Which KOSGEB sector fits a digital company: programming, information services or R&D?

Which sectors does KOSGEB Business Development Support cover?

The announcement lists five headings. One is manufacturing, four are service and technology fields. Trade, construction, tourism and food service are not on the list.

Manufacturing and telecommunications: two traditional headings

Manufacturing is the widest field on the list; it covers dozens of sub-branches such as machinery, food, textiles and chemicals. Telecommunications covers networks, communication infrastructure and connectivity services. In these two headings, machinery, equipment and mould costs carry most of the budget.

Programming, information services and R&D: three technology headings

Computer programming, consultancy and related activities covers businesses that develop software. Information service activities takes in companies that process and host data. Scientific R&D matches startups that develop products and run experiments and research. Most of the entrepreneurs in the digital company debate fall under one of these three headings.

Which of the five sectors does a digital company fall into?

As of October 2026, when this article was updated, the Ministry of Industry and Technology had not published its digital company (dijital şirket) definition. So a digital company is not a sector but a status whose criteria have not been announced yet. A company’s sector is set by the work it does; the whole concept is in our article what is a digital company.

A startup building a software product: the programming heading

A company developing an app, a platform or a software service falls under computer programming, consultancy and related activities. In this heading, software cost counts as a separate item. For the project to be read correctly by the sector board, the activity code and the product in the business plan must speak the same language.

Data and hosting work: information service activities

Data processing, cloud hosting, data centres and portal operation are gathered under information service activities. A startup that does not write software but processes or stores data is assessed here. The line between programming and information services is sometimes thin; the main activity decides.

A team building prototypes and running experiments: scientific R&D

A startup researching a technology that is not yet on sale, building prototypes or running laboratory work falls under scientific R&D. This heading overlaps most with technoparks and incubators; staff and testing and analysis costs stand out. The relationship between incubators, technoparks and TEKMER is explained in our article on technoparks, incubators and TEKMER.

Where is the activity code for KOSGEB’s sector decision set?

The sector decision is made by the main activity code recorded in the company’s trade registry entry. The code is set according to the economic activity classification and is read automatically in the KOSGEB application. This decision, made on registration day, determines the support door months later.

The main activity code is set at registration

When a company is incorporated, its purpose and subject are written into the articles of association, and the main activity code is chosen to match. The code can be changed later, but the change requires registration, publication and a notice to the tax office. So choosing the code with the KOSGEB sector list in hand is the cheapest planning step of incorporation day. The code is entered in the MERSİS application together with the articles of association; MERSİS is Türkiye’s Central Registry System.

The code and the business plan must describe the same sector

The sector board routes the project to the relevant board by activity code. If a company whose code is programming submits a business plan that describes manufacturing, the score drops. The cost items in the project budget must also fit the sector: a mould cost in a software company, or only software costs in a manufacturing company, raises questions.

The code decision is made together with your accountant

The activity code has consequences on the tax, social security and KOSGEB sides at the same time. Your accountant assesses the code for tax and bookkeeping; the comparison with the KOSGEB sector list is something you as the entrepreneur should ask for. The current code list and sector match need to be verified on the KOSGEB application screen.

Why is KOSGEB Business Setup Support open to all sectors?

Business Setup Support is non-repayable and applications are continuous. The announcement says this support covers all KOSGEB-supported sectors. Every newly founded business, whatever its activity code, is assessed through this door.

Platform Costs Support: an item specific to digital companies

The Platform Costs Support added to Business Setup Support aims to cover the platform registration fee of digital companies as defined by the Ministry. The amount has not been announced and the item depends on the definition. Because the definition has not been published, no business can use this item today. We gathered the details in our article on KOSGEB platform support.

Performance Support: up to 8 gross minimum wages

Performance Support provides a payment of up to 8 gross minimum wages to businesses whose founder is young, a woman, disabled, a veteran or a first-degree relative of a martyr. There is no sector condition, only a founder condition. For an entrepreneur outside the five sectors, this item can be the first contact with KOSGEB.

How do incubation and the provincial quota affect the sector choice?

The sector decision affects not only KOSGEB but also the digital company exemption and the provincial ranking. The dues exemption, the only provision in force, requires incubator entrepreneur status. The provincial quota opens a separate ranking in every province.

Incubator entrepreneur status overlaps with the technology headings

The dues exemption that came with Law No. 7582 on 4 June 2026 requires incubator entrepreneur status and a fit with the Ministry’s definition. Incubators mostly take software, data and R&D projects. That is why companies under programming, information services and R&D stand on the same side in both regulations. Who can benefit is explained in our article on who can benefit from digital company status.

Top 6 and top 3 in every province: the local ranking

By sector board score, the top 1,000 nationwide and the top 6 in every province go to the jury; in the end the top 500 and the top 3 in every province receive support. The provincial quota means a higher rank with the same score in provinces where applications are few.

The selection rate and what raises the score

In the previous period, 2,758 businesses out of 14,744 applications qualified. In the new model, the board score depends on a measurable plan. A project with a written target customer, sales channel and measurement routine ranks higher in the same sector and the same province. We covered the rates in our article on the KOSGEB Business Development selection rate.

Once the sector is chosen, where does the digital side start?

The activity code and the sector board decision are KOSGEB’s business. Making the company visible to customers is the entrepreneur’s business, and it does not depend on the sector. In all five sectors the first digital step is the same: domain name, website and measurement.

The domain name and website should be ready before the sector board

The sector board has no reason to search for the company’s name while reading the business plan, but the customer does. The domain name should be registered in the company’s name, the website should be AI and user friendly, and the pages should be written in the language of the sector. A programming company’s site describes the product; a manufacturer’s site describes capacity.

The sector language and the digital language are built at the same table

The activity code, the business plan and the website must describe the same work. If the three speak different languages, both the sector board and the customer hesitate. We run incorporation, the sector decision and the digital setup as one plan in our digital consulting service.

Frequently Asked Questions

The definition and conditions of the digital company scheme are not final yet; support amounts and conditions may change. Check the latest information with the Ministry of Industry and Technology, KOSGEB and the Official Gazette before deciding. This is not legal or financial advice.

Sources: KOSGEB, Entrepreneur Support Programme renewed (12 October 2026) · Official Gazette, Issue No. 33270, Law No. 7582 (4 June 2026) · Bigpara/DHA-AA, KOSGEB application figures (8 September 2025)

Updated: October 2026