The establishment of the Türkiye Green Finance Project Venture Capital Investment Fund under Maxis Girişim marks a notable shift in Türkiye’s climate finance architecture: green transition capital is moving beyond bank loans and project finance into long-term equity, at a time when exporters, manufacturers and energy investors face rising pressure from carbon regulation, EU market rules and Türkiye’s own net-zero agenda.
A Green Fund Built Around Equity Capital
Maxis Girişim announced on 13 August 2024 that the Türkiye Green Finance Project Venture Capital Investment Fund had been established as a fund focused on green and inclusive transformation. According to Maxis, the fund was created with USD 155 million of World Bank financing obtained by Türkiye Sınai Kalkınma Bankası, TSKB, under a guarantee from Türkiye’s Ministry of Treasury and Finance.
The fund’s official investment strategy, published by Maxis, says it was created under the Türkiye Green Finance Project to invest in companies that are either already green or are undergoing green transformation. Its mandate covers firms developing products, processes, knowledge and technologies with growth potential, particularly where measurable environmental gains can be tied to commercial expansion.
The World Bank’s project documentation gives the structure wider significance. The Bank approved the USD 155 million loan on 9 November 2023, stating that the project aims to support the greening of firms through equity financing, mobilize private capital and expand climate finance in Türkiye’s capital markets. The World Bank said the total project size was expected to reach USD 405 million, including USD 250 million of private capital mobilization at fund and investee level.
That structure matters for foreign investors because Türkiye’s green transition has often been financed through debt, including bank loans, export credit, leasing and supplier finance. Equity financing changes the risk profile. It can support balance sheet repair, fund technology upgrades and create co-investment opportunities for strategic investors, private equity funds, development finance institutions and industrial groups seeking exposure to Türkiye’s decarbonization market.
Why the Timing Matters for Türkiye
Türkiye’s green investment requirement is large, and it is becoming more urgent. The World Bank’s 2022 Türkiye Country Climate and Development Report estimated that Türkiye would need an additional USD 68 billion in investment over 2022 to 2030 to follow a resilient net-zero pathway, rising to USD 165 billion over 2022 to 2040. The report argued that the net economic effect could be positive over time, largely through lower fuel imports, health gains and productivity benefits, but only if private capital can be mobilized at scale.
The pressure is not only environmental. Türkiye is an export-oriented manufacturing economy with deep links to the European Union. The European Commission’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, CBAM, moved into its definitive regime on 1 January 2026 after a transitional reporting period from October 2023 to the end of 2025. CBAM initially covers carbon-intensive sectors including iron and steel, cement, aluminium, fertilizers, electricity and hydrogen. For Turkish producers selling into Europe, emissions data, product-level carbon intensity and verified reporting are becoming commercial requirements, not optional sustainability disclosures.
Türkiye has responded with domestic regulation. The Grand National Assembly adopted Climate Law No. 7552 on 2 July 2025, and official parliamentary materials describe it as Türkiye’s first comprehensive climate law. The law establishes the legal basis for emissions trading, carbon markets, climate planning, green taxonomy and adaptation measures. In August 2026, the Official Gazette published the Türkiye Emissions Trading System Regulation, setting procedures for monitoring, reporting, verification and implementation of the national ETS.
For foreign investors, this creates a more defined policy landscape, but not a simple one. Investment decisions must now incorporate carbon costs, tax incentives, local permitting, electricity procurement, supply-chain emissions and export-market compliance. The relevance of advisory support therefore extends beyond deal sourcing. Market entry strategy, legal and tax compliance, government relations and project management become part of the investment thesis.
From Capital Markets Reform to Industrial Policy
The green fund also sits within Türkiye’s broader FDI strategy. The Presidency’s Investment and Finance Office reported that Türkiye attracted USD 13.1 billion of FDI in 2025, up 12.2 percent year on year, based on Central Bank balance of payments data. The same official account said manufacturing accounted for 31 percent of inflows, while information and communication accounted for 14 percent. Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said FDI excluding real estate reached USD 10.7 billion in 2025, the highest level in a decade.
Türkiye’s FDI Strategy for 2024 to 2028, published through the Investment Office, explicitly prioritizes green transformation, digital transformation, global value chains, talent and the investment climate. The strategy seeks to raise Türkiye’s share of global FDI to 1.5 percent by 2028 and defines climate-related FDI as one of the country’s target investment categories.
That strategy is being reinforced by incentives. The Investment Office’s 2025 incentive guide describes Türkiye’s investment incentives system as covering greenfield and brownfield projects, R&D, manufacturing and priority sectors, with equal treatment for domestic and foreign investors. The HIT-30 high technology program, led by the Ministry of Industry and Technology, includes green energy among its priority areas and can provide project-based support for large investments, including corporate tax reductions, employment support and energy cost support, subject to eligibility.
For investors considering a Turkish manufacturing base for renewable components, energy efficiency equipment, battery systems, industrial electrification, recycling, low-carbon materials or carbon monitoring technologies, the fund is therefore one part of a larger capital stack. A project may combine equity from a thematic fund, debt from Turkish or international lenders, supplier credit, investment incentives, customs or VAT support, and commercial contracts with exporters affected by CBAM.
The difficulty is coordination. Incentive eligibility, company incorporation, tax structuring, environmental permits, land selection, grid access, import-export rules and local supplier qualification have to be sequenced correctly. A foreign investor that treats these as separate workstreams can lose time or miss support mechanisms. This is where market entry, incorporation, investment incentives advisory, legal and tax compliance, and project management intersect in practical terms.
The First Investment Signal: Renewable Equipment
The fund’s first disclosed investment gives an indication of its likely industrial focus. On 27 June 2025, Maxis announced that the Türkiye Green Finance Project Fund, together with its Clean Energy Fund and Atlas Growth Capital Fund, invested in Ateş Çelik, a producer of renewable energy equipment. Maxis said this was the World Bank-backed green fund’s first investment.
Ateş Wind Power describes itself as a manufacturer of wind turbine towers, foundation rings, tower internals, transport equipment and generator components. The company says it established Türkiye’s first direct-drive technology-based generator factory in cooperation with ENERCON, and that its annual generator manufacturing volume corresponds to around 650 MW of installed power.
This choice is telling. Türkiye’s green finance opportunity is not limited to power plants. It includes the industrial supply chains needed to manufacture, install, maintain and export renewable energy equipment. That matters because Türkiye’s energy ministry has set a target to increase combined wind and solar capacity to 120 GW by 2035. Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said in 2024 that Türkiye planned to raise wind and solar capacity from around 30 GW to 120 GW and that the country expected a major investment and reform process to support that roadmap.
The ministry has also emphasized local manufacturing. In 2026, Bayraktar said Türkiye had more than 500 domestic manufacturers in the renewable energy industry and a localization rate above 60 percent in wind turbines, with higher rates in towers, generators and blades. These figures suggest that foreign investors should assess Türkiye not only as a domestic renewables market, but also as a regional production and export base.
That raises operational questions. A strategic investor entering the sector would need to evaluate local content rules, supplier certification, customs procedures for imported inputs, export documentation, technical standards, workforce availability and potential partnerships with Turkish manufacturers. Expo representation and trade-fair engagement can also matter in this segment because equipment markets are relationship-driven, with buyers, EPC contractors, utilities and industrial energy users often clustered around sector events.
Risks Behind the Opportunity
The establishment of a green venture capital fund does not remove Türkiye’s execution risks. It reframes them.
First, regulation is moving quickly. The Climate Law, the ETS regulation, CBAM implementation and green taxonomy work all affect how companies measure emissions and how investors assess compliance. Foreign investors will need reliable legal and tax compliance processes, particularly if projects involve carbon accounting, incentives, cross-border financing or EU-facing exports.
Second, green claims will face greater scrutiny. The Maxis fund says it will operate under World Bank environmental and social standards and has published environmental and social management documents. For co-investors, this can improve confidence, but it also raises the diligence threshold. Investee companies will need credible emissions baselines, environmental permits, occupational health and safety systems, stakeholder engagement and governance procedures.
Third, Türkiye’s macroeconomic environment still matters. Exchange-rate volatility, inflation, financing costs and changes in import prices can affect payback periods, especially in capital-intensive manufacturing and energy projects. Equity can absorb more risk than short-term debt, but it does not eliminate the need for careful financial modelling and tax structuring.
Fourth, government interface is unavoidable. Renewable energy, industrial incentives, organized industrial zones, environmental licensing, customs facilitation and carbon regulation all involve public authorities. Government relations should not be understood as lobbying alone. It includes procedural clarity, correct filings, regulatory liaison, site-level coordination and timing applications so that permits, incentives and financing conditions reinforce one another.
What This Means for Foreign Investors
The Türkiye Green Finance Project Venture Capital Investment Fund is a signal that Türkiye’s green transition is becoming more investable, more regulated and more institutional. For foreign investors, the opportunity is not only to finance climate assets, but to enter industrial value chains that will be shaped by CBAM, Türkiye’s ETS, renewable capacity targets and the country’s push for higher-quality FDI.
Acting on that opportunity requires practical sequencing. Investors need market entry analysis to identify where demand is strongest, incorporation and corporate structuring to set up the right local vehicle, incentives work to determine eligibility for project-based or regional support, legal and tax compliance to manage carbon, customs and reporting obligations, and government relations to navigate licensing and regulatory approvals.
For equipment makers, industrial decarbonization firms, renewable developers, private equity funds and strategic buyers, Türkiye’s green finance fund creates a useful reference point. It shows where development finance, domestic capital markets and industrial policy are converging. The investors most likely to benefit will be those that translate that convergence into executable projects, with bankable contracts, compliant operations and a clear route from capital commitment to on-the-ground delivery.