Entrepreneur Support Program (Girişimci Destek Programı)

Entrepreneur Support Program

Supports early-stage Turkish entrepreneurs through startup grants and additional development-backed assistance.

The KOSGEB Entrepreneur Support Program (Girişimci Destek Programı) is a Turkish government initiative for early-stage businesses, providing both non-repayable startup grants and partly-repayable development support to newly established SMEs. KOSGEB — the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization, operating under the Turkish Ministry of Industry and Technology — administers the program to strengthen the formation and sustainability of new enterprises, with particular emphasis on manufacturing, telecommunications, IT, and R&D sectors. Applications are submitted via Turkey's e-Government portal using national credentials, and the program operates on a rolling basis for eligible businesses.

The program has two distinct tiers. The Business Startup tier provides 10,000 TRY for individual proprietorships or 20,000 TRY for corporate entities, fully non-repayable, to businesses aged 0–1 years registered across KOSGEB-supported sectors. The Business Development tier provides up to 1,500,000 TRY to businesses aged 0–3 years in manufacturing, telecommunications, IT programming, IT infrastructure, and R&D; 80% of this amount is repayable, with a separate interest or profit support limit of 1,000,000 TRY at 50% non-repayable terms. Additional bonus allocations of 10,000 to 150,000 TRY are available for young, female, disabled, or veteran entrepreneurs across both tiers. Both tiers carry a 36-month support duration.

Applicants must be actively registered in the KOSGEB database with a current business declaration before applying — this is a prerequisite, not a simultaneous step. The Business Development tier requires project documentation, administrative review, and committee and jury evaluation, meaning lead times are longer than the simpler Startup tier. Because the development support is 80% repayable, founders should model cash flow to absorb repayment obligations while the business is still in early growth. Age eligibility windows are strictly enforced: exceeding 1 year disqualifies from the Startup tier, and exceeding 3 years disqualifies from the Development tier.