10 startups selected for the first term of Workup Gaming graduated with the Demo Day event. They also had the opportunity to experience their startups in the event area.
The first-term startups of Workup Gaming, the program for startups and game studios that produce games for educational purposes, launched in June by Turkiye Is Bankasi, which has been supporting startups operating in different verticals since 2017 with the Workup Entrepreneurship Program of which it is the main supporter, graduated with the Demo Day event.
At the event, startups and game studios that grew their games, received investments and developed games talked about their experiences in the program. At the networking event, 10 startups graduated from the Workup Gaming program shared their business models and road maps with investors, ecosystem stakeholders, and managers from Isbank and its subsidiaries, and also had the opportunity to have their games tested by the guests.
The aim is to contribute to the cognitive development of school-age children.
In his speech at Demo Day, Isbank Deputy General Manager Sezgin Lule emphasized that they achieved very good results in the journey they started with startups that develop and want to develop games in order to capture the competencies of the future and contribute to the cognitive development of both pre-school and school-age children in our country.
Pointing out that entrepreneurs in the game vertical have become an important locomotive in the ecosystem and that Turkiye ranks second in the number of game studios in the European market after England, Lule said, “The success we have achieved globally as a young, dynamic, high mobile penetration and game-loving market is pleasing. I believe that we will write new stories by exporting education-oriented technologies.”
4 startups received $1.2 million investment
Workup Gaming Entrepreneurship Program was created with the main support of Turkiye Is Bankasi, in partnership with the Turkish Informatics Foundation, Bogazici Ventures, Joy Game and Dojo Talent. Startups and game studios operating in the gaming field produced education-oriented games or improved and scaled the games they had previously developed during the 6-month program. During the program, 4 startups received investments worth $1.2 million.
Thanks to the opportunities offered within the scope of the program, entrepreneurs had more than 60 hours of meetings with 15 mentors who are experts in their fields, and improved their skills with 11 trainings and 4 technical workshops. Thanks to the community created, 3 startups gained new employees.
Workup Gaming 1st term graduates
- Kidlab: A game studio that produces games that are developed for children between the ages of 2-8 to use technology efficiently, include intelligence-developing activities and provide informative content to parents about child development/education.
- Compactive: A game studio that develops casual games with innovative mechanics and technologies that game developers can use.
- Hyperactive: A game studio that aims to develop interactive and artificial intelligence-based educational games supported by active activities.
- Yuyuto: A game studio that focuses on strategy and simulation games and develops and publishes online mobile games, including the game Commercialum.
- Funrika: An experienced game studio that launches hybrid casual games and has long experience in developing digital games in the field of education.
- Tunga Games: A game studio in the digital game industry that produces educational games and social games that include learning tools that trigger thinking, enable learning by understanding, and target skills that form the basis for further learning.
- Pangea VR: To develop educational console games for children under the age of 12, to help children acquire important skills while having fun, thanks to interesting gameplay, colorful characters and simplified controls; Game studio that aims to teach global warming, sustainability and environmental friendliness.
- Funly: A game studio that aims to develop the imagination, creativity and problem-solving skills of children and young people by producing both educational and entertaining games, and to enable parents to spend quality time with their children.
- OYEDU: An educational technologies initiative that focuses students’ interest in the virtual world on education by presenting the secondary school and high school curriculum with gamification in a mobile application and thus plans to create social impact.
- Gamester: An experienced game studio that was established to develop games focused on social interaction, competition and entertainment and continues to work in line with the trends of the global gaming industry.
Source: Egirisim / Prepared by Irem Yildiz