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The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has added obilet.com, the fastest growing online ticket sales platform in Turkey, to its investment portfolio.

ROME (IT) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has invested in obilet.com, the online sales platform for the purchase, by users, of airline and bus tickets. EBRD, which offers funding to thousands of projects to support local growth in European nations, has invested $ 11 billion in companies and projects in Turkey to date. Earlybird Venture Capital, one of obilet.com's investors, today announced that it will also participate in the next funding cycle.

Yigit Gurocak, the CEO of obilet.com, said the company aimed to provide services for different segments of the transportation sector by expanding its teams in 2020 with the support of new investments.

The company, which currently has 400 million visitors, is aiming to sell 18 million tickets in 2020!

obilet.com, which offers comparison and purchase options for bus tickets and airline tickets, was founded in 2012 by two university students and entrepreneurs, Ali Yilmaz and Yigit Gurocak. The company's CEO, Yigit Gurocak, has summarized the past seven years by stating: “Since its inception and to date, obilet.com has experienced tremendous growth with reaching 400 million visitors, and is now one of the most visited trips to Turkey ”.

obilet.com, an initiative that began with the dream of two entrepreneurs, currently operates with 160 employees and is expected to maintain its growth rate in the Turkish travel sector which reportedly has a volume of approximately $ 15 billion. Yigit Gurocak said the company aims to sell 18 million tickets in 2020 on obilet.com and on the mobile app in Turkey, where a total of 300 million tickets are sold.

The Turkish startup receives the highest international funding

According to Startups Watch data, obilet.com stood out as the Turkish startup that received the highest international funding in the second quarter of 2018 and, when the investment was obtained in November 2019, it was the largest in 2019 up to that time. . With the participation of EBRD in the last round, obilet.com has received its fourth round of investment over the past five years, leading Turkey's technology and travel sectors. With this investment, obilet.com raised $ 10 million in one year.

Nominated as the "Europe's Best Travel App" by Mastercard in 2015, obilet.com was ranked eighth among the highest growth companies in the 2017 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 program, with a rate of growth of 1041%. More recently, obilet.com was also listed among Turkey's 100 fastest growing companies according to the results of a 2019 survey conducted by the Union of Turkish Chambers of Commerce and Trade (TOBB) and the Research Foundation. Economic and Political Affairs of Turkey (TEPAV).

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