World business angels' forum begins in Istanbul

By Tuba Sahin

ISTANBUL (AA) - A meeting of international suppliers of seed money for such enterprises as start-ups and entrepreneurs, with hundreds of the world’s business leaders and industry experts in attendance, began in Istanbul on Monday.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF), its chairman said Turkey provides the highest tax incentive in the world for angel investors partnering with entrepreneurs through capital support.

Baybars Altuntas, the head of the WBAF, said the country offers 75 percent or 100 percent tax exemption on income tax basis to the investors partnering with entrepreneurs.

Altuntas said angel investors are the only source of "smart finance" which requires startups, scale ups and entrepreneurs.

"Today, it will be a good step to reinvent money in Istanbul as 'smart finance'. This means, putting in start ups is good but if you put your know-how, mentorship and network for them to invest, this is smart finance," the chairman of the WBAF said.

Stating that Istanbul hosted a number of business empires and comes second after New York having the most diplomatic mission, Altuntas said the city is the correct place for the event gathering angel investors which are "real empires of the 21st century".

He added that Global Entrepreneurship Congress is also going to take place in April in Istanbul.

- About WBAF

The WBAF 2018 -- backed by Anadolu Agency as global communication partner -- will focus on angel investors partnering with family offices and wealth management institutions.

The two-day event, of which official partner is the Visegrad Group -- the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia -- hosts 26 panel discussions, 17 keynote speeches, 9 fireside chats, 5 presentations, 1 governmental meet up, 2 workshops, 2 master classes, 1 short course.

Benefits and challenges of the angel investment community, ways to connect the early-stage market ecosystem and to facilitate the democratization of finance by expanding access will be discussed during the forum.