The benefits and challenges of internationalisation and investment: Panel discussion

Four experts speak of their experience doing business and investing across borders.

Key messages from the panel:

 “The best brains are not within your own borders” - Priya Guha, Innovate UK Council & Merian Ventures; 

When should one internationalise - “It’s not just a question of when, but also where” Stephen Mooney, Fullsight Partners “... and you need an expansion plan built into your sales strategy. 

“3 out of 10 exits in Europe in 2018 were from Turkey” Erman Turan, Addwise “... many investors see great potential in Turkey”. 

“Valuations in Europe are low; you can get a lot more bang for your Euro or Dollar…” Kristen Albright, Prokarium and ex-US venture capitalist.

Tekiu Ltd. designed and delivered Innovate UK’s Global Innovation Partnership Programme for Turkey, T-DEB, part of the Newton Fund. The aim of this two-year programme was to help UK and Turkish SMEs and organisations to build the capacity to develop and sustain R&D collaborations that address societal challenges. Our focus areas were Health, Environmental Tech and Smart Cities. T-DEB ran from Jan 2018 to March 2020. 

This panel discussion was part of T-DEB’s final business showcase, which  marked the end of the programme and provided a platform for all our successful companies to present their work and network with potential financiers, clients, and organisations that could help them further their partnership projects beyond T-DEB.  You can read more about our programme at https://tdebproject.com/.