The Global Entrepreneurship Network, in collaboration with local partners, has opened a new startup hub in the southwestern Turkish city of Denizli. GEN Campus Denizli is a space for entrepreneurs to connect, collaborate and share knowledge and networks. It will be the home of GEN programming in the country, including the Entrepreneurship World Cup, Global Entrepreneurship Week and Startup Huddle.
The campus officially opened on Saturday, October 15, at the Denizli Entrepreneurship Summit, a gathering of key ecosystem players organized by GEN Turkey.
“GEN Campus Denizli represents the beginning of a new journey to support entrepreneurs in Turkey,” said Jonathan Ortmans, president of the Global Entrepreneurship Network in a video message to attendees. “We are thrilled to be embarking on this next phase of collaboration with local partners to ensure Turkey not only continues to engage with the global entrepreneurship community but plays a leadership role within it.”
Sezai Hazır, Board Chair of Habitat Association and Vice Chair of GEN Turkey also delivered remarks: “GEN Campus Denizli will make a great contribution to the ecosystem. We welcome all entrepreneurs to Denizli.”
The campus is housed at the DEGIAD administrative building, also the home of Turkey’s young business owners' association.
“We are proud to open the first GEN Campus in Turkey and the third in the world in our building,” said association president Hakan Urhan.
The first GEN Campus location opened in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2017 and is now the largest startup campus on the continent. Known as 22 on Sloane, the hub will mark its five-year anniversary during Global Entrepreneurship Week November 14-20. Construction for a new campus outside Cairo, Egypt, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is set to resume construction in 2023.