Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Addressing the importance of entrepreneurship and the gaming sector, Hisarcıklıoğlu explained that the pandemic brings problems as well as new opportunities such as e-commerce. Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the most important condition for economic existence in the global arena in this century is an entrepreneurial country and entrepreneurship. Emphasizing the importance of the gaming industry, Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that Turkey's first unicorn came out of the field of gaming.

Noting that the technological transformation which will last for decades during the pandemic process took place in 1 year, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Digitalization and e-commerce have come to the fore all over the world. And a new generation of entrepreneurs has accomplished it. Look, I read an interesting article in the foreign press recently. Accordingly, the share of digital media in advertising 51%. I mean, both visually and in writing, it's past all the traditional media. It's very important how the ad cake is divided. Because it's also a mirror of consumer behavior. Consumers are increasingly shifting to online and will continue to do.”

Emphasizing that producers and entrepreneurs should be there, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “You must therefore first bring your business online. You should be digital, not only as e-commerce, but also from customer relationships to advertising and marketing. Annual data have not yet been released, but the volume of e-commerce in our country increased by 64% in the first 6 months of last year. So it's grown almost four times faster than traditional trade. In the past, the proportion of e-commerce in general commerce was 8%. When we look at the world, all fast-growing companies choose the e-commerce route. After Covid-19, the trend towards this area continues unabated. e-Commerce is becoming a habit for the consumer who starts shopping online. In that case, we have to digitize products and services. That is why, as TOBB, we aim to digitize the private sector and develop the next generation of entrepreneurship.”

Stating that as TOBB, they wish to establish an ecosystem in Turkey that not only monitors initiatives abroad, but also hosts initiatives open to the world, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We dream of a Turkey which raises individuals who are part of the entrepreneurship ecosystem, supports these entrepreneurs and brings its competitiveness to the global with an innovative culture. Because in this century, we see that the most important condition of existence in the global arena is to be an entrepreneurial and entrepreneurial country. Acting with this vision, we continue online activities for the next generation of entrepreneurship fields until the end of the year. Our Venture Capital Council has the largest venture capital in our country. Under the leadership of Mr. Göktekin, our Council President, we bring our entrepreneurs together.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that entrepreneurs who want to contribute to the game world with their innovative ideas have been informed through entrepreneurial councils about their ability to benefit from state support and incentives, and said that they have expressed the problems of the gaming sector through our Software Sector Council and the Creative Industries Sector Council.

Explaining that the topic of play is becoming more and more important, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We consider the emergence of our country's first unicorn as a great success story of our young entrepreneurs and we are proud of them. We find it very accurate and appropriate for the G3 forum to set this issue as the main agenda.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu reminded that the size of the mobile gaming sector market reached 175 billion dollars, “Mobile games ranked first among the most downloaded applications in the world. In Turkey's entrepreneurship ecosystem, the sector with the newest initiatives was the sector which received the most investment, the gaming sector. Many of us not only learn about remote shopping, distance education and remote conference with corona virus, but also became aware of remote sports, e-sports matches. In fact, e-sports is a kind of entrepreneurship and has hundreds of millions of users and followers. It is renewing Olympic agenda to boost the falling ratings of the Olympics and to keep the interest of millennials and Z-generations alive at the Games.

In this context, e-sports competitions are also considered to be included in the games. There are e-sports teams in 50 schools in the United States and they are preparing for the 2024 Paris Olympics. We have also established the E-sports Federation under the Ministry of Sports in 2018. But there's something we need to be careful about here. Why do you think that is? Turkey's first Unicorn came out of the gaming platform area? Of course, the state does not operate in this area at all with regulations or negotiations. What I see is that when the state doesn't overshadow it, the entrepreneur is comfortable, and in this land, unicorns can emerge. And, you know, the public administration is always looking at things in terms of public finances. Therefore, I wish all our entrepreneurs to continue their work away from the bureaucratic mindset of the public administration. Our Women and Young Entrepreneurs Councils will always be with you, join them. Work closely with our Venture Capital Council, namely Mr. Göktekin, and cooperate more. Let's attract more investment in all these innovative sectors, such as gaming, software, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and create new entrepreneurs and success stories from here.”

- “Turkey is among the most important actors in the mobile gaming market”

Gülden Yılmaz, President of the Future Power Entrepreneurs Forum, noted that many new initiatives have made a rapid entrance into the business world during the pandemic.

Yılmaz stated that one of the areas where significant growth has been recorded during this period is the digital gaming sector, “It is one of the areas where the digital gaming sector is of the most interest to investors. Turkey is one of the most important actors in the mobile gaming market. I am confident that this potential will grow with new initiatives.”

- “Investment opportunities will increase as the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Turkey develops”

Habitat Association President Sezai Hazır stated that investment opportunities will increase as the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Turkey develops, “We welcome the developments in the Turkish gaming sector and reiterate our faith and support for entrepreneurs in this sector.”

After the opening speeches, the panels titled “The Power of Entrepreneurship” and “Gaming Sector and Investment World” were held. The interactive roundtables traditionally held within the scope of the G3 Forum will be held in digital environments this time. Within this framework, entrepreneur and entrepreneur candidates will meet with the leading names of the business world in digital rooms.