Startupbootcamp Istanbul, a part of Europe’s biggest startup accelerator Startupbootcamp, has announced a new program that will award 10 selected early-stage startups from Turkey and surrounding region with up to $250K funding. Financial support will come from a dedicated fund of $10 million.

The announced financial support per selected startup may seem small to some, but it is the highest so far in MENA region where the median investment is around $20-30K for early-stage startups.

In a statement, Çiğdem Toraman, Startupbootcamp Istanbul Managing Director, said: “Last year, we have successfully accelerated 9 startups, opening Startupbootcamp’s expertise and resources to them… We believe they were in need of a higher degree of support, especially in business development. We saw that we should have nurtured them until they were able to stand on their own feet completely and decided to participate in this initiative backed by a fund of 10 million US dollars.“

Startupbootcamp Istanbul boasts a database of 200+ local and 2000+ global mentors and three three locations. With two of them dedicated to prototyping and R&D, the startups actually have the chances to create physical products and test them during the acceleration period. Another location will be officially launched in the coming weeks, according to the press release.

At the end of the program, the startups will pitch their company to over 250 investors, mentors and partners on the Demo Day that will be held on 8th December 2015. Applications are open till July 1st. You can visit the main Startupbootcamp website to learn more on other programs held in Amsterdam, London, Berlin, Eindhoven, Barcelona, Copenhagen and Singapore.