EBRD invests in the rapidly growing Turkish tech company, obilet.com
12.12.2019 14:02:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested in obilet.com, the online sales platform for users to purchase bus and airline tickets. EBRD, which offers financing for thousands of projects to support local growth in European countries, has invested $11 billion in Turkish businesses and projects to date. Earlybird Venture Capital, an investor in obilet.com, announced that it will also participate in the next round of funding.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191212005302/en/
EBRD added obilet.com, Turkey's fastest-growing online ticket sales platform, to its investment portfolio. Yigit Gurocak, (obilet.com CEO and Co-founder) and Ali Yılmaz, (obilet.com Co-founder) (Photo: Business Wire)
Yigit Gurocak, CEO - obilet.com, said that the company aimed to provide services to different segments of the transportation industry by expanding its teams in 2020 with the support of new investments.
The company, currently at 400 million visitors, aims to sell 18 million tickets in 2020!
obilet.com, which offers comparison and purchasing options for bus and airline tickets of more than 150 bus operators and 1000 airlines, was founded in 2012 by two university students and entrepreneurs, Ali Yilmaz and Yigit Gurocak. The company’s CEO Yigit Gurocak summarized the last seven years, “Starting from its inception to the present day, obilet.com recorded outstanding growth to reach 400 million visitors, now ranks the top-visited travel site in Turkey.”
The initiative of two entrepreneurs’ dreams, obilet.com currently operates with 160 employees and is expected to maintain its growth in the Turkish travel industry, which reportedly has a size of approximately $15 billion. Yigit Gurocak said that the company aims to sell 18 million tickets in 2020 on obilet.com and the mobile app in Turkey, where 300 million tickets are sold in total.
The Turkish startup to receive highest international funding
According to Startups Watch data, obilet.com stood out as the Turkish startup to receive the highest amount of international funding in 2018 Q2 and when the investment was acquired in November 2019, it was the largest amount of investment of 2019 up until that point. With the participation of EBRD in the latest round, obilet.com has received its fourth investment round in the last five years leading the Turkish technology and travel sectors in this aspect. With this investment, obilet.com raised $10 million within one year.
Named “Europe's Best Travel App” by Mastercard in 2015, obilet.com ranked eighth among the fastest-growing companies listed in the 2017 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 program with a growth rate of 1041%. Most recently, obilet.com was also listed among Turkey’s 100 Fastest Growing Businesses according to the results of a 2019 survey conducted by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) and the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV).
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191212005302/en/
Contact information
Contact Details:
Sena Ozkurt
sena@obilet.com
+905348960414
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
OPEX ® Corporation to Exhibit Advanced Warehouse Automation Solutions at LogiMAT 20264.3.2026 10:00:00 EET | Press release
OPEX® Corporation, a global leader in Next Generation Automation providing innovative solutions for warehouse, document and mail automation, will exhibit its latest advancements in warehouse automation at LogiMAT 2026. The world’s largest trade show for intralogistics solutions and process management, LogiMAT will be held March 24 through 26 at the Stuttgart Trade Fair Center in Germany. “Our team looks forward to being onsite at LogiMAT and showcasing several of our leading warehouse automation solutions,” said Alex Stevens, President, Warehouse Automation, OPEX. “We’re proud to deliver cutting-edge systems that help our clients transform how they conduct business, and we appreciate the vast opportunity LogiMAT provides to share our offerings and expertise with event attendees.” At LogiMAT Hall 5 ‒ Stand B25, OPEX will demonstrate Sure Sort® X with Xtract, its award-winning, automated pack-out and order takeaway system. The OPEX Booth will also feature a static display of the company’
Twilio and KPN Partnership Unlocks the Next Generation of Secure Business Messaging in the Netherlands, Powered by Google4.3.2026 10:00:00 EET | Press release
Twilio (NYSE: TWLO), the customer engagement platform that drives real-time, personalised experiences for today’s leading brands, today announced at Mobile World Congress a partnership with KPN Netherlands (KPN) to enable nationwide Rich Communication Services (RCS) Business Messaging across all major mobile operators in the Netherlands, powered by Twilio and Google. RCS Business Messaging combines the simplicity and reach of sms with rich, interactive features such as verified sender identity, images, carousels and action buttons. This allows businesses to communicate in a more engaging, secure and measurable way, strengthening customer trust and improving the overall experience. Enabling nationwide RCS in the Netherlands With nation-wide coverage, KPN plays a central role in the country’s digital infrastructure. By joining the growing RCS ecosystem, this marks a defining moment for business messaging in the Netherlands, making it possible for enterprises to adopt RCS for Business at
SES Brings Satellite Connectivity to Refugees in Chad4.3.2026 09:50:00 EET | Press release
SES, a space solutions company, is expanding humanitarian connectivity at the Farchana refugee settlement in Chad in cooperation with emergency.lu, the public-private partnership led by Luxembourg’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade and the UN Refugee Agency. In the framework of the Connectivity for Refugees initiative, the deployment uses SES’ O3b mPOWER satellite network to provide dependable, high-speed internet for humanitarian teams and essential services for refugees. This is the first emergency.lu deployment using O3b mPOWER satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), an expansion beyond the program’s previous use of geostationary (GEO) satellites for rapid disaster-response missions. It also marks a new application for the platform. While emergency.lu has traditionally supported first responders and emergency operations, this deployment is designed to connect refugees and the humanitarian organizations enabling services suc
Travel Smarter: Thales and Airalo Unlock a Seamless Global eSIM Experience4.3.2026 09:00:00 EET | Press release
International travellers have increasingly relied on travel eSIMs to avoid high roaming fees, the hassle of searching for a local SIM card or relying on Wi-Fi hotspots. While this has improved connectivity access for millions, the process in the travel space remains cumbersome, still requiring manual configuration for each trip. By integrating Thales’ eSIM capabilities into its global platform, Airalo, the world’s largest travel eSIM platform, is further enhancing its technical architecture to provide its over 20 million users with a smoother travel experience. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260303401464/en/ By leveraging Thales’ advanced eSIM solutions, Airalo is further optimizing how travellers access global data. This partnership enhances the Airalo app's underlying technology, providing users with more immediate access to high-quality local networks and a more intuitive experience, so they can stay conne
Kao’s Laurier Launches New Brand Communication Initiative across Asia: Strengthening Global Integration as a Core Brand in Kao’s Asian Business4.3.2026 04:10:00 EET | Press release
Starting on International Women’s Day, March 8, Kao Corporation (TOKYO:4452) will launch new brand communication campaign in nine Asian countries and regions for its feminine sanitary product brand, Laurier, which is the core of its Asian business. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260303996141/en/ Laurier Campaign Key Visual Laurier aims to help create more supportive and understanding environments around menstruation, so that women can feel more at ease, both physically and emotionally, under the key message “Comfort, Made Together,” which will be implemented simultaneously across Asia. Kao aims to further develop Laurier as a global brand. Laurier, one of the core brands supporting Kao’s consumer care business in Asia, has been promoting globally integrated operations since 2023. Across all nine Asian countries and regions including Japan, Laurier has been working to unify product specifications and consolida
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom