Wait for the digital company definition or incorporate now, how should a founder decide?
Whether to wait for the digital company (dijital şirket) definition or incorporate now depends less on when the definition arrives and more on three clocks: the one-year KOSGEB application window that starts at incorporation, an exception that ends on 31 December 2026, and a dues exemption that runs for up to three years from the date of incorporation (KOSGEB, 12 October 2026). KOSGEB is Türkiye’s Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization. As of 14 October 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Technology has not published the definition, and nobody knows whether it will apply to companies formed before it.
What this means for you: both waiting and incorporating have a price. A founder who waits keeps the option of forming a company that fits the definition, but starts selling later and delays supports that need no definition. A founder who incorporates now takes control of the calendar, without knowing whether the definition-linked benefits will ever apply.
What does waiting for the digital company definition win or lose for a founder?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- The gain: a shot at the exemption and the platform support
- The platform support is still an empty line
- The loss: months without a till ringing
- The unknown: when the definition will come
Waiting protects an option and spends time. The possible gain is incorporating after the definition appears, in line with it, and becoming a candidate for the dues exemption and the Platform Costs Support. The possible loss is sales revenue, supports that carry no definition condition, and the 31 December 2026 exception. Which side weighs more depends on your profile.
The gain: a shot at the exemption and the platform support
The exemption in Law 7582 covers companies that fit the definition and are founded by incubator entrepreneurs. It lifts fees and dues paid to TOBB, the chambers and the exchanges for up to three years from the date of incorporation. TOBB is the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye. According to BTSO, the Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the annual chamber dues are capped at half of the gross minimum wage for the year they are charged.
The platform support is still an empty line
The Platform Costs Support equals a platform registration fee that the Ministry will set. The amount has not been announced, and the KOSGEB Directive sets no TL ceiling. So the second gain from waiting is real but unpriced.
The loss: months without a till ringing
No company means no invoices and no signed client contracts. For a team with a ready product, every month of waiting is a month without revenue. Performance Support is also tied to sales and employment periods that start after incorporation, so the founder who waits pushes that calendar back too.
The unknown: when the definition will come
No publication date has been given. The 2027-2029 Medium-Term Programme (OVP in Turkish, the government’s three-year economic plan) lists the scheme as a target but sets no timetable. Every step so far is laid out in order in our digital company timeline.
Which founders does the digital company wait affect, and how?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- Closer to waiting: a tech team in incubation
- Closer to incorporating: the Performance Support profile
- Teams with many shareholders: lighter conditions matter
The effect depends on the profile. Let’s say a software team is going through incubation in a technology park in Ankara or Istanbul in autumn 2026; waiting may make sense for them. For a young woman founder with a product ready to sell, waiting may mean postponing a support that is open today. Teams with many shareholders form a third group.
Closer to waiting: a tech team in incubation
The first condition for the dues exemption is incubator entrepreneur status. Under the Technology Development Zones Implementing Regulation, space in an incubation centre is allocated for up to 36 months, and pre-incubation for up to 18 months. Those periods leave some room to wait. How the status is obtained is covered in our guide to incubator entrepreneur status.
Closer to incorporating: the Performance Support profile
Performance Support is not tied to the digital company condition. A business whose founder is young, a woman, disabled, a veteran or a first-degree relative of a fallen soldier can become a candidate for non-repayable support equal to eight gross minimum wages, if it meets the terms. A young founder is a person who has not turned 35 on the application date. For this profile, waiting means standing in front of an open door.
Teams with many shareholders: lighter conditions matter
For a business that fits the definition, KOSGEB drops the entrepreneurship training, the 50% shareholding, the past-company restriction and the sole-representation conditions. A software company with four equal founders may get stuck on those conditions outside the definition. For such teams, the definition directly changes access to support.
Why do KOSGEB deadlines decide the digital company question?
Because Business Setup Support must be requested within one year of incorporation, and a rejected business gets no second application. Waiting for the definition does not stop that clock; it starts on the day you incorporate. The KOSGEB Entrepreneur Support Programme page says applications are continuous and are made through e-Devlet, Türkiye’s e-government gateway.
A rejection ends the road
Under the Directive, a business rejected for Business Setup Support cannot apply again. It can object to the decision once, within 15 days. Whether a rejection before the definition would block a later Platform Costs application is unclear, so timing the application matters as much as timing incorporation.
Which KOSGEB supports depend on the digital company condition, and which do not?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- Platform Costs Support: nothing moves without the definition
- Performance Support: tied to sales and employment
- Business Development Support: repayable and periodic
Business Setup Support is non-repayable and has two parts: Platform Costs Support depends on the definition, Performance Support does not. Business Development Support is a separate, repayable support opened in call periods. Weigh these three one by one before deciding.
Platform Costs Support: nothing moves without the definition
The support goes to businesses that fit the Ministry’s digital company definition, up to the platform registration fee the Ministry sets. The Directive gives no TL ceiling, and the fee has not been announced. Today there is no file to prepare for this support.
Performance Support: tied to sales and employment
Under the Directive, the support is tracked over eight three-month periods. Each period needs sales of at least one gross minimum wage and at least 90 total premium days for 4A-insured staff, the standard employee category in Turkish social security. The Directive does not make clear whether the eight gross minimum wages are a total or per period, so confirm any TL calculation with the official source.
Business Development Support: repayable and periodic
Business Development Support has a TL 2,250,000 ceiling, an 80% support rate, and it must be repaid. The third 2026 application period runs from 12 to 31 October 2026. Check the eligibility terms for your business on the programme page before counting on it.
What should an undecided digital company founder clarify this week?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- Write your profile in four questions
- Put the dates in the calendar
- Do not rush the application
Four questions: are you an incubator entrepreneur, do you fit the Performance Support profile, when will the first sale come, and does your shareholding structure clash with the KOSGEB conditions. If most answers say “incorporate”, the cost of waiting is high; if most say “wait”, it is low. The call is still yours.
Write your profile in four questions
Put the four questions on one page and mark each yes or no. If you are not an incubator entrepreneur, the dues exemption may stay out of reach even after the definition appears. In that case, the gain from waiting is limited to the platform support and the lighter conditions.
Put the dates in the calendar
Three dates are on the table: 31 October 2026 for Business Development Support, 31 December 2026 for the one-year exception, and, if you incorporate, the one-year Business Setup window that starts on registration day. Write a responsible person next to each. A date with no owner is how an application ends up gathering dust.
Do not rush the application
Since a rejection allows no new application, a complete Business Setup file matters more than chasing a date. We weigh the incorporation decision, application timing and the company’s digital readiness together in our digital consulting service.
What does the digital company decision change for your website, domain and digital records?
Whatever you decide about incorporation, the digital groundwork stays the same. Applications run through e-Devlet, and the incorporation date is read from registry and tax records. For a founder who waits, this period is not idle time; the domain, website and first customer list can all be prepared now.
Consistent records are half the application
The KOSGEB Business Setup application form is filled in through e-Devlet. The trade name in the registry, the tax certificate and the details on the form should match. Small gaps between records cost time on the application screen.
The waiting period is work time for your shop window
You can buy a domain, draft a website and plan search visibility before the company exists. A team whose shop window is ready on incorporation day does not lose its first customer at the door. New developments on the definition are updated on our digital company page, where we collect every question on the topic.
Quick Summary
- Business Setup Support must be requested within one year of incorporation (KOSGEB Directive).
- For businesses founded on or after 16 December 2024, the one-year condition does not apply until 31 December 2026 (KOSGEB programme page).
- A business rejected for Business Setup Support cannot apply again (KOSGEB Directive).
- Performance Support does not depend on the digital company condition; Platform Costs Support does.
- As of 14 October 2026, nobody knows whether the definition will apply to companies formed before it.
Short Glossary
- Incorporation date
- Incorporation date is the day used to start KOSGEB deadlines, which for a legal entity is the trade registry registration date.
- Performance Support
- Performance Support is the name used for the non-repayable KOSGEB support paid to certain founder groups subject to sales and employment terms.
- Sole representation
- Sole representation is the term used for the authority to represent a company alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Next Step
If you want to weigh waiting against incorporating for your own profile, fill in the consult your expert form.
The definition and conditions of the digital company scheme are not final yet; 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.
Support amounts and conditions can change; check the current terms on the institution’s official page before applying. This article is not financial or legal advice.
Sources: KOSGEB, Entrepreneur Support Programme renewed (12 October 2026, updated 13 October 2026) · KOSGEB Entrepreneur Support Programme Directive (dated 5 October 2026) · KOSGEB programme page (accessed 14 October 2026) · Official Gazette, Issue No. 33270 (4 June 2026) · BTSO dues information · Technology Development Zones Implementing Regulation
Updated: October 2026
Sık Sorulan Sorular
Under the Directive, the incorporation date is the start-of-business date on the tax certificate for a sole proprietorship. For a legal entity, it is the trade registry registration date. For a founder setting up a limited or joint-stock company, the clock starts on registration day.
According to the programme page, businesses founded on or after 16 December 2024 can apply for Business Setup Support until 31 December 2026 without the one-year condition, if they meet the other conditions. Whether this exception will be extended into 2027 is unknown. A business that waits for the definition into 2027 may find that window closed.
That has not been announced. As of 14 October 2026, nobody knows whether the definition will apply to companies formed before it.
No. Under the KOSGEB Directive, a rejected business cannot apply again; it can object to the decision once within 15 days.
No. Performance Support is open to businesses whose founder is young, a woman, disabled, a veteran or a first-degree relative of a fallen soldier, and it is not tied to the digital company condition.