Midas, a fintech startup that allows people in Turkey to invest in U.S. and Turkish equities, says it has raised $45 million in a funding round led by Portage Ventures of Canada.
The startup is aimed at Turkey’s retail investor market and claims to have more than 2 million users.
That’s in a country of 80 million,” Egem Eraslan, CEO and founder of Midas, told TechCrunch.
The company has plans to expand beyond Turkey, and aims to target countries in the MENA region.
Globally, Portage invests in transformational financial technology and Midas is poised to lead that initiative in a region of early adopters.”
Meta said on Monday that it plans to “temporarily” shutter Threads in Turkey from April 29, in response to an interim injunction imposed by the Turkish competition authority last month over the way Meta shares data between Threads and Instagram.
In 2022, Turkey imposed a $18.6 million fine on Meta for combining user data across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Initially, the only way Meta allowed users to delete a Threads profile was by deleting their whole Instagram account, though it later introduced a separate mechanism for those wishing to ditch their Threads profile only.
Turkish regulators had announced the investigation on the way Meta linked Threads with Instagram in December, concluding last month that there was a strong case to answer for.
The latter of these options means a user’s profile can be resurrected when and if Threads is available in the country again.
It’s easy to assume the e-commerce ship has sailed when you consider we have giant platforms like Shopify, Woocommerce, and Wix dominating the sector.
E-commerce platform, ikas, has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round as it seeks to expand its operations into new markets in Europe.
The company currently operates in Turkey and Germany, and says its platform simplifies store management for companies that want to have a digital presence.
Also investing in ikas is Re-Pie Asset Management, which has grocery delivery startup Getir in its portfolio as well.
The round saw participation from ikas’ existing investor Revo Capital, best known as the first institutional investor in Getir, Param, Midas and Roamless.
Turkey has gained a well-earned reputation as a veritable cauldron of mobile games startups, leading to the rise of VCs dedicated to the sector.
The latest to join this coterie is Laton Ventures, a new gaming-focused VC that has raised a $35 million fund.
Indeed, between 2018 and 2022 Turkish gaming start-ups raised more than $1 billion in funding.
There are now at least 25 VC funds that invest in video games startups based out of Turkey.
“We’re positioning as a bridge between the Turkish gaming ecosystem, which is booming, and the international gaming ecosystem.
That gap introduces a fantastic opportunity for arbitrage — and a lively second-hand and refurbished market.
Getmobil’s growth trajectory has been remarkable, driven by a combination of strategic foresight, operational excellence and a deep understanding of the Turkish electronics — and regulatory — market.
The company’s rise is characterized by its ability to offer consumers high-quality, refurbished electronics at competitive prices, thereby filling a critical market gap.
Before the regulations, the refurbished electronics market in Turkey was chaotic and fragmented, and the quality and warranty coverage of second-hand devices was highly variable.
Navigating the intricacies of Turkey’s electronics market presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities for Getmobil.
