Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

TOBB Turkey Technology Meeting was held in Balıkesir with the participation of Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank and TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu.

Reporting that Turkey Technology Meeting is being held in Turkey for the second time in Balıkesir, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Because we know and we see the potential of Balıkesir. First of all, the land is fertile; there’s sea and forest. Agriculture, industry and tourism are all present. There’s airport, seaport, railway and highway. And hardworking people who make use of them. So Balıkesir is indeed a very different place. For all these reasons, we came to Balıkesir again.”

TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that digital technology offers new opportunities for countries which missed the industrial revolution, like Turkey.

Hisarcıklıoğlu, noting that the oldest companies of the world had emerged from sectors such as finance, energy, iron-steel or automotive, pointed out that they are 50-60 years old, “Nearly all of the biggest companies are in the field of technology. Young companies with 5-10 years behind them, replacing the old. Forming a billion-dollar company was the monopoly of a few countries in the past. The Internet and the digital world have changed this. So far, globally there are 326 ‘unicorns’, meaning start-up companies worth 1 billion USD. Among them are Nigerians, Colombians, Estonians, Portuguese, Argentinians.”

Pointing out that Turkey has yet to produce a unicorn, the TOBB President said, “Because instead of work, we use the internet to gossip and chat. But digital transformation is inevitable. Good or bad, we don't know yet. But it is inevitable.”

- Internet is the way to trade in this day and age

Hisarcıklıoğlu, touching on the historic Silk Road and Spice Road, said that those who utilized them prospered and that they way to trade in this day and age is through the internet, passing through every home and workplace.

Hisarcıklıoğlu said that a product produced in a district of Balıkesir can be sold to the farthest corner of Australia, reaching a market of 5 billion people and 25 trillion USD.

Stating that Turkey missed the industrial revolution and that they have felt the pain of it for years, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Now we have a new opportunity. We need to catch this internet revolution. Let me give you a striking example. You may have heard. Sears, the famous retailer in America, has come to the point of bankruptcy. Most young people wouldn’t know, but in the past, they had catalogs thick as phone books. You could order through the postal system and receive your goods with the same system. The innovation of the 20th century was sales from this catalog. In 2007, when Sears' number of stores reached 4,000, and the number of employees reached 360,000, the newly established Amazon had but a few thousand employees. Currently, Sears' number of employees has fallen to 90,000. The number of Amazon employees reached 570,000.

Thanks to E-Commerce, there is less need for brick and mortar stores. But there is a need to build a chain of large brick and mortar logistic centers, artificial intelligence experts who will organize it all, and a cybersecurity team. This is how development happens.

We must leave yesterday in to the past and look forward,” said Hisarcıklıoğlu and stressed the importance of relaying the risks and opportunities to companies.

- Using technology in every field

Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that the winners did not win by simply selling over the internet, that they used technology in every field, “The company that uses technology while doing its job differs according to its competitors and stands out.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu said that, it is for this the reason that they had taken another first step in Turkey, stablishing the TOBB ETU Artificial Intelligence Department. Hisarcıklıoğlu explained that they will prepare young people for the digital world. Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that they will establish a new entrepreneurship center in Istanbul together with a global technology company and they will open Turkish entrepreneurs to the world.

Emphasizing that the way of doing business in the world has changed now, TOBB President continued, “It used to be that you did what everyone else is doing. The best way to differentiate is to use technology. That's the best way to recoup.

The opportunity is huge. In 2018, our e-export was around 500 million USD. But the potential is 50 or even 100 times that. You should not miss this opportunity. Life is now in the digital world. We have to be there now. If you want to reach more consumers, here is the solution. If you want to work more efficiently, here's the solution. If you want to make a difference in your business, here's the solution.”

- Bakan Varank

The Minister of Industry and Technology, Mustafa Varank said, “This initiative by TOBB, fills an important gap. 69 Technology Meetings have been held in 31 provinces up to now. We are going through a different and challenging global conjuncture. Another dimension of business is the rapid change and transformation in technology. It is important to draw our direction clearly. We are aware of the risks and we have to evaluate the opportunities in the best way. We have to create new opportunities and new outputs for ourselves.”

Drawing attention to the importance of national technology, Minister Varank said, “We aim to make use of our domestic and national resources in the best way in all sub-sectors of the industry and to lead the technology at the forefront. In order to adapt to digitalization and achieve digital transformation in accordance with our structural fundamentals, it is necessary to gain competitive advantage.”

- Turkey-Vodafone Manager Colman Deegan

Vodafone Turkey Manager Colman Deegan stated that they are meeting with many establishments as a part of the ‘Digital Transformation Movement’ they are conducting in cooperation with TOBB.

Deegan said that they determined the digitalization levels of SMEs and provinces in Anatolia by calculating their digital scores. Reporting that Turkey's digital score was 53, as a result of the various efforts geared towards this, the score has been increased to 69, “As Vodafone, we will continue to stand by SMEs with our products and services.”