TL;DR Turkey has close to 86 million people, nine in ten of them online, and an export trade that is three-quarters manufactured goods. That makes it a market of factories, suppliers and the big retailers that sell their output. The ideas that fit help small manufacturers automate, keep exporters ready for buyer audits, and trim cost out of retail and construction.

The market in numbers

  • Population: about 85.9 million in 2025[1].
  • GDP per capita: about US$18,599 in 2025[2].
  • Internet use: about 90% of people were online in 2025[3], with about 108 mobile subscriptions per 100 people in 2024[4].
  • Exports: manufactured goods were about 75% of merchandise exports in 2025[5].
  • Farm jobs: about 14% of employment was in agriculture in 2025[6].
  • Currency: the Turkish lira (TRY), issued by the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye[7].
  • Starting a company: formation runs through the MERSIS registry system and the Trade Registry Directorates in chambers of commerce, and the investment office says it is completed within the same day[8].

What founders here actually have to work with

Scale is the first advantage. With about 86 million people[1] and high internet use[3], a consumer or SME product can find enough customers without leaving the country, which isn't true for most of the neighbours.

The second is the factory base. Manufactured goods are about three-quarters of exports[5], so there are thousands of small and mid-size plants that make parts, textiles, leather and food for buyers abroad. Those buyers keep raising the bar on audits, traceability and carbon reporting, and each new demand is a service a small firm can sell.

Here's the catch - a currency that has moved a lot in recent years makes long contracts and imported hardware harder to price [Requires validation]. If your idea depends on imported robots or sensors then price in a way that survives exchange swings, for example rentals billed monthly. I'd start with one industrial cluster and grow from the references.

Ideas that fit Turkey

Every idea here was researched for India. The rupee costs and Indian licences don't apply, so rebuild each page with lira pricing and Turkish rules.

Small factories and automation

  • Spindlehand: Cobots leased by the month to load CNC machines in small shops. Metalworking and auto-parts suppliers are the natural first users.
  • Beadhire: Cobot welding cells rented monthly for repeat parts. A rental keeps the cost predictable when imported hardware gets pricier.
  • Cartonhand: End-of-line palletising cells rented to small food and consumer goods plants. Pitch the labour saving on the night shift.
  • Exhaustwell: Bolt-on skids that turn compressor heat into hot water. Any plant paying a large gas bill for hot water is a lead.
  • Deskmoat: A managed security baseline that gets small exporters through buyers' cyber audits. European buyers' supplier questionnaires are the trigger.

Exporters and buyer audits

  • Forgefile: Emissions files for metal makers selling into the EU under its carbon border rules. Start with one foundry or forge that already ships to Europe.
  • Upstreamly: Maps the mills and job-workers behind garment exporters for buyer checks. Turkey's apparel subcontracting chains are the use case [Requires validation].
  • Hidetrail: Maps the tanneries and hide sources behind leather exporters. Same logic as Upstreamly, for the leather trade.
  • Presentwell: Checks export papers against the letter of credit before the bank sees them. Freight forwarders and trade finance desks could resell it.

Textile waste and circular materials

  • Offcutsort: Factory-floor sorting of cutting waste into graded lots. Large garment plants produce enough offcuts to make the logistics work.
  • Clothbale: Scanner-graded bales of used clothing for fibre-to-fibre recyclers. Buyers for graded feedstock decide this one, so line them up first.

Retail and online selling

  • Secondlap: Grades online returns and resells them as open-box on the brand's own site. Fashion and electronics brands with high return rates are the target.
  • Keepsize: Doorstep size swaps that turn fashion returns into exchanges. You need a courier partner willing to do two-way visits.
  • Rosterpeak: Store rosters built from hourly footfall and bills. Chains with many stores in malls will see the payoff fastest.
  • Boxtrim: Smaller cartons and less filler, paid for out of lower courier bills. Any online seller shipping large volumes can test it in a week.

Building sites and old buildings

  • Tiltwise: Crack and tilt sensors on old buildings next to redevelopment digs. Large urban renewal programmes make this relevant, but check who is liable and who would pay [Requires validation].
  • Moundcount: Monthly drone surveys that measure earthworks and stockpiles for contractor bills. Check drone permits before you quote.
  • Jibwatch: Wind, load and drop-zone alarms fitted to tower cranes. Contractors on dense city sites carry the most risk.

Rules to check before you start

Company formation goes through MERSIS and the Trade Registry Directorates[8], with the Ministry of Trade[9] overseeing the registry [Requires validation]. Foreign shareholders need a tax number, and taxes are run by the Revenue Administration (Gelir İdaresi Başkanlığı)[8][10]. The central bank is the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye[7], so check its rules on payments and foreign currency before money crosses the border. Drones, health products and food exports each carry separate approvals [Requires validation].

This is a starting list, not legal advice. Check with a local lawyer or the agency itself.

Questions founders ask

Service businesses sold to factories and online shops. Boxtrim, Deskmoat and Presentwell above need expertise and a few early clients more than capital.

Do foreigners need a local partner to start a company in Turkey?

The official investment office says foreign investors get the same rights and liabilities as local ones under the principle of equal treatment[8]. Some sectors and property purchases have their own rules, so confirm with a Trade Registry Directorate.

How do I deal with the lira when pricing?

Short billing cycles help. Monthly rentals and subscriptions let you reprice more often than a three-year contract, and that matters most if your costs are in euros or dollars.

Talk to Yash

Turkey has enough factories that the hard part is picking which cluster to start in, and I'm happy to think that through with you. If you need a hand, you know where to find me.

Talk to Yash →

Sources

  1. World Bank, "Population, total: Türkiye", 2025. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/TUR/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?format=json&mrv=1
  2. World Bank, "GDP per capita (current US$): Türkiye", 2025. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/TUR/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?format=json&mrv=1
  3. World Bank (ITU data), "Individuals using the Internet (% of population): Türkiye", 2025. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/TUR/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS?format=json&mrv=1
  4. World Bank (ITU data), "Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people): Türkiye", 2024. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/TUR/indicator/IT.CEL.SETS.P2?format=json&mrv=1
  5. World Bank, "Manufactures exports (% of merchandise exports): Türkiye", 2025. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/TUR/indicator/TX.VAL.MANF.ZS.UN?format=json&mrv=1
  6. World Bank (ILO estimate), "Employment in agriculture (% of total employment): Türkiye", 2025. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/TUR/indicator/SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS?format=json&mrv=1
  7. Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye, home page, 2026. https://www.tcmb.gov.tr/
  8. Invest in Türkiye (Presidency Investment Office), "Establishing a Business", 2026. https://www.invest.gov.tr/en/investmentguide/pages/establishing-a-business.aspx
  9. Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Türkiye, home page, 2026. https://www.ticaret.gov.tr/
  10. Revenue Administration (Gelir İdaresi Başkanlığı), home page, 2026. https://www.gib.gov.tr/

For illustration only. Names are fictional and ideas hypothetical; sourced facts are real but may be out of date. Nothing here is legal, financial or professional advice, and Yash Khatri is not personally liable for any use of it. Read the full disclaimer.