Jose Fernandez, the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of State Listened to a Discussion on Entrepreneurship in Turkey Jose Fernandez, the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of State joined together with representatives from institutions working on entrepreneurship in Turkey.
ANKARA- A working breakfast coordinated by TEPAV, within the scope of the Global Entrepreneurship Program (GEP-Turkey) between the U.S. State Department and TOBB (the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey), was held on Tuesday, October 4, 2011. Jose Fernandez, the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of State in charge of economy, energy and business environment, and Yücel Altunbaşak, President of TUBITAK (the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey), also attended the meeting held with the participation of representatives from institutions active in the area of entrepreneurship. During the meeting, the participants, among them entrepreneurs, academics, incubator and fund directors, NGO representatives and bureaucrats, had the opportunity to exchange views.
The need for technology-based entrepreneurship
The meeting started with a briefing by TEPAV Director Güven Sak on the GEP-TR program. Sak stressed the benefits of projects that support entrepreneurship in continuing social and economic transformation processes. He pointed out the important role of the GEP-TR program in this regard, and stressed that the program could bring together experienced entrepreneurs and those at the beginning of this journey. He stated that celebrating entrepreneurship also would increase political awareness.
U.S. Deputy Undersecretary Jose Fernandez introduced the activities to be carried out by the GEP program. Afterward, he listened to the participatory institutions’ work in this area, and the views of the participants on the problems in supporting entrepreneurship in Turkey.
In the context of developing entrepreneurship in Turkey, the need for "smart money," “a safe investment climate," "angel investors" and "mentorship" were emphasized. The unorganized nature of the actors caused serious problems in supporting entrepreneurship in Turkey. Therefore, issues such as the development of entrepreneurship education opportunities via the Internet, the focus on technology transfer offices and the incubator models, and the completion of legislation needed in the area of venture capital were discussed in this context.
Celebration of entrepreneurship as an element of success
Shelly Porges, the Chief Advisor in the Global Entrepreneurship Program, answered questions from the participants. She accentuated the importance of celebrating entrepreneurship as one of the factors necessary for success in entrepreneurship such as education, incentives and the business environment. Porges also drew attention to the importance of connections for establishing a network and stressed that the Turkish diaspora could create good connections for Turkey.
Fernandez also emphasized the need for supporting women entrepreneurs in Turkey. The meeting ended with an exchange of views between the participants about the planned activities of GEP-Turkey.
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