Regional Development Agency Grants (Kalkınma Ajansları)
Offers regional development grants in Turkey through provincial agencies with recurring calls and local administration.
Turkey's 26 Regional Development Agencies (Kalkınma Ajansları) are public-law bodies covering the country's 26 NUTS-2 regions, established under Law 5449 and overseen by the Ministry of Industry and Technology. Each agency releases competitive grant calls throughout the year targeting projects that advance regional economic development, SME growth, social inclusion, green transformation, and entrepreneurship within its geographic mandate. Across the network's history, 22,000 projects have been funded with TRY 9.2 billion disbursed, mobilizing TRY 15.7 billion in total investment. Award amounts, thematic priorities, and eligibility criteria vary substantially by agency and call cycle, reflecting regional development needs. Examples include Istanbul Development Agency (İSTKA), Ankara Development Agency (ANKARAKA), and OKA (Central Black Sea). All applications are submitted through the KAYS (Kalkınma Ajansları Yönetim Sistemi) platform at kaysuygulama.sanayi.gov.tr using mandatory e-Government authentication.
Eligible applicants span a wide range: public institutions, NGOs, universities, SMEs, entrepreneurs, cooperatives, and agricultural producer associations can all qualify, depending on the specific call. Individual persons are not eligible. Some recent calls specifically target green-transition projects by women- and youth-led micro and small enterprises or cooperatives (such as the SoGreen example). Applicants must operate in the relevant agency's NUTS-2 region. Each call specifies its own minimum and maximum award thresholds, co-financing requirements, and sector focus — prospective applicants should monitor KAYS for currently open calls from their regional agency.
Successful applicants typically demonstrate a strong alignment between their project's expected regional impact and the agency's stated development priorities for the call cycle. The competitive process rewards proposals with clear, measurable outputs, realistic budgets, and credible implementation capacity. Organizations new to the program are advised to attend pre-application information sessions offered by their regional agency and to engage with agency staff through the KAYS portal before submission to confirm eligibility and thematic fit.
Competitive grants from Turkey's 26 regional development agencies for economic development, SME support, green transition, and social inclusion projects within each agency's NUTS-2 region, with thematic scope varying by agency and call cycle.
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