Startup company

Some 63 Turkish startups received $746 million in investments from abroad during the second quarter of this year, the Turkish industry and technology minister said on July 13.

Turkey aims to become a major player in advanced technologies and aims to have new "Turcorn" companies, Technology Minister Mustafa Varank has said.

Privately held startup companies valued at over $1 billion are named "unicorn," and "Turcorn" refers to such companies based in Turkey.

Shining out as a new investment option, Turkish startups received $525 million in the first quarter of this year, according to a digital startup ecosystem on April 9. 

Getir, a major online delivery service in Turkey, has started operating in London, its co-founder announced on Jan. 27. 

"Getir is now in London. We will endear this two-syllable Turkish word there, too," Nazım Salur, the co-founder and CEO of the fast-delivery startup Getir, said in a Twitter post.

The coronavirus has affected the ecosystem of Greek startups too, as a number of domestic venture capital funds chose to stay in and reinvest in the companies in their own portfolios instead of going out and financing new ones.

Greek startups have collected less in funds this year than 2019, amounting to a total 150 million euros. The leaders among those startups are Omilia and Skroutz, which, both mature, are attracting investors' attention.

The Innovathens Business Accelerator is holding two SMATH Open Days on Tuesday and on Wednesday addressing creative professionals, corporations and startups as well as anyone involved in or wishing to enter the sectors of creative and cultural industries.

To find out more, visit athens-technopolis.gr.

These days when companies want to understand consumers' preferences and needs, they acquire powerful tools developed by startups to upgrade their marketing strategies and increase their revenues. One such startup is New York-based ActionIQ, founded by Tasso Argyros.

The Greek startup ecosystem has entered a period of maturity, along with the organizations that contribute to the support of new entrepreneurs. However, the domestic startup ecosystem continues to rank below those of other Southern European countries such as Portugal, Spain and Italy, according to the third StartupBlink Global Ecosystem Report.

Startups in Greece are faced with a harsh reality as the coronavirus contraction will not only bring their turnover down to zero for some time but also threaten their very sustainability.