TÜBİTAK 1812–Investment-Based Entrepreneurship Support Program 2026-1 Pre-Seed Investment Call (BiGG Investment 2026 1st Call)

About

TÜBİTAK’s 1812–Investment-Based Entrepreneurship Support Program 2026-1 Pre-Seed Investment Call offers selected entrepreneurs acceleration support and a 1,350,000 TL pre-seed investment (with possible follow-on and GCIP clean technology additional investment) in exchange for equity, leading to company establishment in Turkey.

Benefits

• 💰Investment — Seal of Excellence awardees receive 1,350,000 TL from the TÜBİTAK BiGG Fund in exchange for a 3% equity stake.
• 📈Follow-on investment — Companies may request follow-on investment of up to 1,350,000 TL during the monitoring process.
• 🤝Co-investment fast-track — Business plans that secure co-investment from an Implementing Organization or its designee may benefit from a fast-track evaluation process.
• 🌱GCIP additional investment — The top three highest-scoring clean technology startups awarded the Seal of Excellence may receive a total investment of 2,250,000 TL in exchange for 5% equity, including 900,000 TL from the Global Cleantech Innovation Programme.
• 🎓Acceleration support — Stage 1 provides training, mentorship, incubation, collaboration network access, and customer validation support to accepted entrepreneurs.

Eligibility Criteria

• Mandatory: Applicants must be enrolled in or have graduated from any associate, undergraduate, master’s, or doctoral program at a university as of the acceleration program application date; applicants with foreign education must provide YÖK equivalence/recognition documents; applicants must sign and submit the PRODİS commitment form. Excluded: Individuals who previously received support under the Ministry of Industry and Technology's Technological Entrepreneurship Capital Support or TÜBİTAK 1512 or 1812 Programs (Phase 2), or who, as of acceptance to the acceleration program, are shareholders in any capital company or sole proprietorship. Exceptions: Shareholdings in publicly traded companies and shares acquired through equity crowdfunding platforms are exempt. For Stage 2: Applicants must have successfully completed the Stage 1 acceleration program and have their business plan approved by the Implementing Organization. Preferred criteria are not publicly stated.

Participation Commitments

• Equity — Awardees must grant the TÜBİTAK BiGG Fund a 3% stake in the company in exchange for the 1,350,000 TL investment; the top 3 clean technology awardees receiving the GCIP additional investment grant a total 5% stake for 2,250,000 TL.
• Company formation — Awardees must establish a joint-stock company resident in Turkey, with the entrepreneur as a founder partner, and sign an Investment and Shareholders Agreement with the TÜBİTAK BiGG Fund and a Project Monitoring Agreement with TÜBİTAK.
• IP assignment — Entrepreneurs must transfer all intellectual and industrial property rights related to the company’s field of activity to the company without compensation before investment.
• Exclusivity — During the period they hold shares in the company, entrepreneurs may not leave their company roles and, except for academic roles at higher education institutions, may work only for the company; they may not work for or provide consulting services to third parties.
• Reporting — Companies must submit Business Plan Progress Reports every six months and cooperate with monitoring, including potential on-site visits.

Target Region

No nationality restriction is explicitly stated for applicants; applicants with foreign education must provide YÖK equivalence/recognition documents. Awarded entrepreneurs must establish a joint-stock company resident in Turkey.

Target Sector

Agriculture & Food, Energy & Utilities, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Telecommunications, Transportation & Logistics