Impact Policy Tracker Policy

Regional Venture Capital Financial Support Programme for Impact Investment



In December 2022, the Ankara Development Agency launched the Regional Venture Capital Financial Support Programme for Impact Investment, designed to foster a sustainable regional venture capital market in Türkiye. With a total allocation of USD 8.2 million, the programme invests in existing or new funds, requiring them to mobilise private capital and target innovative, impact-driven SMEs operating in the Ankara region, as well as in another 11 provinces affected by the 2023 earthquakes. 

The Ankara Development Agency acts as an anchor investor, offering equity commitments  ranging from approximately USD 130,000 to USD 790,000 per fund, capped at 25% of the fund’s total size, with returns repaid through standard venture capital mechanisms. The programme seeks to boost local impact ecosystems, SME financing, and private capital flows for scalable projects with social and environmental impact.

Highlights

  • Place-based investment for disaster recovery: The programme strategically channels impact investment into Türkiye’s 11 provinces most affected by the 2023 earthquakes, using capital as a tool for resilience, reconstruction, and inclusive regional development. By prioritising areas declared under a state of emergency, it stands out as a pioneering example of how impact wholesalers can respond to crises through place-based investment.

  • Growth, export, and employment-focused investment strategy: The programme supports venture capital funds backing innovative, tech-driven enterprises and SMEs with the potential to deliver measurable social and environmental impact. Priority is given to businesses that combine strong growth prospects and export potential with the capacity to generate quality employment, driving local development while expanding their reach into global markets.

Government’s Role:
Market Facilitator


Country:
Türkiye

Policy Type:
Government-enabled Wholesale Funds

Year: 2022

Responsible Institution:
Ankara Development Agency

Additional information:
Application Guidelines for the Regional Venture Capital Financial Support programme for Impact Investment

Government-enabled Wholesale Funds

What Can Governments Do to Enable Wholesale Funds?

Wholesale funds are financial platforms that aggregate large pools of capital to provide flexible and catalytic financing to businesses and intermediaries. They help grow the volume of private capital flowing to purpose-driven enterprises and contribute to broader market development, mainly by supporting pipeline development, deploying de-risking mechanisms, and facilitating collaboration across the ecosystem.

Governments have played a critical enabling role in the establishment of wholesale funds. This has included enacting legislation to unlock dormant or unclaimed assets -as seen in the cases of Big Society Capital in the UK and JANPIA in Japan- or directly deploying catalytic capital to support the creation of these funds, as in the case of Spain. 

For more information on Wholesalers, visit GSG Impact’s reports: Impact Investment Wholesalers and Fund of Funds and Building Impact Investment Wholesalers.