İLKER BAŞÖZ / ISTANBUL COMMERCE
Turkey’s innovation and research center, Teknopark Istanbul, is marked by a huge potential, thanks to the opportunities it offers and the fields of technology it focuses on. Teknopark Istanbul is a technology development zone established to enable domestic and foreign entrepreneurs to contribute to Turkey’s technology development capabilities, and to the creation of a dynamic environment of innovation within the zone.
STRONG PARTNERS
Teknopark Istanbul’s primary founders are the Undersecretariat of Defense Industry and Istanbul Chamber of Commerce. The other partners in the endeavor are Havaalanı İşletme ve Havacılık Endüstrileri Anonim Şirketi, Istanbul Commerce University, and Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi.
Designed as a neutral zone, Teknopark Istanbul serves as a development, application and research center for university-industry-public cooperation. 18 universities have plans to move their priority operations to Teknopark Istanbul, within the framework of university-industry cooperation.
3 HOURS AWAY
Located at the convergence of Europe and Asia, Teknopark Istanbul is walking distance to Sabiha Gökçen Airport. Berlin is just 2 hours 45 minutes away, while Kuwait is at a distance of 3 hours and 25 minutes.
The center is located at the heart of numerous organized industrial zones, for maritime industries, automotive, and energy. The plans for the center entail four phases. Currently, the first phase saw more than 100 active companies and 30 start-ups in incubation. The fourth phase to be reached in 2023 is expected to bring in more than a thousand local and foreign firms, more than 300 start-ups, and an annual turnover figure of 10 billion US Dollars.
2nd STAGE IN CONSTRUCTION
The number of firms waiting for their chance to have a place at Teknopark Istanbul reached to 1,400. The second stage, the construction of which had recently begun, will increase the number of R&D firms to 300, while the number of start-ups is to rise to 250.
TARGET SECTORS
* Aerospace
* Defense industry
* Energy
* Medical science
* Maritime
* Advanced electronics
* Advanced materials
* Industrial software and automation
ADVANTAGES OF TEKNOPARK ISTANBUL
* Substantial support from founders.
* Right next to an airport, subway station, highway, and port.
* Special support for defense industry projects and high-tech offset investments.
* Meeting grounds for national and international universities and academicians.
* Woods (forest) available for recreational use by participants.
* Light manufacturing opportunities available in the 200,000 square meters special investment area next to the center.
* Availability of hotel and convention center within the center.
* District being one where any level of qualified workers are available.
SUCCESS STORIES FROM TEKNOPARK ISTANBUL
* Indoors wi-fi based positioning technology development project was awarded TUBITAK R&D start-up subsidy nr. 1507 for SMEs (INDOORA Mühendislik Danışmanlık Ar-Ge Yazılım San. ve Tic. Ltd. Şti.)
* REP-SAIL (Renewable Energy Powered Hybrid Innovative Sailing Yacht) project was named one of the two projects worth support under the “Vehicle Technologies of the Future” under the “ERA-NET Transport” call for projects, among European countries. (MİLPER Pervane Teknolojileri A.Ş.)
* The first vessel of the Rescue and Back-up Ship (KURYED) project, “A-583 IŞIN” was launched. (SEFT Gemi İnşaa Sanayi Mühendislik ve Ticaret Ltd. Şti.)
* The solar-powered mobile charging stations produced by the firm were used at Garanti Bank’s kyteboard event organized in Bodrum. (ONLAB A.Ş.)
SUBSIDIES OFFERED WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE R&D LAW
* R&D Centers
* R&D and Innovation projects supported by international funds, government agencies, and foundations established by law
* Pre-competition cooperation projects.
* The following subsidies are available for activities to be carried out within the framework of techno-venture capital projects:
* R&D Deductions: All R&D and innovation expenses are registered as deductibles when calculating commercial earnings (till 2024)
* Income Tax Withholding Subsidy: 90 percent of the income earned by R&D and support staff who hold Ph.D., and 80 percent of the income of other R&D and support staff are exempted from income tax.
* Insurance Premium Subsidy: 50% of the employer’s share in insurance premium, calculated on the basis of the income earned by R&D and support staff, shall be subsidized out of the budget of the Ministry of Finance, for a period of 5 years.
* Stamp Duty Exemption
06 Ağustos 2015 Perşembe
