The TBAA General Assembly met last week
The TBAA —Business Angels Association of Turkey — held its GeneralAssembly meeting atits annual Congress last week in Istanbul and elected a new board.
The TBAA is one of the strongest angel investment associations in Europe, representing 70% of the angel investment community of the country. There are 12 business angelsnetworks in the country, 8 of whichare TBAA members.
The TBAA is Turkey’s representative ofthe early stage investor community, currently with8 member business angel networks. Established in 2011 by a group of pioneer business angels in Turkey, it represents a sector that is expected to invest an estimated 400 million Euros annuallyin a few years’ timeandhas a key role to play in Turkey’s future, notably in the funding of SMEs and the creation of wealth and jobs.
Most TBAA member business angel networks are accredited by the government and over 500 angel investors are members of these 8 BANs.
As of today, the organisation is led by the following members and representatives:
- TBAA President – Baybars Altuntas, Links Angel BAN President
- TBAA Vice-President – Mehmet Buldurgan, SirketOrtagim BAN President
- TBAA Secretary General – HulusiBerik, Co-founder of Keiretsu Forum Istanbul &Homeros BAN President
- TBAA Board Member – Timucin Bilgor, BUBA – Bogazici University BAN President
- TBAA Board Member – Ismail Haznedar, J-BAN President
- TBAA Board Member – GulsumCiraci, Istanbul Angels BAN President
- TBAA Board Member – Fuat Sami, Lab X BAN President
- TBAA Board Member – Asli IsinakGozeren, Keiretsu Forum Istanbul CEO
- TBAA Board Member – Adnan Akdemir, Links Angel BAN Vice President
- TBAA Board Member – Azmi Saribay, Links Angel BAN Vice President
The TBAA, now chaired by Akin Kozanoglu, has also elected advisory board members.
- Akin Kozanoglu, Chairman of the Board of SirketOrtagim BAN
- Azmi Saribay, Links Angel BAN Vice President
- Adnan Akdemir, Links Angel BAN Vice President
- YalcinAyaydin, Ipekyol President
- FerruhGurtas, Intel Middle East Regional Director
- DoganTaskent, Switzerland-Turkey Chamber of Commerce President
- Fuat Sami, Lab X BAN President
- Aslı IsinakGozoren, Keiretsu Forum Istanbul CEO
- Prof Bahadir Erdem,Law Professor at Galatasaray University
6 new committee chairsand members were elected:
- The Crowdfunding Committee is led by Savas Unsal, founder of Crowdfun, the first and biggest crowdfunding platform.
- The Innovation &Technoparks Committee is led by Kenan Colpan, General Director of the Istanbul Technical University Technopark, the largest technopark of Turkey.
- The Incubation Centers Committee is c0-led by Hasan Pehlivan, co-founder of SirketOrtagim BAN and GulsumCiraci, co-founder and President of theIstanbul Business Angels BAN.
- The Start-up Committee is led by Prof Deniz Tuncalp, head of the Entrepreneurship Center of Istanbul Technical University.
- The Exit Committee is led by AlperUtku, founder of Turkey’s first service company listed on the stock exchange.
- The Mentor Committee is led by DoganTaskent, President of the Switzerland-Turkey Chamber of Commerce.
The Global Voice of Turkey
The TBAA has seen its members hold important positions in the international arena, including the Vice Presidency of EBAN and board membership in the World Business Angels Association in the UK.
The TBAA hosted the 11th EBAN Winter University in 2011 and the European Business Angels Investment Forum in 2014 in Istanbul. EBAN, the TBAA and the Istanbul Stock Exchange signed a collaboration agreement in 2014 to foster the early stage investment market in Turkey and South East Europe.
www.european-business-angels-investment-forum.com
The World’s Angel InvestmentHot-Bed
Turkey is the country thatoffers the highest tax incentives to business angels, has 265 accredited business angels recognised by the government, and is one of the few countries in the world which has a ‘Business Angel Investment Law’ and the only country in the world which has a Private Market onits stock exchange where angel investors and start-ups come together.
TBAA Excellence Awards
With its Excellence Awards for South East Europe, the TBAA looks beyond Turkey. It seeks to promote and nurture start-ups, angels, and a dynamic business community throughout the region. From business angels to policymakers to academics, the Awards salute those who stand out in imagining, discussing, and shaping the future of an entrepreneurial South East Europe. Given the diverse challenges the world is facing in the twenty-first century, it is important to recognize that entrepreneurship can have a major impact on our future, offering new ways to increase economic opportunities and to foster social justice.
http://european-business-angels-investment-forum.com/tbaa-excellence-awards/
The Business Angels Association of Turkey (TBAA) aims to contribute to that impact by driving positive changes that will facilitate entrepreneurship. Fostering entrepreneurship whose effects can be felt in both economic and social arenas is a hallmark of the TBAA.
The South East Europe-TBAA Excellence Awards recognise notable activities in these fields, not just in Turkey, but throughout South East Europe as well, saluting outstandingcontributors to entrepreneurship and the angel investment ecosystems in the region.
More about TBAA
http://www.melekyatirimcilardernegi.org/English/Default.aspx
