KADEM Opens Istanbul Center to Empower Women Entrepreneurs

The Women and Democracy Foundation (KADEM), Istanbul on Tuesday established ‘Women in Innovation Information Center’ assisting women entrepreneurs to turn innovative ideas into technology-based companies. The program aims to enable women to develop their business ideas and seek out investment possibilities along with increasing their presence in the national and international marketplaces.

At the DemoDay event, 20 women entrepreneurs displayed their projects and business ideas to the investors. The center will offer a wide array of facilities, which include entrepreneurship education, mentorship, business development support, investor relations, and co-working space. The center was inaugurated in conjunction with the DemoDay program by the support of the Istanbul Development Agency (ISTKA). Besides, the center will have a child care room with plans for offering day care and professional care services during the events.

Key Highlights:

• KADEM launches an Istanbul center to help women build and grow technology startups
• Türkiye has supported 85,000+ female entrepreneurs with TL 23.5 billion through KOSGEB
• KADEM’s Women in Innovation Program attracted 429 applications from 22 countries

Türkiye’s Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır, addressed the gathering and spoke about the progress made by the nation in creating a vibrant ecosystem for tech entrepreneurs. He argued that women's active participation in scientific research, innovation, and manufacturing was necessary for realizing sustainable economic development and national development.

According to Mehmet, Türkiye had secured a remarkable standing in the international arena concerning women’s contribution. He mentioned that the country ranked first globally in the share of women inventors among international patent applicants.

In addition, the minister brought out the financial support provided to female scientists by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK). The organization had provided financial aid worth TL 32 billion, which equated to around $645 million, to 233,000 female scientists within the last 23 years.

The Turkish government had launched several financial schemes and training programs in an attempt to assist entrepreneurs in turning their innovative ideas into successful ventures. Such interventions aim at supporting the women’ startups in different phases of their operations, ranging from idea generation to setting up and scaling technology firms.

Sümeyye Erdoğan Bayraktar, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of KADEM Foundation, stated that the new center is yet another step towards enhancing women’s entrepreneurship and that this endeavor started with the introduction of “Women in Innovation Program” back in 2015.

Up till now, almost 3,000 applications have been received and more than 235 entrepreneurs have attended its camps. According to Sümeyye, for its 10th edition, there were 429 applicants from 22 countries, displaying the expanding reach of the program globally. According to her, between 2019 and 2025, every fourth funded startup included at least one female founder, while 571 female founders managed to raise investments worth $1.4 billion.

Moreover, Mehmet further mentioned the growing participation of women in the sectors of science and technology in the country. Türkiye has around 13,000 companies running within 115 technoparks, which employs about 36,000 women. At the same time, research and development and design centers employ over 28,000 women in the country, as stated by the minister.