SG Sports Startups Accelerator Program, started in 2020, is a digital accelerator built by Sinan Güler who is Turkish Professional Basketball Player and Business Angel. The Accelerator Program is focusing on empowering sports and entrepreneurship ecosystem that developed sports-based products or services, with international potential partners, mentors and investors. The Accelerator Program aims to empower entrepreneurs with the help of investors through matching selected Startups with Turkey’s sports ecosystem.

Having United Nations Development Program as a member of evaluation committee, as a mentor. The pre-accelerator program includes a training on Sustainable Development Goals and being a part of this effort.

How it all happened?

Sports is an area of huge opportunity, especially for reaching young people in Turkey. UNDP Turkey has successfully identified this opportunity and started making a concerted effort to explore it to uncover its full potential via SDG integration.

UNDP Turkey started to work with public figures who will act as advocate to encourage individuals and institutions to take action on SDGs. World Record Holder Free Diver Şahika Ercümen was announced as “Life Below Water Advocate” for the fourteenth of SDGs. National Volleyballer Bahar Toksoy Guidetti and Women’s National Volleyball Team Head Coach Giovanni Guidetti were announced as “Gender Equality Advocates” for the fifth of SDGs.

SG Sports Startups Accelerator Program is the first and only accelerator program in Turkey that solely targets entrepreneurs and start-ups in sports area globally. It supports the sports entrepreneurs and innovators in growing their businesses utilising mentoring, peer-to-peer learning, networking events with investors and stakeholders to establish future partnerships.

Head of experimentation of the Accelerator Lab Turkey became a mentor, trainer and a member of the evaluation committee. Together with the organizers it is decided to include the SDGs and Social Good training in the pre-accelerator stage to reach more people. This make is possible for a large number of people to have the initial stage of the/our program, allowing them to integrate the knowhow to their businesses, even if they don’t participate in the latter stages. First, they’ll continue their businesses first knowing about SDGs, second integrating SDGs to their business, by finding the opportunities within their own businesses to contribute to global development efforts.

It is not only a mentorship and a training itself but linking the businesses with the SDGs and creating social good became one of the evaluation criteria for startups to include in their investor decks.

Introducing SDGs and making them rethink their business was challenging, may different questions came from start-ups. The usual intention is to connect their businesses with benevolence. But it is quite the easiest way but it is somehow outdated. They are told to be an inclusive business is the only option to be sustainable and create social good sustainably.

The training includes many examples from all around the world. It is the most effective way to shape an understanding of social good while doing their business when they see what other companies are doing. It was important to show not only big companies are involved in these efforts but also start-ups in the early stages. Additionally, since integrating SDGs are easier to integrate in the early stages of a business is easier, it is important to note the importance of the involvement of smaller companies.

Having AccLab Head of Experimentation in the evaluation committee also had an added value for the next generation sports start-ups. It is exciting to see how a 1-hour training can create a difference on their perception of development and enabling them to see they can be a part of the efforts.

One of the finalists of the 1^st Cohort quoted “As GarageAtlas, we have always prioritized being creative, open to empathic learning and productive at the basis of our corporate culture. In the focus of these values, we take care to maintain our behaviors and practices through an ethical filter. As an innovative design and technology organization, our focus in the projects and products we have developed so far, has been the beneficial use of innovative technologies for humanity and the world, and in this context, Sustainable Development Goals have been a very useful aspect for us. With our applications in the industry of 3D imaging technologies such as VR, AR, MR, which are our expertise, we will especially continue our work within the scope of gender equality, reducing inequalities and carbon footprint.”

One of the start-ups which was an initiative that develops training systems for athletes using robotics technology stated; “Our starting point the Pro model, is the robotic Smith Machine station for gyms. When we realized this idea, our goal was to create an integrated training system for gyms. A prototype was prepared for the Pro model, for the first step. At this point, we met the Sustainable Development Goals within the scope of SG Sports Accelerator Program. We worked on what our priority targets could be for the 17 SDG’s. We aimed to reduce consumption in the Home Studio model, which is our new version developed within the scope of the program. At this point, we create a versatile modular product concept and reduce the different training device needs of the users. We ensure that the exercises at various work-out stations to carry out with a single product using different apparatus.

Currently, the R&D studies of the product are continuing. We aim to reduce our carbon footprint and be more respectful to nature in our material choices in our production activities. For this reason, we will use recycled materials in Home Studio. In the future, we aim to improve our SDG scope.”

The first Cohort of the program is concluded, and the 2^nd cohort is in the mentoring stage now. It is not always easy for the entrepreneurs to rethink their business having social good in their mind because they never did so since they are not social entrepreneurs or social start-ups. In addition, they are asked to be innovative to be included in this program, so this also helps for us to understand and learn from them, we think all together how their innovation can contribute to development, how it can create social good while doing business.