All summit events

Day three of three

Ecosystem visits

The summit leaves the stage for the city: Istanbul’s gaming scene at StartGate in Maslak, the Digital Factory at MEXT across the Bosphorus in Ataşehir, and the rooftop Herb Garden at The Peninsula Istanbul in Karaköy.

Date Friday 9 October 2026
Time 11:00–18:00
Format Three stops, by coach

Photos

Ecosystem Visits, as it happened

Friday 9 October, three stops across the city, stop by stop: the games ecosystem at StartGate in Maslak, the Digital Factory and Spot the robot at MEXT in Ataşehir, and the rooftop Herb Garden at The Peninsula Istanbul in Karaköy.

01

StartGate

Maslak · 11:00–12:30 · 18 photos
  • The delegation at StartGate, Maslak
  • The delegation at StartGate
  • Delegates at StartGate
  • The summit on screen at StartGate, Maslak
  • Welcome, Global Tech Advocates: the lobby at StartGate
  • Welcome at StartGate
  • The StartGate auditorium during the welcome
  • A presentation to the delegation at StartGate
  • Dilara Keçeci on venture investment in Turkish gaming startups, 2020 to 2026
  • Dilara Keçeci of Lorien Accelerator: the numbers behind Türkiye’s games industry
  • Dilara Keçeci, Founding Partner and CEO, Lorien Accelerator
  • Dilara Keçeci, Bilge Değer and Hacer Özmen Yılmaz with the delegation
  • The StartGate studio
  • A recording booth at StartGate
  • Russ Shaw CBE at StartGate
  • The delegation with the StartGate team
  • Leaving StartGate for the coach to Ataşehir
  • StartGate, Maslak
02

MEXT Technology Centre

Ataşehir · 14:00–15:30 · 23 photos
  • The delegation at MEXT, with Spot
  • The delegation in the MEXT lobby
  • Arriving at MEXT, Ataşehir
  • The welcome at MEXT Technology Centre
  • Introducing MEXT
  • The delegation at MEXT
  • Questions at MEXT
  • Into the Digital Factory
  • The Digital Factory at MEXT
  • The factory’s live dashboards
  • In the Digital Factory
  • On the production line
  • The robot cell in the Digital Factory
  • The delegation at the robot cell
  • The autonomous line
  • The tour of the Digital Factory
  • At the assembly cell
  • The control room
  • Spot
  • Meeting Spot, the quadruped robot
  • The MEXT corridor
  • The MEXT auditorium
  • MEXT Technology Centre, Ataşehir
03

The Peninsula Istanbul

Karaköy · 17:00–18:00 · 31 photos
  • The Herb Garden at The Peninsula Istanbul, above the Bosphorus
  • Delegates in the Herb Garden
  • The Herb Garden talk on the lawn: Russ Shaw CBE with Özden Akyıldız of Komşuköy and Samuel Linder of The Peninsula Hotels
  • Russ Shaw CBE opens the visit to the Herb Garden
  • Özden Akyıldız, Co-Founder of Komşuköy, on the garden
  • Özden Akyıldız with the delegation on the lawn
  • Samuel Linder, Executive Assistant Manager, Food and Beverage, The Peninsula Hotels, with Özden Akyıldız
  • Samuel Linder on the rooftop farm that feeds the hotel
  • Samuel Linder and Özden Akyıldız take questions, the Bosphorus behind
  • Questions from the delegation
  • The rooftop Herb Garden at The Peninsula Istanbul, looking across the Bosphorus
  • Drinks served in the Herb Garden
  • The Golden Horn from the Herb Garden
  • Luis Novella in the Herb Garden
  • John Zai and Russ Shaw CBE as the sun sets
  • At the close of the summit
  • Arriving at The Peninsula Istanbul, Karaköy
  • First look at the Bosphorus from the Herb Garden
  • In the rooftop Herb Garden
  • Conversation in the Herb Garden, above the Bosphorus
  • Delegates in the Herb Garden
  • In the Herb Garden
  • In the Herb Garden, with the Bosphorus behind
  • The lawn of the Herb Garden
  • Drinks on the lawn
  • The view from the Herb Garden: the Golden Horn and the historic peninsula
  • The Herb Garden at The Peninsula Istanbul
  • The delegation on the lawn as the sun goes down
  • Among the tomato vines: the rooftop farm
  • Samuel Linder shows the herb beds
  • The Peninsula Istanbul, Karaköy

The route

The StartGate building in Maslak 01European side 11:00–12:30 StartGate Maslak The gaming scene The Digital Factory at MEXT, a working production line with robots and autonomous vehicles 02Asian side 14:00–15:30 MEXT Ataşehir High-tech industry and the digital factory The Peninsula Istanbul on the Karaköy waterfront, with Galata Tower behind 03European side 17:00–18:00 The Peninsula Istanbul Karaköy Rooftop agritech over the Bosphorus

Two continents, two crossings of the Bosphorus, one coach for the whole day.

Running order

Morning

Coach to Maslak

11:00 –12:30

Stop 1 · Gaming

StartGate

Maslak · European side

Istanbul has become one of the world’s leading centres for mobile games, home to studios such as Peak, Dream Games and Rollic. StartGate, the city’s entrepreneurship centre for digital games and game technologies, opened in Maslak in 2023: five floors with space for 50 game studios, test labs and an events terrace. The first stop is the gaming scene: how it grew so quickly, and what comes next for Türkiye’s games industry.

  • TürkiyeDilara Keçeci · Regional Growth & Partnerships Managing Consultant, Plan A Games · Founding Partner & CEO, Lorien Accelerator
  • TürkiyeBilge Değer · Product Operations & Growth Specialist, StartGate
  • TürkiyeHacer Özmen Yılmaz · International Relations & Business Development Executive, Entertech İstanbul Teknokent · introduces the Türkiye Game Cluster
The StartGate building in Maslak

12:30 –14:00

Across the Bosphorus to Ataşehir

14:00 –15:30

Stop 2 · Industrial technology

MEXT Technology Centre

Ataşehir · Asian side

On the Asian side, MEXT shows Türkiye’s high-tech industry at work. Its Digital Factory runs a working production line of robots, autonomous vehicles and connected machines, built with more than 100 technology partners: how manufacturers bring automation, data and AI onto the factory floor, and what that means for a country that makes and exports for Europe and beyond.

The Digital Factory at MEXT: a working production line with robots and autonomous vehicles

15:30 –17:00

Back across the Bosphorus to Karaköy

17:00 –18:00

Stop 3 · Agritech

The Peninsula Istanbul Herb Garden

Karaköy · European side

Back on the European shore, the rooftop Herb Garden sits atop one of The Peninsula Istanbul’s four Bosphorus-front buildings. Designed with the urban farming collective Komşuköy, it grows vegetables, fruit and herbs for the hotel’s kitchens in more than 100 raised beds. The hotel and Komşuköy’s co-founder tell the story behind it, with panoramic views over the Bosphorus and the historic peninsula.

  • Samuel Linder · Executive Assistant Manager, Food & Beverage, The Peninsula Hotels
  • TürkiyeÖzden Akyıldız · Co-Founder, Komşuköy
The rooftop Herb Garden at The Peninsula Istanbul, above the Bosphorus
For the delegation

The ecosystem visits are for the summit’s international delegation, travelling together by coach for the whole day. There is no public RSVP: delegates receive the meeting point and departure time directly.

Itinerary as of 4 October 2026 and subject to change. Hosts at each stop are announced as they are confirmed.