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Why Are More Turks Opening Small Businesses While Companies Shut Down?

Closed Businesses

According to new data from the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), the first eight months of 2025 revealed a sharp split in the country’s entrepreneurial landscape:

  • Company formations fell slightly, down 0.6% from last year.

  • Sole proprietorships surged 19.5%, as more individuals opened their own businesses.

  • Company closures rose 11.1%, while sole proprietorship closures dropped 6.1%.

August: Closures Plunge Month-on-Month

August saw a dramatic monthly slowdown:

  • Company closures fell 34.6%,

  • Sole proprietorship closures dropped 30.2%,

  • Cooperative closures slid 27.2%.

Still, compared with August 2024, closures remained higher for companies (+5.2%) and cooperatives (+36.1%), even as individual businesses bucked the trend (-10.3%).

Istanbul Still the Startup Capital

In August, 9,328 companies and cooperatives were founded:

  • 87.6% were limited companies,

  • 11.1% joint-stock,

  • 1.3% cooperatives.

Geographically, Istanbul accounted for 37.7% of new establishments, followed by Ankara (10.7%) and Izmir (6.4%).

Sector Highlights

  • Trade led with 2,930 new companies,

  • Construction followed with 1,324,

  • Manufacturing ranked third with 1,124.

Among sole proprietorships, construction dominated with 654 new registrations. Most new cooperatives (87 of 118) were housing-related.

Foreign Investors Still Entering

In August alone, 826 foreign-partnered companies were launched:

  • 605 included Turkish partners,

  • 28 with Iranian,

  • 27 with Turkmen partners.

The majority were in wholesale trade and construction, with nearly 80% of capital foreign-owned.

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