KOSGEB Technology Center Program grants TEKMERs up to TL 6,506,000 a year, who can apply?
TEKMER operators and technopark management companies can receive up to TL 6,506,000 a year for each support line in 2026 under KOSGEB’s Technology Center Support Program, and the money goes to the anonim şirket (joint-stock company) running the center, not to SMEs directly (KOSGEB program page, accessed 13 October 2026). KOSGEB is Türkiye’s Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization, and a TEKMER is a technology center that helps tech-focused startups get going. The program has three lines, Establishment, Performance and Acceleration, and runs for 10 years in total.
For an SME or founder, the meaning is indirect but concrete: you can join, as a participant, the acceleration program of a TEKMER funded this way. As of mid-October, the application period for the latest acceleration call has closed, and so has the window for Establishment Support. Preparing for the next call is the useful move now.
Who can benefit from KOSGEB’s Technology Center Support Program?
The beneficiaries are TEKMER operators and the management companies of technology development zones (TGB, the Turkish term for a technopark). Both must be joint-stock companies, registered and active in the KOSGEB system. A TEKMER also needs a signed TEKMER Name Use Agreement. SMEs are not beneficiaries; they join acceleration programs as participants.
How do the Technology Center Program’s Establishment, Performance and Acceleration lines differ?
The three lines split by the center’s age and job. Under the directive, Establishment lasts up to 3 years, Performance up to 7 and Acceleration up to 10. For 2026, each has an annual ceiling of TL 6,506,000; the total ceilings are TL 19,518,000 for Establishment, TL 45,542,000 for Performance and TL 65,060,000 for Acceleration.
How can an SME owner benefit from TEKMER support?
As a participant in an acceleration program. According to the program page, a participating business does not need earlier KOSGEB support; being registered and active with KOSGEB, with a current SME declaration and SME status, is enough. Acceleration Support comes only through KOSGEB calls, the program lasts one to three months, and the product must be at technology readiness level 6 or higher.
A representative scene: a prototype on the workbench
The scene below is representative; the person and business are not real. In a back street of an industrial estate, the owner of a small firm developing a climate sensor sets a prototype on the bench. The device works, but there is no buyer, and the product gathers dust on the shelf. On the owner’s phone, a news story about support for TEKMERs is open.
Which institutions and founders does the TEKMER program affect, and how?
The winner is the organisation that has set up its university partnership and runs its center steadily. Across Türkiye this autumn of 2026, university circles, organised industrial zones and chambers are looking at a ten-year funding framework. Those who struggle are young centers that missed the Establishment deadline and startups that do not follow the call calendar.
What should a startup’s digital presence show before joining a TEKMER acceleration program?
That the product works and has buyers. Acceleration depends on cooperation with investors and potential customers, and those people will look the startup up. If the product page, demo video, usage data and contact details are scattered, the first impression suffers. Online presence is not among the conditions listed on the program page, but it makes the introduction easier.
What should anyone planning to found or join a TEKMER do this week?
Split by role. If you are a prospective founder, book a meeting with the university or TGB management company you plan to partner with. If you are an SME or founder, update your KOSGEB record and SME declaration and list the TEKMERs near you. Full conditions are on the KOSGEB Technology Center Support Program page.
The prototype on the bench moves forward not through a grant application but by knocking on the right center’s door; your first step is knowing where that door is.
Quick Summary
- The beneficiaries of KOSGEB’s Technology Center Program are TEKMER operators and TGB management companies, not SMEs (KOSGEB program page).
- The 2026 annual ceiling is TL 6,506,000 per support line, and the program runs 10 years in total (KOSGEB program page, Directive).
- Establishment and Performance are non-repayable, while Acceleration is repayable (Directive).
- The COP31 Acceleration Call closed on 30 August 2026, and the Establishment window closed on 7 October 2026.
- SMEs join acceleration programs as participants when KOSGEB opens a call.
Short Glossary
- TEKMER
- TEKMER is the abbreviation used for a technology center that works to launch and grow technology-focused startups.
- Operator
- An operator is the term used for the joint-stock company that runs a TEKMER and receives KOSGEB support.
- Technology readiness level
- Technology readiness level is the scale used to show a product’s maturity step from idea to market.
Frequently Asked Questions
Next Step
If you want to review the digital readiness of your startup or center together, fill in the consult your expert form.
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, Technology Center Support Program (accessed 13 October 2026) · Technology Center Support Program Directive, Revision 1, June 2026 · KOSGEB, 2026-01 COP31 Acceleration Call notice, 9 August 2026
Updated: October 2026
Sık Sorulan Sorular
According to the program page and FAQ, the list is broad: universities, TGB management companies, technology transfer offices, organised industrial zone (OSB) managements, public bodies, TOBB and its chambers and exchanges, TİM and exporters’ associations, R&D centers, foundations, associations and cooperatives. Individual participation investors and corporate firms are on the list too.
Founders other than universities and TGB companies apply with a Cooperation Agreement signed with at least one university and/or TGB management company. The FAQ states that this is not a partnership requirement.
Under the directive and the program page, applications go through e-Devlet, Türkiye’s e-government portal, or the KOSGEB system.
Under the directive, Establishment and Performance support are paid at 100% and are non-repayable. Acceleration Support is also at 100%, but it is repayable. After the Board decision on completion comes a 36-month grace period, followed by four equal quarterly instalments.
Software, personnel, training, consulting, organisation and promotion costs. Up to 50% of the estimated amount can be paid early against a guarantee. Acceleration does not cover personnel costs, and a rejected Establishment application cannot be resubmitted unchanged.
No, it has closed. The program took effect on 7 October 2025, and TEKMERs younger than 3 years at that date had until 7 October 2026 to apply for Establishment Support. Older centers can apply only for Performance or Acceleration.
The directive set the limit at TL 5,000,000 for the year it took effect. Each January it is updated by the average of CPI and domestic PPI; the announced figure for 2026 is TL 6,506,000.
The founder assumes the support is a grant the firm can apply for directly. Then the founder opens the program page and sees that the beneficiary list names the company running the center, not the startup. The question changes from “How does the firm get this money?” to “Which center’s program should the firm join?”
The SME’s job is to get to know nearby TEKMERs and technoparks. The acceleration program requires cooperation with a fund, an angel investor network or a potential customer. It aims to seat the startup at the table with buyers and investors.
These bodies can found a TEKMER, but a cooperation agreement with a university or TGB management company is required. An operating joint-stock company and the TEKMER name-use right also belong on the list.
Acceleration covers only products that have reached readiness level 6. For a startup still at the idea stage, that door is not open yet; the prototype has to get into the field first.
Angel investors, funds and corporate buyers, because the acceleration requirement pulls them into the program. For manufacturing SMEs looking for a loan directly, KOSGEB’s Capacity Development Support Program offers a different route.
What the product does, who it is for and what stage it has reached. A landing page that simplifies the technical language helps an investor’s first scan go smoothly.
When a center, mentor or investor searches for the startup’s name, the picture should be consistent. Company name, product name and social accounts should tell the same story, because scattered traces erode trust.
The same logic applies to operators. If a TEKMER does not clearly publish its programs, call calendar and application route, startups cannot find it.
The application period for the 2026-01 COP31 Acceleration Call ran from 9 to 30 August 2026 and has closed. The call focused on themes such as zero waste, food safety, climate action, clean energy and green technology. The program page still shows the call, but applications are not open; watch for the next call’s themes and prepare your product accordingly.
Which acceleration calls it applies to, which themes it focuses on and which investor network it works with. The answers show whether it fits your product.
For startups or centers that want to sort out their web, search and visibility, we do this work together through our digital consulting service. For a similar model aimed at consulting centers, see our KOSGEB SEGEM Program article, and for other announcements, the grants and incentives news archive.
No. According to the program page, the beneficiaries are TEKMER operators and TGB management companies. SMEs take part in acceleration programs as participants.
No. According to the program page, being registered and active with KOSGEB, with a current declaration and SME status, is enough.
No, the application period has closed. Under the call notice, the deadline was 30 August 2026; follow new calls on KOSGEB’s official page.