SMEs should start with AI by picking one measurable business problem and checking the data behind it, and only then choose a support program to fund the work. For companies established in Türkiye, the main programs worth reviewing in 2026 are TÜBİTAK's 1507 and 1501 grants for R&D projects, and KOSGEB's SME Digital Transformation, YÖNDE, Capacity Development and AI Credit programs for digital transformation and investment. Each program has its own purpose and eligibility rules, so always check the current call and guidelines on the official site before you apply.
Two institutions, two kinds of support
Two public bodies matter most for SMEs. TÜBİTAK, the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye, runs grant programs for industrial R&D through its Technology and Innovation Support Programs Directorate (TEYDEB). KOSGEB, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization, runs programs for SME investment, digital transformation and growth, mostly through interest support on bank loans or interest-free credit, with non-refundable support for some advisory services.
The programs below are for businesses established in Türkiye. If you are an international company with a Turkish entity, check whether that entity meets the eligibility criteria in the official guidelines.
Start with the problem, not the program
Support programs fund a project; they do not define it for you. A plan that begins with "we want to use AI" cannot explain which process will improve or how. Work in this order:
- Business problem: choose something measurable, such as quote preparation time, defect rate on a line, stock forecasting or routing of customer requests.
- Data: does data for this problem exist, where is it stored, how clean is it and who owns it?
- Build or buy: if an off-the-shelf product solves the problem, custom development may not be needed. That choice also determines which program to look at.
- Success measure: state in numbers what should have changed when the project ends.
- A small pilot: get a result in one process before attempting a company-wide transformation.
Turning this into a written roadmap is what our AI consulting service does: use cases are ranked by business impact and feasibility, data readiness is reviewed for the priority ones and a phased plan is produced.
The key question: R&D or investment?
TÜBİTAK's industrial programs support R&D projects. The 1507 program page describes eligible work as producing a new product, developing or improving an existing one, raising product quality or standards, or developing new cost-reducing techniques and production technologies. Buying and installing an existing AI tool does not fit that definition by itself. KOSGEB's programs mainly cover digital transformation, scale-up and infrastructure spending. Start with whichever group your project is closer to.
TÜBİTAK 1507 SME R&D Start-up Support Program
The 1507 program aims to help SMEs build technology and innovation capacity, run projects systematically and develop an in-house R&D culture. According to TÜBİTAK's program pages, support is a non-refundable grant, the support rate is 75 percent and a project cannot run longer than 18 months. Unless a call says otherwise, there is no restriction on topic. Only SME-scale capital companies established in Türkiye can apply, and the program aims to support a company's first five projects, two of them as partnerships.
Calls open twice a year, in January and July, and proposals are submitted through TÜBİTAK's PRODİS system. For the 2026 second call (in Turkish), TÜBİTAK announced November 9, 2026 as the deadline for organization pre-registration and November 11, 2026 as the closing date.
In AI terms, a quality inspection model trained on your own production data, or a new AI feature in your product, can be a candidate for these programs if its R&D content and degree of innovation can be explained clearly. Whether a project qualifies is TÜBİTAK's decision.
TÜBİTAK 1501 Industrial R&D Projects Grant Program
The 1501 program supports project-based research, technology development and innovation by SME-scale organizations; TÜBİTAK's English page notes that only SME-scale organizations have been able to apply since a 2019 change to the program rules. Support is a non-refundable grant. According to the program's Turkish page, as of 2026 the support rate is 75 percent for a company's first five supported projects and 60 percent from the sixth onward, and the project duration is set in each call and cannot exceed 36 months. That makes it suited to longer and broader projects than 1507.
The 2026 second call closed on October 26, 2026. Because calls open in January and July, follow TÜBİTAK's announcements for the next one. Both program pages also publish TÜBİTAK's 2026-2028 priority R&D and innovation topics, so check how your project relates to them.
KOSGEB SME Digital Transformation Support Program
The SME Digital Transformation Support Program (in Turkish) supports digital transformation so that SMEs can improve their business processes, efficiency and competitiveness. KOSGEB pays non-refundable support toward the interest on loans from partner banks, covering machinery and equipment as well as software and hardware. Eligibility conditions on the program page include:
- Operating in manufacturing (NACE section C).
- Being a small or medium-sized enterprise.
- Being registered and active in the KOSGEB database with an up-to-date business declaration.
- Holding an approved digital transformation or maturity assessment report from consultants certified or authorized by TÜSSİDE, the MESS Technology Center (MEXT) or the İHKİB Digital Transformation Center.
- Positive total equity in the last fiscal year and a positive operating profit in at least one of the last three fiscal years.
KOSGEB YÖNDE: assessment and roadmap
The YÖNDE Mentoring and Assessment Support Program (in Turkish) helps SMEs assess where they stand, identify problems and needs, and set a strategy. One of its components is a digital transformation assessment and roadmap service. According to KOSGEB's page, this service is supported on a non-refundable basis, up to the stated limits, when it is delivered by digital transformation consultants certified by TÜSSİDE. Before committing to an AI investment, it can be a low-risk way to measure your company's digital maturity.
KOSGEB Capacity Development Support Program
The Capacity Development Support Program (in Turkish) supports scale-up and digital transformation investments that raise SMEs' productivity, resilience, output, market size and institutional capacity, and helps develop suppliers of large companies. Besides manufacturing, it is open to SMEs in telecommunications (NACE 61), computer programming and consultancy (62), information services (63) and scientific research and development (72). Eligible items include personnel, machinery, equipment and molds, software, purchased services and working capital.
Applicants must be fast-growing, unless they hold a Teknogirişim (tech venture) badge or have been notified to KOSGEB under a supplier development protocol. Applications are taken in periods; KOSGEB announced that the third 2026 period opened on August 22, 2026 (in Turkish), so check the program page for the current window.
KOSGEB AI Credit
The AI Credit program (in Turkish) aims to help technology and innovation-focused businesses use AI effectively in their operations and build digital capacity. According to KOSGEB's announcement, the credit can cover high-performance computing (GPU, CPU, RAM), secure data storage, AI data center services and AI tools and platform services, and applications are accepted from July 9 to December 31, 2026. It is spent through the GO Dijital Cüzdan wallet on services from providers on KOSGEB's published list. In other words, it is designed for access to AI infrastructure and platforms rather than for software development services.
Applicants need a valid Teknogirişim badge from the Ministry of Industry and Technology, an up-to-date KOSGEB registration and a GO Dijital Cüzdan account, and a bank guarantee letter is required before the credit is released. According to the program page (2026), the credit limit is 5,000,000 TL per business, with no interest or commission charged.
Summary table
| Program | Institution | Purpose | Type of support | For whom (summary) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1507 SME R&D Start-up | TÜBİTAK | First R&D projects | Grant | SME-scale capital companies established in Türkiye |
| 1501 Industrial R&D | TÜBİTAK | Longer, broader R&D projects | Grant | SME-scale organizations |
| SME Digital Transformation | KOSGEB | Digital transformation investment | Interest support on bank loans | Small and medium manufacturers |
| YÖNDE | KOSGEB | Digital transformation assessment and roadmap | Non-refundable service support | Businesses registered with KOSGEB |
| Capacity Development | KOSGEB | Scale-up and digital transformation investment | Interest support on bank loans | Fast-growing SMEs in specified NACE codes |
| AI Credit | KOSGEB | AI infrastructure and platform services | Interest-free credit | SMEs holding a Teknogirişim badge |
Checklist before you apply
- For KOSGEB programs, confirm that your business is registered in the KOSGEB database and that its business declaration is current.
- Check that your NACE code is among the sectors the program covers.
- For TÜBİTAK programs, prepare documents showing your SME status and a draft describing the project's R&D content.
- Confirm the open call, the deadline and any pre-registration date on the official page.
- Map your budget lines to the cost types the program supports.
- If you already use other public support for the same costs, read how the program's rules treat that.
- Write down what will be measured at the end of the project and who is accountable for the result.
Where ALGOFACT fits
Only the institution decides on support, and we make no promises about eligibility or approval. Our contribution is technical: choosing the use case, reviewing data readiness, justifying the build or buy decision and writing the technical work plan, architecture and work packages. Delivery runs from our engineering offices in Adana and Ankara TEKMER, and businesses in other cities are served the same way. See the locations we serve for details.
Next step
To talk about where AI could start in your business, book a 30-minute discovery call, followed by a founder presentation of the proposed scope. You can reach us through our contact page.