DEIK - Foreign Economic Relations Board

What DEIK - Foreign Economic Relations Board does

DEIK (Dış Ekonomik İlişkiler Kurulu / Foreign Economic Relations Board) is a Turkish non-profit business association founded in 1985, headquartered in Istanbul (with the legal entity registered in Pendik). It functions as Turkey's principal commercial diplomacy platform, organizing bilateral business councils, trade missions, business forums, and matchmaking services that connect Turkish private-sector companies with foreign counterparts. The organization is built around 153 Business Councils organized by country and sector, supported by 92 founding organizations and corporate members and voluntary firm memberships, and has facilitated 17,922 events, 1,002 outbound visits, and 93 country visits alongside the President of Turkey.

DEIK does not develop proprietary technology products; instead, its "platform" is a human-mediated coordination and convening service, augmented by content publications such as the Business Diplomacy magazine (Turkey's first international commercial diplomacy journal), the annual Yurt Dışı Yatırım Endeksi (Outbound Investment Index) produced with Bain & Company and Deloitte Turkey, and the Yurt Dışı Yatırım Forumu (Outbound Investment Forum) co-organized with the Islamic Development Bank, Norton Rose Fulbright, and FDI Center. Recent programmatic additions include the STRIDE Project for commercial diplomacy capability building, the DEIK Yeşil Dönüşüm (Green Transformation) initiative aligned with the European Green Deal, and the DEIK Women's Platform (Kadın Platformu).

The business model is non-profit and membership-based: DEIK generates revenue through subscription-style recurring membership contributions from its 92 founding/corporate members and voluntary firm memberships, supplemented by event-driven and partnership-related income streams. The Chairman of both the Board of Directors and Executive Board is Nail Olpak, who also serves on the boards of TURK EXIMBANK and TURKCELL. DEIK positions itself as a quasi-public-private institution: it is privately organized but operates with an official mandate to organize presidential trade missions, creating a structural distribution advantage over commercial intermediaries in Turkish outbound trade and investment promotion.

Name

DEIK - Foreign Economic Relations Board

Legal name

Dış Ekonomik İlişkiler Kurulu

Website

https://deik.org.tr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

DEIK (Dış Ekonomik İlişkiler Kurulu) is a 1985-founded Turkish non-profit business association that operates 153 bilateral Business Councils connecting Turkish private-sector firms with foreign counterparts through trade missions, business forums, and the annual Outbound Investment Index.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Pendik

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: DEIK generates revenue through membership contributions from its 92 founding organizations and corporate members, as well as voluntary firm memberships from Turkish businesses seeking international trade and investment opportunities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

DEIK is a Turkish non-profit business association founded in 1985 that facilitates international trade and investment between Turkish businesses and foreign partners. It operates 153 Business Councils covering country/region-specific bilateral relations and delivers trade missions, business forums, matchmaking services, sectoral committees, and policy research for its member companies.

Product overview

DEIK (Dış Ekonomik İlişkiler Kurulu / Foreign Economic Relations Board) is Turkey's premier business diplomacy organization operating since 1985. Rather than a traditional software product, DEIK offers a platform of advisory, networking, and research services centered around 153 Business Councils organized by country, sector, and special purpose. The core offerings include bilateral business forums, trade delegations, and the annual Yurt Dışı Yatırım Endeksi (Outbound Investment Index) developed with partners like Bain & Company and Deloitte. Supporting services include the Business Diplomacy magazine (Turkey's first international commercial diplomacy publication), the DEIK Women's Platform, STRIDE Project, and Green Transformation (Yeşil Dönüşüm) initiatives aligned with the European Green Deal. The organization facilitates commercial diplomacy between Turkish businesses and their counterparts worldwide through organized events, joint business councils, and published research reports.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Business Diplomacy: Turkey's first international commercial diplomacy journal published by DEIK

Products and services

• İş Konseyleri (Business Councils) 153 country/region-specific bilateral Business Councils that channel trade, investment, and policy engagement between Turkish and foreign private-sector stakeholders; the core membership-based service offering of DEIK.
• Yurt Dışı Yatırım Endeksi (Outbound Investment Index)

Quantifiable outcome

• 93 countries visited with T.C. President through commercial diplomacy activities
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 December 2019DEIK co-organizes the annual Yurt Dışı Yatırım Forumu (Outbound Investment Forum) with IsDB, FDI Center, and Norton Rose Fulbright. The partnership focuses on promoting Turkish outward investments to Islamic Development Bank member countries and facilitating investment dialogue between Turkish companies and the bank.
• Norton Rose FulbrightcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 19 December 2019Norton Rose Fulbright serves as legal counsel and co-organizer of the Yurt Dışı Yatırım Forumu (Outbound Investment Forum), providing expertise on international sanctions, investment regulations, and cross-border transaction structuring for Turkish investors.
• FDI CentercoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 19 December 2019Berlin-based FDI Center provides location analysis and foreign direct investment expertise for the annual Yurt Dışı Yatırım Forumu, helping Turkish investors evaluate investment destinations and understand global FDI trends.
• Bain & CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019DEIK partners with Bain & Company to produce the annual Yurt Dışı Yatırım Endeksi (Outbound Investment Index), a comprehensive ranking of countries by investment attractiveness for Turkish investors. The index evaluates countries across multiple criteria including business environment, know-how potential, market size, regulatory framework, and Turkey relations.
• Deloitte TurkeycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016DEIK partnered with Deloitte Turkey for the 2016 and 2017 editions of the Yurt Dışı Yatırım Endeksi (Outbound Investment Index), providing research methodology and analytical support for ranking countries by investment attractiveness for Turkish businesses.
• International Finance Corporation (IFC)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016IFC has collaborated with DEIK on investment forums and provided insights on global investment trends and financing options for Turkish companies pursuing international expansion.
• Kadir Has University (KHAS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDEIK partnered with Kadir Has University and Columbia University's Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment (VCC) to produce research on Turkish Multinational Companies (ÇUŞ) and their global expansion patterns.
• Columbia University - Vale Columbia CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership under the Emerging Market Global Players (EMGP) project to study Turkish multinational companies' international investments and their contribution to global value chains.
• AlmatyminorOthersDEIK collaborates with various Turkish government ministries including the Ministry of Trade for organizing joint business councils, trade missions, and implementing trade agreements.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI): South Korea's national chamber of commerce with comparable mandate of facilitating bilateral business relations, organizing trade missions, and serving as institutional platform for Korean private sector internationalization.
• Dubai Chamber of Commerce: UAE-based chamber facilitating international business and trade, with strong government backing. Comparable to DEIK in its dual focus on bilateral business councils and outbound investment promotion for member companies.
• China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT): China's national foreign trade promotion organization operating with quasi-governmental status to facilitate international business relationships. Highly comparable to DEIK in its mandate of commercial diplomacy, bilateral business councils, and official trade mission organization.
• Keidanren: Japan's peak business federation coordinating Japanese corporate internationalization and government relations. Comparable to DEIK in its role organizing bilateral economic dialogues, country-specific committees, and high-level trade diplomacy activities.
• Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie (BDI): Germany's Federation of German Industries, a peak industry association coordinating German international business relations. Comparable to DEIK in its role organizing trade missions, bilateral industry dialogues, and serving as the institutional bridge between national private sector and foreign governments.
• Confindustria: Italy's main business association representing manufacturing and services companies in international markets. Similar to DEIK in facilitating bilateral business councils with foreign counterparts and organizing trade delegations with government participation.
• Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI): India's oldest and largest business chamber with direct comparability to DEIK in organizing bilateral business councils, trade missions, and country-specific committees. Both organizations function as the institutional bridge between emerging-market private sectors and global business networks.
• Mouvement des Entreprises de France (MEDEF): France's leading business federation representing companies of all sizes and coordinating French private sector international engagement. Directly comparable to DEIK in membership-based structure, country-specific bilateral councils, and government-level commercial diplomacy activities.
• Confederation of British Industry (CBI): UK's premier business lobbying and international trade organization connecting British businesses with global markets. Directly comparable to DEIK as a national business association facilitating bilateral commercial diplomacy, trade missions, and cross-border business councils.

Broad incumbents

• U.S. Chamber of Commerce: The world's largest business federation, far broader in scope than DEIK, but with directly comparable international affairs and trade facilitation functions. Its international division organizes bilateral business councils and trade missions analogous to DEIK's 153 Business Councils.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/deikiletisim
• Facebookfacebook.com/deikiletisim
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/deikiletisim

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DEIK - Foreign Economic Relations Board