04.03.2021 Ankara
The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu participated in the Digital Road program broadcast on NTV.
Answering
the questions of Buse Biçer and Merter Özdemir in the program, Hisarcıklıoğlu
mentioned TOBB Turkey Technology Meetings and emphasized that there has been a
great change in trade today. Explaining that they missed the industrial
revolution 200 years ago, Hisarciklıoğlu said, “Now we have a new opportunity.
It's called electronic commerce. This is very important for our country, very
important for our people. People used to get rich through trade. Silk Road,
Spice Road were the best examples of this. Countries and people on trade routes
would have prospered back then. Now there are cyber highways on the Internet,
this is the new way. The trade route of this era passes through every workplace
of every house. You can sell goods to the most remote corner of the world with
a button. A $20 trillion market, 7 billion people at the end of the screen, you
can reach 7 billion people in an instant.”
Hisarciklıoğlu
said that the share of e-commerce in total retail in the world has reached 17%,
and that the pandemic has triggered notably. Noting that Turkey is still at the
beginning of the road, TOBB President said, “When we look at today, we are far
behind the average, but we can close the gap quickly. In order not to miss this
train we have to work hard. Turkey has great potential in e-commerce. In fact,
Turkey is similar to Western countries in internet connection prevalence,
quality and smartphone usage rates. In Turkey, almost 90% of the population has
a mobile connection. So, what do we do on the Internet? We chat. While
developed countries are producing jobs here, we're sending messages to each
other, having discussions about unimportant matters. We are in the top 10 in
the world in the number of Facebook users, we are 6th in the world
on Instagram, but when we look at electronic commerce we are not even in the
top 25. Developed countries use this medium for trade. We are trying to win
arguments.”
Emphasizing
that TOBB wants to change this with Vodafone, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We prepare
our companies for the digital world. We produce projects to improve digital
literacy and the digital infrastructure of our SMEs. We are trying to build the
necessary environment to increase the participation of our entrepreneurs in
economic life. We bring together successful entrepreneurs and role models with
entrepreneur candidates on platforms. This is why we designed our Union of Chambers
and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey Technology Meetings events. So far, as Merter
has just stated, we have organized 77 events in 26 provinces, attendance rose to
more than 100,000. I would like to thank you very much for your efforts in
these events. Now we have to move our activities to online due to the pandemic.
In September last year, we met with nearly 2,000 entrepreneurs online. We want
our businesses, our entrepreneurs, to keep their horizons wide. We want our
young people to target the world and follow new technologies. We would like to
take this opportunity to address our entrepreneurs; Don't miss this
opportunity, the opportunity is at your fingertips. We say integrate your
dreams and business into the digital economy.”
- “With the pandemic, all countries
experienced a significant leap in digitalization”
Asked
about the contribution of the digitalization process to business and the
Turkish economy, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the digital economy is among the most
important agendas in the economic system and in all developed countries. They
are trying to internalize concepts such as artificial intelligence, blockchain,
internet of things. Production methods and consumption patterns are changing
very quickly. Due to the pandemic, supply chains are being redesigned. All
processes from logistics to production, services sector to agriculture are now
going digital. We cannot ignore the opportunities provided by the digital
economy and the rapid transformation in this field. It seems difficult for our
companies which cannot keep up with the world digital transformation to survive
in the coming period. With the pandemic, all countries experienced a
significant leap in digitalization. When we look at the world, we see that all
fast-growing companies chose software and e-commerce routes. By 2020, the
global electronic commerce market has reached $1 trillion. That's the result of
making the most of technology. Those who said yesterday that they can't do
e-commerce are trying to learn how to engage in e-commerce today, because the
whole world is going here. And we don't have the luxury of missing it.”
- “We are focused on the
development of e-commerce in Turkey”
Providing
information about the support given to e-commerce, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “The
volume of e-commerce in Turkey reached approximately 92 billion Liras in the
first 6 months of 2020. Data for its second six months is expected to be
released in March. However, we expect e-commerce volume to increase to more
than 250 billion Liras by 2020. The ratio of e-commerce in retail trade is 14%,
we are just at the beginning of the road. Our businesses can reach all of
Turkey at once with e-commerce. This brings a great opportunity for both
sellers and consumers. Our SMEs and entrepreneurs need to take advantage of the
opportunity to become more visible in this medium.”
- TOBB's digitalization activities
Hisarcıklıoğlu
said that as TOBB, they focus on the development of e-commerce in Turkey and
shed light on the digitalization of SMEs and enable them to turn to e-commerce.
Reminding that they carried out trainings in 81 provinces, Hisarcıklıoğlu said,
“More than 4,000 participants participated in our certified e-commerce
trainings held in June and November. By dealing with e-commerce marketplaces
operating nationally, we have ensured that our entrepreneurs are given
advantageous packages. As TOBB, we have introduced zero-commission sales to our
e-commerce businesses for the first time. We offer turnkey e-commerce packages
to our entrepreneurs who want to establish their own e-commerce infrastructure.
With the authorization of our Ministry of Commerce, we started to award e-commerce
sites trust seals as TOBB in order to establish a sense of trust in consumers.
Now, if consumers shop on sites with trust seals, we provide guarantee against risk
of credit cards being stolen or copied. We have allocated trust seals to 27
e-commerce sites. Next up, we are currently conducting experiments at 100
companies which have applied, and after they are finished, we will award them trust
seal. From these sites, our consumers have become able to shop with peace of
mind. In the coming period, the orientation of geographically marked products
to e-export, the training of qualified professionals to work in the e-commerce
sector and the fact that our women entrepreneurs take a greater share of
e-commerce will be our priorities.”
Stating
that Turkey's inventory is very strong in terms of production capability and
production diversity, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We believe in the entrepreneurial
power of our country. As the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of
Turkey, we will continue to support our SMEs, startups, women and young
entrepreneurs as always.”
- Chicago Turkish Trade Center
Asked
about the Chicago Turkish Trade Center, TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed
out that the United States is the largest market in the world with a population
of more than 350 million and import volume approaching $2.5 trillion. For this
reason, Turkish Trade Centers aim to provide all manner of services that our
businesses in markets abroad may need from a single point supported by our
Ministry of Commerce. Here we have an area of 10,000 square meters to serve
everyone, including those who want to export to our industrialists all over
Turkey and enter the American market. There’s offices, warehouses, showrooms,
everything. We're not here to give our companies an office and tell them to
work. As TOBB, we work with Turks and Americans who know this market very well.
In our center, we have created a team with a total U.S. experience of more than
80 years. Our team supports our businesses that want to expand from Turkey to
the United States with experience in everything from company establishment to
accounting, legal services to sales, marketing and after-sales services. So if
you ask what its function is, we want to be a stile for businesses in the
United States. We hold Turkish businesses’ hand until they stand on their own
in the U.S. market. In addition, we saw the potential of e-commerce and digital
transactions and installed a shelf system in our warehouse. Therefore, we are
open to all kinds of businesses that want to sell through digital marketplaces.
We carry out return, technical support and other after-sales services of these
businesses. In other words, we do our part as TOBB to support the initiatives
of e-commerce and e-exports.”
Referring
to the Trust Seal, Hisarciklıoğlu said, “Please look for the trust seal on sites
when shopping as a consumer. You can use your credit card and shop from the
site with a trust seals with confidence.”