4 Turkish Women Entrepreneurs Notable for Their Achievements

Women who achieve impressive success both in the world and in our country, there are many of them! The commonality of these women, who set out with ideas with a different edge from different sectors, is that they inspire the business world. So, who are the successful Turkish entrepreneurs notable for their achievements?

1) Demet Mutlu

Demet Mutlu, one of the first names that come to mind when you think of entrepreneurship in our country, was born in New York. She graduated cum laude from NYU (New York University) with a degree in Economics. She worked in various countries in the marketing field, then she dropped her MBA education at Harvard Business School to found Trendyol in 2010.

Mutlu’s enterprise Trendyol of which she still is the CEO is one of the biggest Turkish enterprises and a global inspiration. Trendyol meets users in more than 27 countries by 2022. Demet Mutlu continues to be one of the women entrepreneurs who have been on the lists of the most prestigious publications such as Fortune, Forbes, and BOF 500 for more than 10 years.

2) Hande Çilingir

Hande Çilingir continued her studies at Shanghai University in China after receiving her degree in Economics and Management at the London School of Economics. After experiencing the corporate world for some time, she co-founded Insider with Arda Koterin, Sinan Toktay, and Serhat Soyuerel. In 2016, she has been awarded “The Woman Entrepreneur of the Year” by Microsoft and has been listed as “Top 3 Women CEOs located outside of the US” according to Crunchbase.

Insider has become the first unicorn company in the software field with a valuation of over 1 billion dollars by providing the creation of tools used to increase sales for e-commerce sites. It continues to be one of the most important Turkish brands served in more than 120 countries since its foundation in 2012.

3) Hanzade Doğan Boyner

Hanzade Doğan Boyner completed her undergraduate studies at the London School of Economics and MBA degree at Columbia University. She took part in the management of numerous important companies across different sectors. Hanzade Doğan Boyner laid the foundation for Hepsiburada in 1998 and implemented it in 2001 within Doğan Online. At the same time, she started the “Women’s Empowerment through Technology” program that encourages many women entrepreneurs from all around Turkey.

Hepsiburada is called “Amazon of Turkey” by Fortune Turkey because it leads the country’s digital transformation. Hepsiburada is still one of the most valuable platforms in today’s e-commerce ecosystem.

4) Gamze Cizreli

Gamze Cizreli completed her Business Administration degree at METU and worked in the defense industry for three years. She has taken care of many different enterprises until she found BigChefs in Ankara in 2007. After the ups and downs in the industry, she headed to the field of food and pastry. Despite the challenges and prejudices against the women in the entrepreneurship world, she has managed to get her name on the “Women Entrepreneurs Who Make a Difference” list with the projects within BigChefs and herself led.

BigChefs started as a small food and beverage cafe, and today it has turned into a chain restaurant with 70 branches, 8 of which are abroad. BigChefs still represent a success story being one of the leading chain restaurants in Turkey.

Many big companies can open to the world by their operations started in Turkey. With the lead of visionary and determined women, some of these companies create success stories and deliver value to their sectors and our country. These companies that serve in numerous sectors, such as software, food & beverage, and e-commerce, inspire local and global entrepreneurship ecosystems. BTM is a platform that provides services for companies with a new business idea in the commercialization procedure and supports their growth process. We have introduced the women entrepreneurs who have made their names in this blog post. Don’t forget to check out other content of BTM for further information!