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There’s lots going on with and for startups from the Danube to Dubai. And 212 is on it. We’re changing up this newsletter to bring you not just headlines but to give perspective and depth. Know and understand. That’s our motto for 2017. Toward that end, we have a new design: - The Latest (featuring mergers, acquisitions, trends or what we’re going to call Watch This Space)
- Deep dive (where we’ll go deep on a particular topic)
- And, drumroll… After Hours
Knowing and understanding means being well rounded. We can’t be all startup all the time. In After Hours we bring you interesting books, music, art, food, wine – all things culture. Let’s get to it:
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Unicorn Alert - Head of the Exits
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Where is tech hot? Europe. So says Atomico and Slush. The duo are particularly bullish on the startups coming out of Munich, Zurich (The World Economic Forum ranks Switzerland #1 in competitiveness), Lisbon (we like the port), Madrid, and Copenhagen. What’s interesting in their study: Europe corporates are getting in the game and making direct investments in their own backyard. Many US VCs have taken note and are showing up with the cash moneyzz. |
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You have my interest:
Mediterra invests in tech Mediterra Capital dipped its toe in tech. The Istanbul based private equity firm, normally focused on consumer goods and business services, invested in Arkel, an electrical component manufacturer, taking a 70% stake. Hermes GPE and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) joined in as well. Why is this significant? Traditional private equity isn’t a risk taker. This investment signals a long bet on Turkey’s tech ecosystem, and Turkey itself. #winning |
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M&A alert: Yankees slathering up Turkish olive oil Bunge, a US agricultural products distributor, purchased Ana Gida, the owner of Komili, the leading brand for olive oil in Turkey. Bunge is key on increasing its presence in EMEA, including Turkey. Yup, even with all the unsettling news, the reality is this region still has mass appeal. Growing population = growing opportunities. #ohyeah |
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Solvoyo, the innovative leader in supply chain planning, teamed up with Enavate Microsoft Dynamics provider. Together, the two companies are going to eliminate waste – a common problem in wholesale warehouses (also our closets, but that’s a different matter) and distributors. Did you know that US wholesalers and distributors carried an extra $88 billion in inventory in 2015 compared to 2010? Damn is right. Think of the Solvoyo-Enavate partnership as the supply chain version of Marie Kondo’s tidying up. #YesPlease |
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‘cause Unionpay, a China based financial services provider, has made it much easier for its customers to book hotels through HotelRunner. It’s a partnership with Turkey’s İş Bankası and has the potential to reach 127 countries. That’s big. Chinese tourism has been on the rise. During something called “Golden Week” – a 7-day holiday break usually the first week of October – 589 million Chinese are expected to spend $72 billion. (What’s ‘can you take my picture in Mandarin?’) |
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The Chinese are coming
(Part II)! ZTE Corp, China's largest telecom equipment manufacturer, took a 48.04% stake in Netas Telekom, a Turkish telecom equipment manufacturer. Price tag: $101.28 million. China is eager to break into Europe. In November 2016, China launched an $11 billion fund for Central and Eastern Europe. And it clearly sees Turkey as a gateway for further transactions. Geography for the win. |
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And the Japanese are coming too! We almost flipped through this news as well. Asahai, the Japanese beer company, bought up Pilsner, Urquell, Kozel Tyskie from Anheuser-Busch. Yawn, you say. Food company acquisitions are a dime a dozen. Except in Central Europe. CEE isn’t a big investor or acquisition destination. That the Japanese have landed there is something to keep an eye on |
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Early last year, Middle East e-commerce was valued at $4.9 billion. It’s expected to jump to $10 billion by 2018. So it’s no surprise that one of the region’s top business leaders, Mohamed Alabbar “teamed up with a Saudi sovereign wealth fund” to launch a $1 billion e-commerce platform. In June last year, Alabbar said, that as more and more Arabs go online to shop. What we’re watching: More money flow into Arab tech, particularly e-commerce. Just take this announcement from Dubai Future Accelrators (DFA) – a $33.5 million deal for Dubai based startups. |
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Deep Dive: 2017 Predictions
By Ali Karabey 2016 was a difficult year. From where I sit in Istanbul, this is what I saw: stifling emerging market growth; a plummeting Turkish Lira (20% decline); terrorist attacks in Turkey and Europe; a worsening refugee crisis; a coup attempt. Any one of these would dissuade even the most ambitious entrepreneur in the West from launching a business. Not here. Entrepreneurs in EMEA are tough. I am in awe of the resilience the entrepreneurs demonstrated throughout the year. They did not just survive; they evolved, grew stronger and entered new markets. to read more, please click here
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Get your library cards out people. Elmira has a few recommendations for you.
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Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley by Antonio Garcia Martinez — If Antonio wasn’t such an insightful storyteller, I’d just call him a typical Silicon Valley bro. A jerk. His brilliant tale about going from Wall Street to the Valley — to start his own company to selling and then landing at Facebook is well worth reading. |
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The Association of Small Bombs — Bombs. They’re “breaking news.” Mahajan dives deep to show that they’re not merely passing – a flash headline in the night. The effects of terrorism go beyond the explosion. And this book takes us there. A delightful read. |
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“You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.” ― Winston S. Churchill |
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