Rasmal Ventures, Qatar’s first institutionally backed investment firm, trusted by sovereign wealth funds including the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bilişim Vadisi, one of Türkiye’s largest technology development zones, to strengthen the startup and innovation ecosystem across the two markets. The agreement was signed at GITEX Türkiye in Istanbul.
Industry sources added that this MoU establishes a three-year framework for cooperation between Rasmal Ventures and Bilişim Vadisi — and its flagship entrepreneurship hub, Terminal Istanbul, the campus rising from the former Atatürk Airport that is being developed to host more than 10,000 technology companies. Under the agreement, the two institutions will collaborate on joint innovation programmes, investor and B2B matchmaking, knowledge exchange, capacity-building, and the two-way flow of startups, experts and networks between Türkiye and the Gulf.
For Rasmal Ventures, the partnership is a direct expression of its strategy: to act as the bridge between Gulf capital and the innovation emerging across MENA, Türkiye and Asia. As Gulf capital increasingly looks beyond its borders and Türkiye cements its position as one of the world’s fastest-rising startup ecosystems, the agreement gives founders on both sides a structured path to cross — Turkish companies gaining a route into GCC markets and capital, and Gulf investors gaining a managed channel into Türkiye’s deep engineering talent and industrial base. “Türkiye is one of the most exciting startup stories in the world right now, and the Gulf holds one of the largest pools of patient capital anywhere,” said Soumaya Ben Beya Dridje, Partner at Rasmal Ventures. “This partnership with Bilişim Vadisi lets us connect the two at ecosystem scale — giving Turkish founders a real bridge into GCC markets and capital, and our region access to some of the best engineering talent in the world. It reflects exactly how we work: we validate market access before we commit capital.”
The agreement deepens an existing commitment. Rasmal Ventures is already invested in Türkiye’s innovation economy as an early backer of Roamless — the Türkiye-rooted travel-connectivity company building what it calls the world’s first truly global mobile operator — whose USD 12 million Series A Rasmal led. The MoU with Bilişim Vadisi turns that track record into a structured, ecosystem-wide channel between the two markets.
For Bilişim Vadisi, the agreement extends Terminal Istanbul’s role as a meeting point between global entrepreneurs and investors directly into the Gulf. “Terminal Istanbul was built to make Türkiye a gateway between continents for entrepreneurs and investors,” said İsmail Erkam Tüzgen, CEO of Bilişim Vadisi. “Partnering with an institutional investor of Rasmal Ventures’ calibre extends that gateway directly into one of the world’s most dynamic capital markets, and opens new opportunities for the startups and companies across our ecosystem.”
Industry sources added that the two institutions will define specific programmes and activities under the MoU over the coming months, with a focus on connecting founders, investors and corporates across the Gulf–Türkiye corridor.
