27.05.2022 Antalya
The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu attended the Western Mediterranean Trade Meeting organized by the public and private sectors of Antalya, Burdur and Isparta.
In his speech here,
Hisarcıklıoğlu reminded that as a country, they first missed the agricultural
revolution and then the industrial revolution, and said, “We are now in the
period of digital revolution. A different world is forming in front of us. 7
billion people, a $20 trillion market, is behind a single button. This is both
an opportunity and a threat. Customer, market, supplier, it is possible to
reach all of them with computers.”
TOBB President said
that Turkey's e-commerce volume reached 382 billion liras in 2021, an increase
of 70 percent compared to the previous year, and the share of e-commerce in
total retail trade approached 20 percent.
Stating that the trend
towards e-commerce, which has accelerated with the pandemic, continues without
slowing down, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “e-Commerce is becoming a habit for the
consumer who has started to shop on the internet. We need to use social media
to make money. Now a question is, where is the most valuable land in the world?
The most valuable land is the screens of our mobile phones. The important thing
is to be able to take up space on this valuable land. In the past, it was
important to have a store, a grocery store on the busiest street. Now, being
able to take part in the mobile phone screen is very important. So how can we
get involved in the world's most valuable land on a mobile phone screen? Your
company or product will either have a mobile app. Or you will take part in the
developed mobile application.”
Emphasizing that this
issue is not limited to domestic only, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Our cross-border
e-commerce volume has exceeded 2 billion dollars. Individual and macro
exporters who sell abroad over the Internet have also been provided with
support and facilities such as tax exemption and exemption from customs
declaration. Considering that China's cross-border e-commerce transaction
volume has reached $ 260 billion, it becomes clear that we have a long way to
go. When it comes to exports, you should not only think of selling clothes or
goods. Innovative business models born in Turkey are also holding up in the
world.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu, stating
that those who find new ideas and use technology win, said, “We are one of the
countries with the highest use of internet and social media. But we still use
this technology not to produce work, but to make words and insults. Young
entrepreneurs and companies are replacing the old rich.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu
continued, “With a computer, a good idea and perseverance, it is possible to
start our own business.
Look, now you might
think of that these happen in another country, but not here. Last year, 129
Turkish startups received and invested $1.3 billion from abroad. Most of them
were formed by our young entrepreneur brothers who are university students or
have just finished school. So what I'm saying is, the opportunities are too
many. The real capital in this era is not money, but good ideas and
perseverance. But for this, it is necessary to bring new customs to the old
village. Look, Henry Ford, the inventor of mass production, says, “If I stuck
to the opinion of the people around me, I would design a faster horse-drawn
carriage instead of a motor vehicle.” So, we have to raise our young people to
invent them.
We should leave aside
the superstitions that computers or robots will come and will take all the jobs.
Look, only 10 years ago, there was no such thing as social media. Now there are
thousands of social media experts. As a job dies, new job opportunities arise.
For example, in the real estate business, which is a traditional sector, an
entrepreneur takes images of spaces, uses virtual reality VR glasses, markets
them and increases sales rapidly. Thanks to e-Commerce, there is no longer a
need for brick and mortar stores. But there is a need to build a large chain of
logistics centers made of brick and mortar, artificial intelligence experts and
cyber security teams to organize all this. That's how development happens. So,
what is left of yesterday should be left to yesterday and look ahead.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated
that there was a window of opportunity to enter the automotive sector, which
was parceled by centuries-old brands in the past, and said that the TOGG car
would come off the line on October 29 and will be on the roads next year.