Meet the Cohort of Yapı Kredi FRWRD X Teniy | Road to DACH Region

Meet the cohort:

fileOrbis
Enterprise content governance built for highly regulated organizations.

Nextrain
An AI operating system for enterprise learning and development.

Portuma
Connecting brands and gamers through in game advertising and gamified loyalty.

Rooca
AI powered incident intelligence for finding the root cause of critical system failures.

smartIQ
Automotive intelligence connecting vehicle sales, financing, insurance and data.

Singularity
AI native cybersecurity for mission critical and regulated organizations.

ThinkSuite
Bringing workforce management, employee experience and HR into one platform.

These seven companies span enterprise software, HR tech, fintech, automotive, gaming and cybersecurity, but they share one common ambition: building beyond their home market and creating meaningful opportunities in the DACH region.

Building pathways beyond borders

The kick off marked the beginning of a journey designed to help these startups turn international growth ambitions into tangible opportunities, with focused market preparation, expert support, curated connections and a clear destination ahead: Bits & Pretzels 2026 in Munich.

The day began with Evren Şahin, EVP | Digital Banking & Innovation at Yapı Kredi, sharing the vision behind Yapı Kredi FRWRD Global and the importance of creating meaningful pathways for startups to grow beyond borders.

Entering a new market takes more than ambition. It requires the right market understanding, positioning, network and access to the people who can open the right doors.

This is the thinking at the heart of Yapı Kredi FRWRD Global: creating an environment where promising startups can build the knowledge, connections and confidence they need to approach international growth with greater focus.

Turning vision into action

From there, the focus shifted to the journey ahead.

Sabina Babayeva, Head of Hub at Tenity, and Eda Taşkın, Head of UK at Tenity, onboarded the cohort into the program, setting the stage for the weeks leading up to Munich.

Through DACH market preparation, founder focused sessions, investor and corporate outreach and curated introductions, the program will help each startup approach the region with a clearer strategy and a stronger network around them.

And while Bits & Pretzels 2026 will be an important milestone, the goal goes beyond simply attending an international event. It is about helping founders arrive prepared, knowing who they want to meet, what they want to achieve and how those conversations can contribute to their broader expansion plans.

Every startup has a different road to DACH

There is no single playbook for entering a new market.

Each startup comes into the program at a different stage, with different priorities, challenges and expectations. Understanding those differences is essential to making the support meaningful.

That is why we dedicated the second half of the kick off to one on one deep dives with each startup.

These conversations gave us the opportunity to go beyond the pitch deck and understand what each team actually needs from the journey ahead. We explored their goals for the DACH region, the challenges they are navigating, the connections they are looking for and what a successful outcome from the program would look like for them.

Those priorities vary across the cohort, from securing enterprise buyers and strategic partnerships to validating go to market strategies, meeting investors and expanding European networks.

The insights from these conversations will now help shape how we support each startup throughout the program, making the journey as relevant to their individual ambitions as possible.

Next stop: DACH

Over the coming weeks, fileOrbis, Nextrain, Portuma, Rooca, smartIQ, Singularity and ThinkSuite will continue preparing for the DACH market through expert sessions, hands on support and targeted connections, building toward Bits & Pretzels 2026 in Munich.

The cohort is in. The work has started.

And the Road to DACH is officially underway.