Papara Becomes Turkey’s Seventh ‘Unicorn’ Company

Turkish startups, which have managed to play a major role in the global entrepreneurial ecosystem in recent years, have received another success announcement today. Payment service organization Papara became Turkey’s seventh unicorn company.

Papara’s acquisition of the unicorn title was realized with the acquisition of Spain-based Rebellion. The value of the company with this purchase exceeded the $1 billion mark.

Papara will now also serve in Spain:

With the purchase of Rebellion, Papara has completed its preparations to serve in Spain as well. Rebellion, now Papara Spain will bear the name and serve Spanish customers.

“An excellent foundation for our international growth strategy”

Papara Founder Ahmed Karslı shared that Papara was founded on the principle of “financial inclusion for everyone”. He stated that the last purchase will also support the realization of this principle. Karslı’s explanation was as follows:

“Papara was founded on the principle of financial inclusion for all, and this agreement will allow us to ensure that this is true for even more people. 2023 is the year we embarked on our ambitious international growth strategy and we are confident that Rebellion is the perfect foundation to expand our global reach.

The business and team stood out for us for a variety of reasons, notably unrivaled local market knowledge, best-in-class products, and most importantly, aligning goals with ours. We look forward to working with their talented team and building on Rebellion’s local market success.”

Turkish companies and startups with the Unicorn title:

1. Peak Games – Mobile game developer, Turkey’s first unicorn company.
2. Bring – Fast delivery platform.
3. Dream Games – Mobile game developer.
4. Hepsiburada – E-commerce platform.
5. Trendyol – E-commerce platform
6. Insider – AI-powered marketing service provider.
7. Papara – Payment services.