18.11.2014 İstanbul
TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu and the Development Minister Cevdet Yılmaz attended the Turkey’s Economy and Entrepreneurship Panel moderated by journalist Cüney Özdemir.
Addressing entrepreneur candidates, Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized the
importance of entrepreneurs for Turkey, “We want to prosper as a country and
the only way to prosper in the world is through entrepreneurs. You are as rich
as the number of entrepreneurs you have if you want to prosper as a country you
must increase the number of entrepreneurs you have.
There are 1.5 million establishments in Turkey. The number of people
employed by the private sector is 15 million. That means, on average, each
establishment provides employment to 10 people. Every year 700,000 new people
join the workforce. This means that we must produce at least 70,000
entrepreneurs each year. The unemployed who are seeking employment present a
population of 3 million at the moment. With 700,000 new people entering the job
market each year, how will we address this matter? The only solution is to
increase the number of entrepreneurs.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that the losers of WWII, Germany and Japan
are at their present positions thanks to the ecosystems they created to
engender entrepreneurship.
Drawing attention to the importance of entrepreneurship for Turkey in
achieving its goal of becoming one of the top 10 economies in the world,
Hisarcıklıoğlu told the story of his own entrepreneurial experiences, “My late
father was not an entrepreneur. I am from Kayseri though; we have a tradition
of entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship is a matter of culture. We educate the underqualified
and employ those who are qualified.”
- “The trick to success is honesty”
Having worked at a pharmacy during the summers in elementary school and
selling socks for his allowance during his university years, Hisarcıklıoğlu
said to those present, “It is important to garner work ethics. I have adopted 5
principles in my business life. If you want to succeed, the trick is honesty.
You must always spend less than you earn; you must first check, then trust.
Never act on memory, keep written records. Lastly, you can make do in
friendships, but never in business.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the Turkish society is not predisposed to
look favorably on entrepreneurship and said that this has begun to slowly
change. He went on to draw attention to the contribution of woman entrepreneurs
in Turkey’s success, providing various statistical data on the subject.
- Development Minister Yılmaz
Development Minister Cevdet Yılmaz spoke on the perception of the
concept of entrepreneurship in Turkey, stressing that the view that it is an
individual is false and that entrepreneurship is, on the contrary a very social
matter.
Yılmaz stated that the 2023 goals have been negotiated among the Turkish
people, reaching a level of social agreement the likes of which have not been
seen before on this scale.
Yılmaz went on to outline the various 2023 goals they are striving to
achieve including the matter of national income, increased exports as well as
R&D spending.