Pioneers of
Digital Finance 2026
Award Program
Powered by KPMG Türkiye
Applications will open soon.
Pioneers of Digital Finance: Bringing Together the Names Shaping the Future of Fintech!
The Pioneers of Digital Finance Award Program is a platform created in partnership between KPMG Türkiye and İstanbul Fintech Week (IFW), aimed at recognizing innovative and successful ventures that stand out in Türkiye's fintech ecosystem.
This program brings together KPMG's global and local expertise in fintech and its experience from world-renowned programs like Fintech 100, with IFW's strong position in the sector and its broad ecosystem reach.
Aiming to take Türkiye's fintech ecosystem even further, the program draws attention to innovation-driven initiatives that add value to the digital finance landscape.
Meet Our 2026 Jury Members
An expanded panel of industry leaders evaluating this year's applications across two categories.
Fintech Jury
Sinem Cantürk
KPMG Türkiye
Efe Bulduk
Winning Circle
Emre Ölçer
Maxis
Sezgün Lüle
Türkiye İş Bankası
Yakup Doğan
Yapı Kredi
Şebnem Dağ Güven
Akbank
Onur Özkan
Tombank
Sinan Erdem Özer
Odeabank
Bank Jury
Sinem Cantürk
KPMG Türkiye
Efe Bulduk
Winning Circle
Yiğit Çağlayan
Getir Finans
Ozan Deniz
BKM
Utku Dördüncü
Paribu Ventures
A Glance at the Pioneers of Digital Finance
First Award Ceremony
The program's inaugural award ceremony was held on April 14, 2023 as part of İstanbul Fintech Week. With the participation of the Presidential Finance Office, 7 banks and fintechs leading financial innovation were honored.
Strong Participation
In its second year, the program continued to attract significant interest and was held again on April 16, 2024 with strong participation from across the industry.
Expanding Impact
Held for the third time, Pioneers of Digital Finance further expanded its reach in the fintech ecosystem, continuing to highlight innovative business models, scalable solutions, and collaboration-focused approaches.
Growing Impact
Pioneers of Digital Finance aims to continue its growing impact in 2026. The program, to be held in October, will bring together different stakeholders of the fintech ecosystem once again — highlighting innovative solutions, supporting new areas of collaboration, and contributing to the development of the sector.
Award Categories & Winners
Past winners in Pioneer Banks and Pioneer Fintechs categories
Pioneers of Digital Finance 2025
Pioneer Banks
Pioneer Fintechs
Key Facts About the Pioneers of Digital Finance
Fintech and digital finance is a rapidly evolving sector. Aware of this dynamic landscape, we continuously update all metrics in our award program in parallel with industry developments.
Applicant Numbers
Since its inception, the Pioneers of Digital Finance award program has received over 100 applications from leading banks and fintechs making a difference in the industry.
Renewed Concept
Based on participant responses from the 2024 survey, an academic study was prepared and shared in Q1 2025 as a report evaluating Türkiye's fintech ecosystem.
Survey Questions
Survey questions are updated annually in parallel with sectoral dynamics and emerging trends.
Award Categories
We started with 7 categories in our first year. In our second year, considering the growing number of applications, we expanded to 10 categories.
Jury Members
Just like our survey questions, our jury members are updated annually. In 2026, we aim to further expand our jury panel.
More Information & Contact
For questions and feedback about the program, please feel free to get in touch with us.
Surveys for 2026 will be announced via KPMG Türkiye LinkedIn and mailing lists.
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