Launch of the Instrument for Pre-Accession assistance Technology Transfer Turkey Project

     

This project is co-financed by the European Union and the Republic of Turkey

The Ministry of Science Industry and Technology (MoSIT), the European Union Delegation to Turkey (EUD), the Scientific and Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) and the European Investment Fund (EIF),  launched today a landmark project aiming at facilitating commercialisation of R&D coming from universities and research centres. The Technology Transfer Accelerator Turkey Fund (TTA Turkey) project is co-financed by the European Union and the Republic of Turkey through the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) funds allocated under the Competitive Sectors’ Operational Programme. The launch event took place in Ankara, where the Honorable Minister of Science Industry and Technology Mr. Fikri ISIK, the EU Ambassador to Turkey Mr. Stefano MANSERVISI and the Deputy Chief Executive of EIF Ms. Marjut SANTONI were present.

The TTA Turkey project will invest in TTA Turkey Fund, which will be managed by an independent fund manager in Turkey. TTA Turkey Fund will aim at commercialising academic research, through the provision of equity funding to projects at their pre-commercialisation stage in need of proof-of-concept, licencing, spin-offs and start-ups within technology parks. The Fund’s target size is EUR 30 million, of which EUR 26.3 million will be provided by IPA funds.

The TTA Turkey project also aims at creating synergies between the Fund and Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) within universities across the country, whilst increasing their capacity building together with TUBITAK.

EIF Deputy Chief Executive Marjut SANTONI stated: “We are very pleased to pave the way for the first fund dedicated to the technology transfer segment in Turkey and thereby continue contributing to market development as we have been doing since 2007 with the Istanbul Venture Capital Initiative a pioneer fund-of-funds in the country. We are convinced that TTA Turkey will set a benchmark for successor funds.”

EIF is the trustee of IPA funds and project manager, while the MoSIT is the contracting authority and TUBITAK is the end-recipient of IPA funds under the TTA Turkey project.

About the EIF

The European Investment Fund's (EIF) central mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth, and employment. EIF’s total net commitments to private equity funds amounted to over EUR 7.9bn at end 2013. With investments in over 470 funds, EIF is a leading player in the European venture and growth capital market due to the scale and the scope of its investments, especially in high-tech and early-stage segments. EIF’s guarantees loan portfolio totalled over EUR 5.6bn in over 300 operations at end 2013, positioning it as a major European SME guarantees actor and a leading micro-finance guarantor.

Press contact:

EIF: Joëlle Harvey, j.harvey@eif.org