In his speech at the Golden Container Export Awards held at the Independent Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (MUSIAD) Headquarters, Bolat said that he entered the door of MUSIAD 30 years ago and fulfilled many duties in the association, that they accomplished great things here and had very good memories. told.
Bolat stated that they witnessed a period in which strong Turkey and the strong Turkish economy rose with the political stability and economic stability that started with the AK Party government established under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2002 after Turkey’s stormy years and continued for 20 years. He stated that he recommended the establishment of a youth branch and women’s branches within the body of MUSIAD at the MUSIAD board meeting.
Bolat stated that Young MUSIAD, which he led the way in the establishment, made great breakthroughs, and that about 20 thousand young people took part in this quarry and set an example for the business world.
Stating that the seeds they planted turned into very good fruits for the youth of the country, Bolat said, “The main idea behind the establishment of Young MUSIAD was to get our young people accustomed to entrepreneurship and to make them love it. It was to warm our young people up to charity work, social work, social projects, to accustom them to these activities and make them like them. And the university. “Thank God, when we look at the past 21 years, we see that all these goals have been greatly improved.” he said.
Mentioning the importance of entrepreneurship, Bolat said, “When I became the new general secretary of MUSIAD, we ordered a calligraphy letter to calligrapher Hüseyin Kutlu. On that line, he said, ‘Those traders who are honest, honest, serve their state, and bring jobs and food to their people, employees, will live in the hereafter. He will be resurrected with the prophets, the faithful and the martyrs.’ “This is a great reward, so entrepreneurship is of great importance. Entrepreneurs who are honest, hardworking, productive and beneficial to people, their country and their state are the crown jewels.” used the phrases.
“The ratio of exports to national income in Turkey has approached 30 percent”
Ömer Bolat stated that in 1980, Turkey’s exports were 2 billion 900 million dollars, its national income was 65 billion dollars and its population was 41 million people.
“In this table, the number of exporters in Turkey was 1000, we had an export of 2.9 billion dollars. Most of these exports were hazelnuts, figs, raisins and tobacco products, which are traditional products of Turkey. A little textile started, but the late Turgut Özal’s Turkey liked to open up to the outside with the open growth model initiated by our former president. It started to grow, but in the following years, this momentum could not continue due to the coalition governments, fragmented political structure, instability and economic crises in the 1990s. Until 2002, the AK Party and our Honorable President came to power. until you come.
I am doing my master’s degree in Germany in 1987. At that time, we bought a huge radio. We were trying to listen to Turkey on the short wave. Voice of Turkey radio. On that day, the noise was coming, going, coming, going, but the news was this: ‘Turkey’s monthly exports exceeded 1 billion dollars.’ On that day, there was a festive joy in the country. Now right now our almost daily exports exceed $1 billion on most days. So we came from monthly to daily, thank goodness.”
Bolat stated that in 2022, exports reached 36 billion dollars, service exports reached 4.5 billion dollars, and the number of exporters reached 12 thousand people, and drew attention to the fact that in 2022, the number of exporting companies increased to 14 thousand and total exports to 254 billion dollars.
Stating that the ratio of exports to national income in Turkey is approaching 30 percent, Bolat said, “What does this show? This shows that Turkey has an open economy. When we add imports to this, we make foreign trade of 620 billion dollars a year. billion dollars of goods come in and out. As the Ministry of Commerce, we strive to increase this export and bring foreign currency to our country, to ensure that imports are made in a balanced way, to ensure that the domestic industrialists are protected against unfair imports, and to operate customs effectively and quickly.”
Mentioning the economic effects of the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes, Bolat said that all ministries are doing their part to develop the earthquake area again.
“We are carrying out many studies to encourage young people to export”
Minister of Commerce Ömer Bolat stated that as the ministry, they are aware of the importance of paving the way for young entrepreneurs and increasing the number of young exporters, and said that, based on this vision, they carry out many studies in order to enable young entrepreneurs to become a part of global trade by facilitating their opening to foreign markets and to encourage them to export.
Stating that within the scope of the Export Academy-Exporter Training Program, trainings were given under different topics from global market entry studies to digital marketing for entrepreneurs with potential and willing to export, Bolat expressed that they are ready to cooperate with both Young MUSIAD and other NGOs in the future.
Bolat stated that, in cooperation with universities, students in 3rd and 4th grades are preparing new projects on entrepreneurship and export, “Another important project of us is the Angel Investor Network Platform. A web-based program to bring together angel investors and entrepreneurs with new business ideas. “We have created a platform. We have completed its infrastructure, we will be promoting it soon. I wish the Angel Investor Network Platform to be a motivating project for young entrepreneurs and young exporters.” he said.
Bolat stated that they support every step and every step of export, from preparation for export to marketing, from design to being a supplier to global companies, from e-export to participation in international fairs, from creating foreign distribution channels to becoming a global brand.
Emphasizing that young entrepreneurs can also benefit from all these supports if they become a company, Bolat continued as follows:
“With our e-export support package, we stand by our young entrepreneurs on many topics, from the online exhibition and promotion of Turkish products and brands in online marketplaces to the costs of ensuring fast delivery for overseas orders. They operate in the IT sectors, especially software, digital games, blockchain, artificial intelligence. We provide sector-specific support for our companies that show their success. As the Ministry, we support the organization of 20 design competitions held throughout the country every year, and we cover the overseas education expenses of our designer who is ranked in these competitions.”
Bolat stated that the trade advisors and attachés are the supporters of the young people and said, “Our trade advisors and attachés working all over the world will be able to reach more than 38 thousand companies in 2022 through the ‘Consult a Counselor’ portal, which is one of our successful applications with a satisfaction rate of 9 out of 10. , answered the request of 295,870 companies, mainly asking about importer/distributor information. In this context, you can ask any questions about the markets of the countries they are in to our trade advisors and attachés through the ‘Consult Your Counselor’ portal and get information from them,” he said.
Bolat stated that 30 young exporters were awarded in 13 categories at the Golden Container Awards and congratulated those who contributed to the award program and those who received the awards.
