Business World’s Roadshow for SME Competitiveness in Mardin

January 30, 2020

The fifth round of training was held in Mardin, hosted by MARSIAD with support from DICLESIFED, under the project “I Can Manage My Business” implemented jointly by TURKONFED, Visa and UNDP to enhance the capacities of SMEs, drivers of the Turkish economy and major players in global competition. The event started with opening remarks by Mr. Mustafa Yaman, Governor of Mardin; Mr. Claudio Tomasi, UNDP Turkey Resident Representative; Mr. Orhan Turan, President of TURKONFED; Mr. Kemal Bilim, President of DICLESIFED; Mr. Abdülnasır Duyan, President of MARSIAD; and Mr. Mehmet Ali Tutaşı, President of Mardin TSO.

Starting with an opening session attended also by Ms. Ümit Boyner, President of the Executive Board of Business for Goals and Board Members, the two-day training programme provided SMEs with comprehensive information on innovative business models ranging from financial reporting to digital marketing, from e-trade to social media. Supported by 27 banks in Turkey, the project “I Can Manage My Business” aims to reach 3,000 SMEs in 18 provinces over 3 years.

The Turkish business world came together with SMEs in Mardin for “I Can Manage My Business”. The fifth round of training was delivered in Mardin under the project “I Can Manage My Business” implemented jointly by Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation (TURKONFED), 

Visa and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with support from 27 banks. Pursuing the overall objective of equipping SMEs with knowledge and skills needed to realise their growth potential, the project aims to reach 3,000 SMEs in 18 provinces over a span of 3 years. During the training on 17-18 January in Mardin hosted by Mardin Industry and Business Association (MARSIAD) with support from Dicle Industry and Business Confederation (DICLESIFED), faculty members from Bosphorus University provided information on how to keep financial discipline as well as adapt to a rapidly growing and digitalising world of trade.

The opening remarks for the event were delivered by Mr. Mustafa Yaman, Governor of Mardin; Mr. Claudio Tomasi, UNDP Turkey Resident Representative; Mr. Orhan Turan, President of TURKONFED; Mr. Kemal Bilim, President of DICLESIFED; Mr. Abdülnasır Duyan, President of MARSIAD; and Mr. Mehmet Ali Tutaşı, President of Mardin TSO. The keynote speaker was Ms. Ümit Boyner, President of the Executive Board of Business for Goals, at Mardin meeting of the SME-centred project “I Can Manage My Business” which held earlier rounds in Adana, Antalya, Hatay and Balıkesir. Ms. Boyner told the participants about the Sustainable Development Goals and activities of the Platform. The two-day training event of “I Can Manage My Business” was designed by the Research and Application Center for Innovation and Competition-Oriented Development, and experienced trainers of Bosphorus University.

Mr. Mustafa Yaman: “We are happy to support projects that will enhance Mardin’s potential”

Starting his remarks with “Welcome to Mardin, the city of fairy tales”, Mardin Governor Mr. Mustafa Yaman expressed his happiness that Mardin hosted a part of the project “I Can Manage My Business”. Governor Yaman said: “An ancient city of the Mesopotamia, Mardin leads the list of important provinces in trade, services, textiles and tourism. We highly value these training events that will enhance the capacities of our investments and enterprises, and support the development of our country and region. We have been through distressful times. Peace and calm has prevailed in the region including Mardin. We were able to achieve the targets in 2018-19 for the tourism sector. We hosted 810,000 visitors. With day-excursionists, the figure reached 3.5 million. Our goal is to host 5 million day-excursionists. We are happy to support and contribute to projects that will enhance Mardin’s potential.

Mr. Claudio Tomasi: “SME readiness for the economy of the future is crucial for Turkey’s competitiveness”

Mr. Claudio Tomasi, UNDP Turkey Resident Representative said: “It is crucial for Turkey’s competitiveness that SMEs prepare for the economy of the future. ‘I Can Manage My Business’ designed a training program to respond to such need, and delivers training sessions treating many matters that SMEs must internalise such as financial discipline, use of technology for exports and market penetration, and principles of sustainability etc. I do hope that, through this meaningful project, Turkish companies will sustain the trend of rapid growth capitalising on new technologies and responding to new expectations of emerging markets, and create new areas of employment.”

Mr. Orhan Turan: “I Can Manage My Business is a key project for SME mobilisation”

Mr. Orhan Turan, President of TURKONFED, said in his speech: “It is increasingly important to take action, in our country’s development journey, to enhance the competitiveness of our SMEs, increase the capacity of qualified human resources, and achieve higher efficiency and create higher added-value using high technologies along the value chain from governance to production and export. Enhancing SME capacities augments the competitiveness of our cities and unleashes local development dynamics. Turkey grows as SMEs grow. We started ‘I Can Manage My Business’ to enhance our not only the quantity but the quality of our enterprises which managed their businesses by creating value. Through the Project, we guide our SMEs on their sustainability journey providing state-of-the-art knowledge, experience sharing and mentoring support. Scheduled to continue in 2020 visiting Istanbul, Van, Malatya and Denizli, I Can Manage My Business is a key project for SME mobilisation that prioritise sustainable development and competitiveness of our country.”

Ms. Ümit Boyner: “SMEs have highly important advantages by their values, agility, flexibility and resilience”

The keynote speaker Ms. Ümit Boyner, President of Business for Goals Platform, addressed SMEs of Mardin in the event. Ms. Boyner said: “It is a precondition for continued existence of companies to be a part of the solution in a growing chain of problems, and of a sustainable economy. As Business for Goals Platform, we engage in research to identify the role for the business world for a sustainable world and sustainable economy, and forge such modes of collaboration that will change business models of small, medium and large enterprises considering social and environmental factors. I am one of those who think that SMEs have highly important advantages by their values, agility, flexibility and resilience to achieve positive change and sustain continuous innovation.”

Mr. Kemal Bilim: “The Project will ease the burden on SMEs”

Emphasising that SMEs are the major carrier of the economy through the employment, production and investments they create, Mr. Kemal Bilim, President of DICLESIFED said: “Our SMEs carry a heavy burden. Those in our region have tougher challenges. In these particular times, SMEs are not able to use their full capacities due to a host of problems including particularly financing. This adversely reflects both on our enterprises, the region and national economy. It is critical both for our region and our country to bolster the resilience of our SMES, the most vulnerable entities in our economy. I Can Manage My Business brings us together here today, and eases a significant burden on SMEs through cooperation of civil society, private sector and international community.”

Briefing on the economy of Mardin, Mr. Abdülnasır Duyan, President of MARSIAD and Board Member of TURKONFED, said: “We can list the most challenging problems faced by companies in our region as lack of institutionalisation, access to financing, and branding. This is where I Can Manage My Business will significantly contribute to companies in Mardin overcoming such problems. Mardin is the gate to the Middle East. Mardin offers all appropriate conditions for investment. We invite all to invest in Mardin.”

Mr. Mehmet Ali Tutaşı, President of Mardin TSO [Chamber of Commerce and Industry], said in his opening remarks: “The fire in our region is spreading towards us. I have firm belief in our country’s potential despite the chaos in the Middle East. We strive to realise our potential while there are pressures on our country ranging from economic pressures to global terrorism. We as Mardin TSO support training initiatives for our youth as well as the work on keeping up with technology and digitalisation.”

In the context of I Can Manage My Business training, a panel themed “Family Businesses and Institutionalisation” was held with the participation of Board Members of Business for Goals, moderated by Prof. Dr. Yasemin Açık, President of Seza Çimento Board of Directors, where Mr. Şükrü Ünlütürk, Founding Partner of Sun Tekstil, Mr. Ozan Diren, CEO of DIMES, and Mr. Batu Aksoy, CEO of Turcas Petrol, shared their experience in the institutionalisation and branding of family businesses.