-month programme selecting approximately 10 early-stage startups per cohort. Provides mentorship, technical consulting, legal and finance training, and direct access to İşbank's corporate network and financial services infrastructure. One of the most widely applied-to accelerators in Turkey by seed-stage founders seeking a corporate distribution partner.

Endeavor Turkey

Endeavor Turkey is the Istanbul chapter of the global high-impact entrepreneurship network. Selection into Endeavor provides access to the global Endeavor mentor network, introductions to international growth-stage investors, and the credibility signal that has historically preceded international expansion for Turkish founders. Istanbul Endeavor alumni include companies across e-commerce, SaaS and digital health.

Türk Telekom PILOT

Türk Telekom PILOT is the corporate innovation hub and accelerator run by Türk Telekom, Turkey's incumbent telco. PILOT supports startups building in IoT, 5G, AI and digital infrastructure - providing access to Türk Telekom's enterprise distribution, pilot contract opportunities and the telco's technical infrastructure for product development. A strong fit for B2B and infrastructure-layer startups.

212 Capital

212 Capital is one of Turkey's most active early-stage VC funds, investing from pre-seed through Series A in Turkish and emerging-market technology companies. The fund has backed companies across fintech, e-commerce, SaaS and marketplace - and is one of the most recognisable local VC brands in Istanbul's startup ecosystem, frequently cited by founders as a benchmark-setter for local institutional capital.

Revo Capital

Revo Capital is a Turkey-focused growth-stage VC fund investing in Series A and B rounds across software, fintech, digital media and marketplace companies. Revo is one of the few Turkish funds that co-invests regularly with international VCs - including Earlybird Digital East - and is the primary domestic anchor for rounds where international capital requires a local lead.

Istanbul's landmark companies

Startups founded or headquartered in Istanbul that have defined their categories - referenced by investors as proof points for what the city's ecosystem can produce at scale.

Trendyol

Turkey's dominant e-commerce marketplace, backed by Alibaba, and valued at $16.5 billion - making it the most valuable tech company in MENA+Turkey. In May 2025 Uber paid $700 million for 85% of Trendyol Go, the company's instant-delivery vertical. Headquartered in Maslak, Trendyol is the definitive reference point for Istanbul-founded marketplace businesses scaling to multi-billion valuations.

Dream Games

Istanbul-based mobile game studio behind Royal Match - which dethroned Candy Crush as the world's number one puzzle game in 2025. Dream Games raised at a $5 billion valuation in May 2025 and is Istanbul's highest-profile gaming company. Headquartered in Beşiktaş, the studio operates entirely within Turkey's Technopark tax-exemption regime, paying 0% corporate income tax on all R&D and software revenues.

Insider

Enterprise SaaS platform for cross-channel marketing personalisation, backed by Sequoia and Riverwood Capital. Valued above $1.2 billion, Insider serves 1,200+ enterprise clients in 47 countries from its Istanbul headquarters. One of the clearest examples of an Istanbul-founded B2B SaaS company achieving unicorn status on the strength of international enterprise ARR rather than domestic consumer scale.

Hepsiburada

Turkish e-commerce marketplace listed on Nasdaq (HEPS) in 2021 - the first Turkish tech company to list on a US exchange. Processes millions of orders monthly and operates a logistics network across Turkey. Hepsiburada's Nasdaq listing set the template for how Istanbul-founded companies approach international public market access.

Peak Games

Istanbul-based mobile puzzle game studio, founded in 2010, acquired by Zynga in 2020 for $1.8 billion - one of the largest acquisitions of a Turkish tech company at the time. Peak Games' exit created the first wave of Turkish gaming angel investors and serial founders, many of whom went on to found or seed Dream Games, Rollic and other studios that define Istanbul's gaming export identity.

Getir

Istanbul-founded ultra-fast grocery delivery company, valued at $2.5 billion. In January 2025, Kazakhstan's Kaspi.kz acquired a 65.4% controlling stake, integrating Getir into the Kaspi super-app ecosystem - an unusual Central Asian-led acquisition of a European consumer tech unicorn that underscores Istanbul's position at the intersection of Eastern European, MENA and Central Asian capital flows.

Simple pricing

No hidden costs, no complicated long-term contracts. We understand how important flexibility is for Istanbul startups.

Core£4,000

Per month

Accounting / FP&A tech stack implementation
Monthly financial statements and reporting pack
Quarterly board pack with detailed financial analysis (with variance analysis vs. budget, relevant KPI observations etc.)
Investor-friendly output

Grow£8,000

Per month

Everything in Core, plus
Operating model (via an online platform like Runway or Excel-based)
Ongoing model maintenance, refining projections, burn/runway management
Customer cohorts modelling, churn and retention analysis
LTV / CAC, unit economics analysis
Cap table management

Pro£12,000

Per month

Everything in Grow, plus
M&A / fundraising support; review of business plan
Pitch deck preparation
Investor approach strategy / list building
Due diligence support and deal negotiation
Valuation as required and free access to Multiples Pro

Packages shown are illustrative, final pricing is tailored to client requirements.

Recently completed fractional CFO projects

Selected fractional CFO engagements and prior CFO experience.

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Data center developer and operator focusing on crypto and AI projects

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Europe-wide online marketplace for last-mile vehicle transfer

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Software and payments solutions for maritime industry

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Display advertising platform with AI/ML and IoT expertise

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Financial platform for private equity and investment fundraising

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TBô is a Swiss DTC male underwear brand

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Private LTE & 5G networks solutions provider with edge cloud compute

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Medical cannabis leader with tissue culture technologies

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Medical cannabis group developing cannabis-based therapies

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Maritime cybersecurity and protective services company

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Global marketing services for mobile business growth

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AI-based software testing automation platform

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Full-stack insurance powered by AI and behavioral economics

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Software platform for third-party security management

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Autonomous drone monitoring for critical infrastructure

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Generative AI platform for marketing teams

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Travel and lifestyle hospitality for digital nomads

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Clinical-stage microbiome therapeutics company

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End-to-end cloud and DevOps solutions for telecom organizations

Got questions?

Schedule a call ordrop us an email to learn more about our CFO-as-a-service, capital raising and M&A advisory offering.

Unlike old-school financial advisory firms that are stuck in the past, we truly understand tech and challenges startups face. Decades of investment banking experience allow us to see bigger picture, strategically integrate into your workflows, and ultimately provide guidance towards an M&A exit or the next funding round.

Fractional CFO services in Istanbul

Istanbul startup ecosystem

Six unicorns and a $31 billion combined valuation

Gaming and consumer tech as the city's export engine

Maslak–Levent, Beşiktaş–Şişli and Kadıköy

ITÜ, Boğaziçi, Koç and Sabancı talent pipeline