Most Turkish manufacturers leave money on the table — not because they are ineligible for export support, but because the paperwork is filed after the spending, in the wrong order, or without the document that actually decides the claim. The programmes reward companies that plan around them.
The four families of support
Turkish export support broadly falls into four groups: participation in international fairs, market research and market entry, brand and institutional development (of which Turquality is the best known tier), and support for selling through international e-commerce and B2B platforms. Each is administered with its own application route and its own document set.
Fair participation is the most accessible entry point
If you have never claimed support before, fair participation is usually where to start. The mechanism reimburses a portion of qualifying costs for exhibiting abroad — stand, transport of samples, and related expenses within defined limits. What decides the claim is rarely the invoice: it is proof that you were actually there and that the fair falls within scope. Photograph your stand, keep the organiser contract, and retain boarding passes.
Market research and market entry
This family covers activities that precede a sale: sector reports, buyer lists, membership in international platforms, certification and testing needed to enter a market, and translation of catalogues. It is the group most relevant to a company that has capacity but no customers yet — and the group most often ignored, because the spending feels like marketing rather than export.
Brand development and Turquality
Turquality is the long-horizon programme for companies building an internationally recognised brand, with substantially more support and correspondingly heavier requirements around management systems, financial reporting and brand strategy. It is not an entry-level route. If your systems are not yet documented, the earlier programmes build the record you will need later.
E-commerce and B2B platform membership
Support exists for membership fees on international e-commerce and B2B marketplaces, which is directly relevant if you are subscribing to a platform to reach buyers. Two things decide whether it works: the platform must fall within the approved scope, and the invoice must be issued to the exporting company with a description that matches how the programme classifies the expense. Ask for the invoice wording before you pay, not after.
The mistakes that actually cost money
Four recur. Spending before checking scope, then discovering the activity does not qualify. Filing after the window closes — every programme has one. Invoices issued to a related company or a personal name rather than the exporting entity. And missing the proof-of-activity document, which for fairs is presence and for platforms is an active account with listed products.
Rates change every year — verify before you budget
Support ratios, ceilings and eligible expense lists are revised, so any percentage you read in an article — including this one, which deliberately quotes none — may be out of date by the time you spend. Confirm the current figures with the Ministry of Trade, your regional exporters association, or an accountant who files these claims regularly. Budget on the current published rate, never on what a colleague received two years ago.
Build the record before you need it
Companies that claim successfully treat documentation as a standing habit: a folder per market, per fair, per platform, holding contracts, invoices, correspondence and proof of activity. It costs nothing while you are doing the work and is nearly impossible to reconstruct afterwards.
Where a platform fits
A marketplace subscription can be a claimable market-entry expense and a buyer acquisition channel at the same time. On Mall Of Türkiye your listed products generate indexed pages and inbound RFQs continuously, and the subscription is invoiced to your company with documentation you can file. Ask us for the invoice format your accountant needs.