The Mid and long-term pros & cons of Turkish start-ups due to coronavirus are still unclear. However, some are highlighted during the pandemics. Obviously, the ones that could exploit this public awareness will succeed whereas the others would suffer. Here are the verticals that we have heard about most for the last months:
1- Home delivery: Although the demand for ready-to-consume meal delivery was sharply declined, it was overwhelmingly substituted by rocket-high demand for grocery & supermarket deliveries. Leading semi-technological home delivery start-ups seem to dominate the market whereas in-house delivery teams of supermarket chains are generating historically high revenues.
2- E-commerce: From diapers to computers, demand rose for every single good that can be sold online. Both generalist web platforms which sell everything and thematic online markets that focus on specialized goods are doing very well.
3- Cargo delivery: This traditional industry became one of the vital services in our life, thanks to the boost in e-commerce and the changes in the way of doing business without coming to face-to-face or coming to offices.
4- Biotechnology: Several agile biotech startups were able to develop diagnostic kits in a few weeks and found chances to sell in bulk amounts to both the Turkish Healthcare system and international markets. There are still issues of sensitivity and specificity, but better in shape than regional counterparts.
5- Medical textile production: Combining decades of production experience in consumables and knowledge in textiles, Turkish medical textile production is high-class, and companies are hardly matching the domestic and global demand created.
6- Additive (3D-printed) production: We loved every single start-up that mass-produced and donated self-protective consumables such as face shields to health professionals. They did it fast and accurately, without a factory. Also, many of us manufactured whatever we need at home, without a factory too.
7- Local FinTech: Any technological approach that facilitated distant or touchless payment or other interactions with customers gained mass-popularity.
Please keep in mind that, some verticals such as home or cargo delivery are still labor-intense and may suffer from an increased number of infected employees and in turn, financial and legal outcomes. On the other hand, some Turkish startups will perhaps play their cards well and will become global players in their markets. Anyway, investment in Turkish startups is a serious opportunity to be considered and may generate a tremendous return on the investment.
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