KOSGEB setup support for a digital company, who gets the platform registration fee?
KOSGEB’s Business Setup Support provides a non-repayable Platform Costs Support, equal to a platform registration fee the Ministry of Industry and Technology will set, to businesses formed in line with the Ministry’s digital company (dijital şirket) definition (KOSGEB, 12 October 2026). KOSGEB is Türkiye’s Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization. The support rate is 100% and the period is 24 months, but no TL amount has been announced. The second part of Business Setup Support, Performance Support, pays up to eight gross minimum wages, non-repayable, to founders who are young, women, disabled, veterans or first-degree relatives of fallen soldiers.
What this means for you: the platform support exists on paper, but since the digital company definition had not been published as of 14 October 2026, it is on hold in practice. A business that fits the definition is spared the training, 50% shareholding, past-company and sole-representation conditions. Performance Support, by contrast, does not depend on the digital company condition; it works period by period, on sales and premium-day terms.
How much does KOSGEB Business Setup Support give a digital company?
There is no fixed TL figure. Platform Costs Support is paid up to the platform registration fee the Ministry will set, and the Directive gives no ceiling for it. The support rate is 100%, the period is 24 months, and it is non-repayable. You can see every component on the KOSGEB Entrepreneur Support Programme page.
Which criteria compare Platform Costs Support and Performance Support?
Four criteria are enough: who it is open to, what the amount depends on, what triggers payment, and whether you can apply today. On these four, Platform Costs Support waits for the digital company definition, while Performance Support stands ready with written terms. On current usability, the winner is Performance Support.
Which KOSGEB conditions are waived for a digital company?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- The entrepreneurship training condition
- The 50% shareholding and sole representation conditions
- The past-company restriction
- A temporary relief on the one-year rule
Under Article 16 of the Directive, four conditions are not required for a business that fits the digital company definition: traditional entrepreneurship training, a founder share of at least 50%, the past-company restriction and sole representation authority. The general conditions still apply: a KOSGEB-supported sector, a business aged 0-1, an application within one year of incorporation, and an up-to-date, active Business Declaration.
The entrepreneurship training condition
The traditional entrepreneurship training asked of other founders is not required for a digital company that fits the definition.
The 50% shareholding and sole representation conditions
A digital company does not need the founder to hold at least 50% or to represent the company alone. For software companies with investors and several founders, this difference is decisive.
The past-company restriction
Normally, a sole proprietorship within the past three years or a shareholding of 25% or more can stand in the way. A digital company that fits the definition is spared this restriction too, which opens the door for serial founders.
A temporary relief on the one-year rule
According to the programme page, businesses founded on or after 16 December 2024 can apply until 31 December 2026 without the one-year condition. This relief covers all Business Setup applications, not only digital companies.
Who does KOSGEB Business Setup Support affect among digital company founders?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- A software startup with several founders
- A young or woman founder’s e-commerce business that sells
- A team whose product is not on sale yet
Software and tech startups with many shareholders gain most, because the 50% shareholding and sole-representation conditions trip them up. An e-commerce business run by a young or woman founder that already sells can look at Performance Support today. A team that has not started selling will struggle with the period terms.
A software startup with several founders
Let’s say a software company has four partners and an investor stake. Once the definition is out, and if the company fits it, it can apply without tripping on the shareholding and representation conditions. Who it suits: a team that can wait for the definition without a cash squeeze.
A young or woman founder’s e-commerce business that sells
A business that reaches at least one gross minimum wage in sales and 90 premium days in each three-month period is a good Performance Support candidate. Who it suits: a small business whose till is ringing and which has insured staff.
A team whose product is not on sale yet
A period that misses the sales condition gets no payment. If the product is still gathering dust, Performance Support periods can slip by unused. Who it does not suit: a startup in a long R&D phase with no revenue.
What does KOSGEB’s digital company support mean for web, marketplaces and data?
Because the Performance Support period terms depend on sales, your digital sales channel is directly linked to the support. A website, marketplace store and payment setup help sales show up properly on invoices and bank records. Which digital criteria the digital company definition will use has not been announced.
What should a digital company founder planning a KOSGEB application do this week?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- Check your Business Declaration and activity code
- Read your company structure alongside related topics
- Set up sales and payment channels you can document
Do three concrete things this week: check your business age and incorporation date against the 16 December 2024 threshold, update your Business Declaration, and pull a table of the last three months of sales and premium days. Our digital company page, where we collect every question on the topic, will be updated when the definition is published.
Check your Business Declaration and activity code
Without an up-to-date, active Business Declaration, the application does not move. Check whether your activity code falls within a KOSGEB-supported sector.
Read your company structure alongside related topics
How a digital company relates to limited and joint-stock companies is covered in our guide is a digital company a new legal entity type. Work permits for foreign team members are covered in our Tech Visa guide.
Set up sales and payment channels you can document
Set up the website, marketplace and payment infrastructure so that every sale is recorded cleanly. We build the sales and visibility infrastructure of digital companies in our digital consulting service.
Quick Summary
- Business Setup Support consists of Platform Costs and Performance Support, with a 100% rate, 24 months and no repayment (KOSGEB Directive, 5 October 2026).
- Platform Costs Support equals the platform registration fee the Ministry will set; no TL amount has been announced.
- Performance Support pays up to eight gross minimum wages; whether that is a total or per period is unclear.
- A digital company is spared the training, 50% shareholding, past-company and sole-representation conditions (Directive Article 16).
- As of 14 October 2026, the digital company definition has not been published, so the platform support is on hold.
Short Glossary
- Platform Costs Support
- Platform Costs Support is the name used for the non-repayable KOSGEB support paid to a business fitting the digital company definition, equal to the platform registration fee.
- Premium day
- Premium day is the term used for each day reported to SGK, Türkiye’s Social Security Institution, for which premiums are paid for an insured employee.
- Business Declaration
- Business Declaration is the online form used by a business to report its details to KOSGEB.
Frequently Asked Questions
Next Step
If you want to clarify which component fits your business and how your sales setup matches the period terms, 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) · KOSGEB Entrepreneur Support Programme Directive (dated 5 October 2026) · KOSGEB, Entrepreneur Support Programme page (accessed 14 October 2026)
Updated: October 2026
Sık Sorulan Sorular
Because the amount is tied to a registration fee the Ministry will set. Neither the platform’s name nor whether it is a Ministry system or a private provider has been announced.
The Directive sets Performance Support at up to eight gross minimum wages and uses the gross minimum wage at the end of each period. The text does not make clear whether that figure is a total or per period. So confirm with KOSGEB before running any TL calculation.
Both parts of Business Setup Support are non-repayable under the Directive. That does not mean automatic payment. Payment is requested with a Payment Request Form and a Payment Documents Table, and spending must go through a bank, PTT Bank or a payment institution and be backed by a receipt or statement.
The platform support is open to businesses formed in line with the digital company definition. Performance Support is open to businesses whose founder is young, a woman, disabled, a veteran or a first-degree relative of a fallen soldier.
In the platform support, payment depends on the registration fee. In Performance Support, each of the eight three-month periods 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. A period that misses the terms gets no payment.
Applications are continuous and run through e-Devlet, Türkiye’s e-government gateway. Whether a platform support application can succeed before the definition exists is unclear. A rejected business cannot apply again and can object only once, within 15 days, so a hasty application carries risk.
If you sell through a website or marketplace, make sure the invoice and the bank record land in the same period. Tracking average basket size and conversion rate keeps the end-of-period numbers free of surprises.
KOSGEB payments are backed by a receipt or statement. The Directive expects spending to go through a bank, PTT Bank or a payment institution.
The outcome is unclear. The support depends on the Ministry’s digital company definition, which had not been published as of 14 October 2026. Since a rejected business cannot apply again, check the timing with KOSGEB before applying.
The text reviewed has no clear rule on this. Get written confirmation from KOSGEB before applying.
Under the Directive, a period that does not meet the terms gets no payment. If the terms are met in other periods, payment can be requested for those periods.