Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

In his speech Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “The office to which you’ve been elected to is the representative of the Mucur traders and industrialists. You have not been appointed, you’ve been elected. We are under the roof of the most democratic institution in Turkey.”

Touching on the importance of young and woman entrepreneurs, the TOBB President stated that only 6% of the entrepreneurs in Turkey are women and went on, “We are members of a culture which abhors waste. Half of our population is women. We are all Muslims. We all try to emulate the Blessed Prophet. Why do we not follow his example in business? The wife of the Prophet, Khadija, was one of the most prolific traders of her time. She owned 800,000 camels. We should at least try to bring our daughters to prominence in their own professions. We require role models for our young women.

We must also encourage the youth towards entrepreneurship.”

Emphasizing the importance of a partnership culture, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “If we do not form partnerships, we will not be able to grow. The time for small and individual businesses is over. We must combine our strength in order to grow our business and prosper.”