The opening speeches were made by IDI’s Team Leader David Tee, Teknopark İzmir General Manager and İzmir NIC Senior Manager Prof. Dr. Metin Tanoğlu, Ministry of Industry and Technology Project Manager Serhat Uğur and IZTECH Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Serdar Kale. During the opening speeches, the importance of the Accelerate İzmir Programme for the city of İzmir and Teknopark and benefits provided by the Project were emphasized.
Following the opening speeches, İzmir NIC Coordinator Efsa Sabit and IDI’s Key Expert Gökhan Çelebi conducted their presentations under the topic of Accelerate İzmir Impact and Results. Ms. Sabit and Mr. Çelebi also made an overview of the Project and the Accelerate İzmir process, and shared the numerical outcomes of the project’s impacts.
The morning session of the Demo Day continued with the presentations delivered by expert speakers under the topic of “Unleashing Explosive Growth: Entrepreneurial, Investment, and Corporate Perspectives on Scaling Up”. In this context, Yancep Co-Founder Hilmi Kaya talked about the topic of “From Startup to Scale-Up: Tips for Successfully Navigating the Transition”. DOMINO Ventures Investment and Strategy Manager Emre Sezgin,and Vestel Ventures Group Manager Utku Gökkaya shared their presentations on“Business Scaling”and“Scaling-up for Success”.
In the continuation of the event, thirty Accelerate İzmir companies shared their 3-minute pitches with the jury member investors and guests. After the pitches, Kuika Software was entitled to receive the “Most Interesting Technology”, Hekimanne was entitled to receive the “Best Presentation”, and Salty Energy was entitled to receive the “Highest Potential to Grow” awards. The awards were presented to the three successful companies by Teknopark İzmir General Manager and Izmir NIC Senior Manager Prof. Dr. Metin Tanoğlu, Ministry of Industry and Technology Financial Management Department Coordinator Özlem Sever and IDI’s Team Leader David Tee. In addition, thirty participanting companies were entitled to receive the completion certificates of Accelerate İzmir programme.
İzmir NIC Accelerate İzmir Programme’s Second Demo Day Event was organised by IDI and the Izmir Teknopark on June 21, 2023 at IZTECH Convention Centre. Thirty local companies supported in the frame of the Accelerate İzmir Programme came together at the Demo Day after a 4-month journey to meet with jury member investors and guests.
