Gizem Yagiz

Gizem Yagiz is a General Partner at 212 NexT. She brings over 20 years of experience in international leadership across equity and debt financing, mergers and acquisitions advisory, and venture capital investments, with a recent initiative on fundraising efforts for 212 NexT, Türkiye’s first vertically focused deep tech fund. Her extensive career has spanned various regions, including Europe, Turkey, the Middle East, and Asia, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of global markets. Gizem holds an MSc in Management of Information Systems from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Bachelors in Economics from the Middle East Technical University in Turkey. Her early career at RWE Thames Water contributed to significant transactions and business development initiatives in water and wastewater treatment PPPs. She then managed cross-border M&A and PPP equity advisory projects as the M&A Manager at Pragma Corporate Finance, the largest advisory firm in Turkey. At the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Gizem managed debt and equity transactions, oversaw client and syndicate bank relationships and negotiations, and monitored IFC’s project portfolio across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Turkey. She then launched and led an early-stage global technology venture initiative, focusing on startups within industry 4.0 manufacturing technologies, sustainability, logistics, supply chain, mobility, and enterprise technologies as Head of Venture Capital at MEXT Technology Center. Her expertise spans diverse sectors, including manufacturing, ports, airports, waste management, energy, technology, healthcare, and chemicals.