ilkerakansel.com
Bridging
Sport & Innovation
ABOUT
Unlocking the Reach of Sport. Harnessing the Power of Innovation.
I transform traditional sports entities, advanced tech ventures, and public development agencies into interconnected, high-growth ecosystems.
By bridging the gap between athletic prestige and technical execution, I help sports entities invest in future-proof technologies while enabling breakthrough innovators to leverage the unmatched testing environments, capital, and global scale of sport.
SPECIALISATIONS
Unique expertise at the intersection of athletic performance, venture capital, and regional growth.
Operating at the intersection of performance, venture capital, and growth, I help sporting teams to exchange capital, brand power, and living-lab access for startup equity.
I structure strategies to deploy tech solutions into sporting environments, connect teams and federations with innovation instigators, and blueprint roadmaps that turn sporting infrastructure and public funds into self-sustaining, thriving innovation ecosystems.
SERVICES
Connecting sports entities and tech hubs towards becoming unified, high-growth innovation ecosystems.
By blending ecosystem design with strategic connectivity, I help sporting organisations build functional bridges to academia, tech, and the private sector, while enabling technology driving organisations to utilise the massive reach, emotion, and scale of global sport.
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Explore the full breadth of my services here.
Sport x Tech Bridge Manchester
Sport x Tech Bridge is a specialised movement and event series connecting sports organisations directly with high-growth innovation ecosystems.
Anchored by its launch initiative in Manchester, a World-renowned capital for sport and tech, Sport x Tech Bridge builds the physical and strategic pathways that allow sports entities to scout innovation, invest in tech, and scale cross-border ventures.
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You can visit sporttechbridge.com to find out more.
CURRENT PROJECTS
SEITA (Sports Enabled Innovation & Technology Alliance) Scotland
SEITA is ecosystem initiative to bring together universities, elite athletic bodies, and private sector innovators across Scotland towards forming the UK's first sports tech ecosystem blueprint.
SEITA embeds sport as an economic driver within regional development, aligning academic research, living-lab environments, and public-private funding to position the nation as a premier hub for sports technology and human performance.
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You can find out more about the project at seita.scot