Seda Ölmez Çakar

SEDA ÖLMEZ ÇAKAR

Strategy · Innovation · Impact

I work at the intersection of strategy, innovation and impact — helping organisations make sense of complexity, design better programmes and systems, and turn evidence into better decisions.

Explore my work
Seda Ölmez Çakar

My work

Working across disciplines.

My work sits at the intersection of strategy, innovation and impact.

Over more than 25 years, I have worked across technology and innovation, strategy and programme design, entrepreneurship and ecosystems, and impact.

What connects these areas is a consistent focus on turning complex priorities into programmes and practical models that can work in practice — and using evidence to support better decisions.

Expertise

What I work on

01

Strategy

Direction · Programmes · Implementation

Strategic direction, programme architecture and design, programme and portfolio strategy, strategy to implementation and transformation programmes.

02

Innovation

Technology · Enterprise · Ecosystems

Innovation strategy, programme design, entrepreneurship and SME programmes, innovation ecosystems, technology commercialisation and green transition.

03

Impact

Strategy · Investment · Evidence · Value

Impact strategy and management, impact investment, evaluation, Social Value and SROI, Theory of Change, SDG Impact Standards and MEL.

Experience

Built across strategy,
innovation and impact.

Strategy & Programmes

Turning complex priorities into strategies, programmes and practical models for implementation.

Innovation & Ecosystems

Working across technology, entrepreneurship, innovation programmes and ecosystem development.

Impact & Value

Integrating impact, evidence and social value into strategy, management and decision-making.

Cross-Sector Experience

Working with companies, public-interest organisations, international institutions and multi-stakeholder programmes.

My professional path brings together more than 25 years of work across technology and innovation, strategy and programme design, and impact — spanning organisations, programmes and ecosystems in private, public-interest and international contexts.

Selected work

Selected Work

A selection of programmes, organisations and assignments across innovation, strategy and impact.

01

TTGV

Innovation · Strategy · Programme Architecture

Directed innovation and entrepreneurship portfolios and contributed to the design of national-scale R&D, green transition and social innovation programmes.

02

METU Technopolis / ODTÜ Teknokent

Technology · Ecosystems · Commercialisation

Managed and developed an advanced-technology cluster of 100+ companies and worked on collaboration, technology transfer and business development initiatives.

03

PepsiCo / Lay’s Foundation

Sustainability · Impact Strategy · Value

Designed an end-to-end impact framework for a regenerative agriculture initiative, including impact strategy, results framework, Theory of Change and SROI.

04

ICMPD / EU — ENHANCER

Impact Analysis · Programme Evaluation · Sustainability

Conducted impact and sustainability analysis for a large-scale, multi-city programme through fieldwork, contribution analysis and decision-oriented evaluation.

05

Alethina Impact Investments & Advisory

Impact Investment · Strategy

Advised on impact investment strategy and ecosystem development for early-stage impact companies with global growth potential.

View selected work

Perspective

Questions I work with

Much of my work begins before a methodology is selected — with understanding the problem, the system around it and the decisions that need to be made.

Are we solving the right problem?
How do we turn strategy into programmes and systems that actually work?
How can innovation create value beyond novelty?
How can impact become part of strategy, management and investment decisions rather than simply reporting?

Speaking & training

Speaking & Training

I speak, teach and facilitate across strategy, innovation and impact, drawing on both practical programme experience and international impact standards.

Speaking & training
  • Impact Strategy & Management
  • Theory of Change
  • Social Value & SROI
  • SDG Impact Standards
  • Impact Investment & IMM
  • Programme Design
  • Innovation Ecosystems
  • Entrepreneurship & SME Programmes
  • Strategy to Implementation

Credentials

Selected Impact Credentials

  • Social Value International Level 3 Advanced Practitioner
  • Social Value International Accredited Trainer
  • UNDP SDG Impact Standards Trainer
  • Social Value International Standards Committee Member

About

A career across technology, innovation, programmes and impact.

My career has developed across technology, innovation, strategy and impact over more than 25 years.

I spent 17 of those years across TTGV and METU Technopolis, working on technology, R&D, innovation, entrepreneurship, programme development and ecosystem building.

Over time, my work increasingly focused on a related question: how do organisations understand the value and change their strategies and programmes actually create?

Today, I bring these strands together across strategy, innovation and impact — working with organisations on complex programmes, transformation and evidence-informed decision-making.

I am the Founder & Principal of Octa Impact, an independent Strategy & Transformation Advisory.

More about me

Founder & Principal

Octa Impact

I founded Octa to bring strategy, innovation and impact together in advisory work.

Octa works with organisations and investors navigating complex change — from strategic direction and programme architecture to innovation, organisational systems and measurable value.

Visit Octa

Contact

Let’s connect.

For advisory work, speaking, training, expert assignments and collaborations.

Seda Ölmez Çakar
Founder & Principal, Octa