The objective of ENHANCER project, which is funded by the European Union and implemented by ICMPD in coordination with the Directorate General of Development Agencies under the Ministry of Industry and Technology of the Republic of Turkey, is to contribute to the inclusion of Syrians under temporary protection (SuTP) in Turkey to the local host communities (LHC) through livelihood and employment opportunities.
The Project, which was launched in January 2020 and has a four-year implementation period, operates in 11 provinces, including Adana, Ankara, Bursa, Gaziantep, Hatay, İstanbul, İzmir, Mersin, Kayseri, Konya, and Şanlıurfa, and the total project budget is 32.5 million €.
The project has an essential role for SuTP to establish and develop their businesses to integrate into the socio-economic ecosystem. Throughout the project, several support types are provided to increase the tendency of Syrian and Turkish potential entrepreneurs to start a business, as well as to increase the success and growth opportunities of newly established companies or companies with growth potential, including:
- Entrepreneurship trainings
- Mentorship
- B2B matching
- Start-up and Investor meetings
- Start-up grants
- Development Grants for SMEs
- Development Grants for Cooperatives
Within this framework, Gaming Hackathon by ENHANCER brought together 150 Syrian nationals and Turkish citizens interested in digital gaming, designing creative and innovative games, and building business and social networks around gaming on April 28-30, 2023.
During the Meeting with Game Investors event, the winners of the previous Gaming Hackathon will present their projects, and have the chance to network with investors on November 25 at ICMPD’s Istanbul Office (Barbaros Plaza, 17th floor, Dikilitaş, Emirhan Cd. No:113 34349 Beşiktaş/Istanbul).
- Pınar Yapanoğlu (Portfolio Manager, ICMPD – ENHANCER Project)
- Deniz Karcı Korfalı (Entrepreneurship Component Lead, ICMPD – ENHANCER Project)
- Rasha Alfakhry (Financial Consultant for Start-ups, Angels Board)
- Burak Yılmaz (CEO, WePlay Ventures)
- Bahadır Akçeşme (Entrepreneurship Programs Manager, YTU Yıldız Teknopark)
- Ozan Aydemir (Founder, Gaming in Turkey)
- Eray Ağaçdoğrayan (Founder, Gyroscoping Games)
- Metis Media Creative – ‘’Historica Arcanum’’ (Doğa Can Sayılkan, Emir Han Ünal, Sarp Duyar)
- Gaming Bug – ‘’Ahoy!’’ (Ali Burak Ak, Hazar Şaliş, Kaan Altay, Murat Yakarışık)
- Archaic Game Studio – ‘’Lost in Art: A Miniature Realm’’ (Berfin Özge Yakar, Merve Nur Sağlık)
- Diabolical Studios – ‘’Bozo Brawl’’ (Berkin Cemal Paker, Doğukan Şahin, Doruk Şaşmaz, Emre Çelikler, Jülide İsa, Lal Şevval Koyuncu, Mehmet Alp Tamer)
- Bosphorus Games – ‘’Mythical Party’’ (Adil Arda Yılmaz, Fatih Muhammet Altun)
- Deeplay Creative Studio – ‘’DeepCLUB Battle Arena’’ (Ayşe Melis Göksan, Ayşe Yılmaz, Esma Nur Kıyak, Harun Aşık, Onur Altun Işık, Osman Çaputcu)
- Resonance Games Studio – ‘’Tavern Frenzy’’ (Feyas Çıldır, Mustafa Sinan Çorak)
- Greencodia – ‘’Project S’’ (Barış Elcik, Berkay Eligül, Burak Şahin, Serkan Yılmaz, Yaren Karasar Ergül)
- Panomix – ‘’Dungeon Master’’ (Taha Mardinli, Zyad Alshasho)
- Rama Barbaros – ‘’Martin’’