Looking at KOSGEB and incentives while growing

The news Mehmet Usta the furniture maker heard

The rules described in this lesson are those of Turkish law.

Mehmet Usta's furniture workshop is growing. He can't keep up with the orders; he wants to buy a CNC cutting machine and add the storeroom next door to the workshop. At the coffee house someone said, "Apparently the state pays for the machine, apply to KOSGEB." The next day Mehmet Usta redid his calculation on the basis that "half of it will come from support".

Stop for a moment first. The support is real, but how and when it comes depends on conditions.

Like wedding gold

A family holding a wedding knows that gifts of gold (takı) will come, but it doesn't base the wedding budget on the gold. If the gold comes, the debt is closed; if it doesn't, the wedding is still paid for. Support and incentives are thought of the same way: do the investment calculation without support; if it pays for itself without support too, the investment is sound, and if support comes, the period gets shorter. We saw the same rule with employee incentives (Minimum wage support and general support).

Which door is for what?

There are four separate doors you can look at while growing. They get mixed up, but they are different bodies.

We covered the last door in Level 2 (What is an incentive, who benefits?). Here we look at the first three.

KOSGEB

KOSGEB (Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organisation) opens programmes for SMEs. Among the programmes announced in 2026 are the Entrepreneur Support Programme, the Capacity Development Support Programme, the Green Industry Support Programme and the R&D, P&D and Innovation Support Programme (Ar-Ge, Ür-Ge ve İnovasyon). Programme names and scope change over time; see the current list on KOSGEB's website. Most programmes run through calls opened on certain dates; while a call is closed, no applications are accepted.

The support amount, the rate and who can apply change from programme to programme and from call to call. That's why we don't give figures. Watch out for one thing too: some support is not a grant but repayable. For example, the business development support in the Business Development call of the 2026 Entrepreneur Support Programme is interest-free but is paid back. Before writing it into your calculation, check whether the money has to be paid back. Non-repayable support may also count as income for tax; ask your mali müşavir (accountant) how it should be recorded. Before applying, check these:

• Is your business registered in the KOSGEB database, and is your SME Information Declaration (KOBİ Bilgi Beyannamesi) up to date?
• Is your activity code (the NACE code, the line of business written on your tax certificate) within the scope of the call?
• Do you have tax or SGK debt? Debt may block the payment of the support.
• Do you have to make the spending after the application and the approval? Look at the text of the call; spending made before approval is often not covered by the support.

Read the current calls and conditions on KOSGEB's own website.

The investment incentive certificate

Since 2025, investment incentives have run under Decision No. 9903 on State Aid for Investments (Yatırımlarda Devlet Yardımları Hakkında Karar) (Official Gazette 30.05.2025). The certificate is issued by the Ministry of Industry and Technology, and the application is made through the electronic system called E-TUYS. The support listed in the Decision includes a VAT exemption on machinery purchases, customs duty exemption, a tax reduction, interest or profit-share support and, in some regions, support for the SGK employer share.

Two important points for Mehmet Usta:

• There is a minimum investment amount. The certificate is given to investments above an amount set by region. When the Decision was published, this amount was 12 million TL in the 1st and 2nd regions and 6 million TL in the other regions; it is updated at the start of every year by the revaluation rate (yeniden değerleme oranı). A single machine often doesn't reach this amount. Find out the current amount from the Ministry's website or from your mali müşavir.
• The order matters. Investment spending made before the application date is not covered by the certificate (Decision No. 9903 art. 5/6). The VAT exemption, too, is applied after the certificate is obtained, for a machine covered by the certificate, by the seller issuing an invoice without VAT (VAT Law art. 13/d). If you buy the machine first, you pay VAT on that purchase and the spending may not benefit from the incentive. If you are thinking of applying for the certificate, talk the order through with your mali müşavir before buying the machine.

The Credit Guarantee Fund guarantee

KGF can act as guarantor for a business that can't show the collateral the bank asks for. The application is made not to a separate body but to the bank you borrow from; if the bank offers a KGF-guaranteed loan product, it assesses your file that way. The guarantee also has a fee; you see it as a separate line in the repayment plan. When comparing a loan with leasing, add this fee to the total too (A loan, leasing or your own money?).

Filter the news

Most news of the "the state pays half of the machine" kind describes the highest rate of a programme. What applies to your business is the call, the conditions and the amount. Applications are made through the body's own channel: to KOSGEB through the KOSGEB system with e-Devlet login, for the incentive certificate through E-TUYS, and for the KGF guarantee through your bank; be careful with intermediaries who say "we'll prepare your file, pay the fee first" (Young entrepreneur exemption and start-up support).

What did Mehmet Usta do?

He calculated the CNC machine's payback period without support: a 2,000,000 TL machine, with 100,000 TL of monthly extra cash, pays for itself in 20 months. Finding it acceptable even without support, he looked at KOSGEB's open calls; he updated his SME Information Declaration and asked his mali müşavir whether his NACE code was within scope. For the investment incentive certificate, he learned that his investment was below the minimum amount. When his collateral wasn't enough for the loan offer, he asked his bank whether it had a KGF-guaranteed loan. If support comes, the period will get shorter; if it doesn't, the plan still works.