“The role of Innovation and Innovative Technologies in Overcoming the Crisis” webinar has been held on May 6^th. The event was organized under “Adana and Mersin Innovation Centers” which will be established through our Job Creation project financed by European Union and implemented by UNDP Turkey co-jointly with the Ministry of Industry and Technology, Adana Chamber of Industry (ADASO), Mersin Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MTSO) and Mersin-Tarsus Organized Industrial Zone. The webinar which has been held with the participation of more than 80 people brought together various actors from the sector including companies operating in Adana and Mersin innovation ecosystems, entrepreneurs and expert mentors.

The webinar was realized with the participation of Murat Kolbaşı, President of Arzum, and Ussal Şahbaz, co-manager of Ussal Consultancy and columnist at Dünya. In addition to the role of innovation culture in dealing with crises, how companies can increase their competitiveness and resilience in the face of crises, what kind of collaborations could be made for innovative technologies to be put into practice in industry and manufacturing sectors and what important role the innovation centers will play for the regional economy were among the issues discussed at the webinar.

Kolbaşı and Şahbaz shared their experiences and sectoral expertise focusing on the importance of innovative solutions in coping with the adverse impacts of Covid-19. They particularly underlined the importance of digitalization, bigdata, data management as well as the entrepreneurs’, industry circles’ and investors’ possible cooperations with technology start-ups. Having reminded that crises bring opportunities too along with hardships, they also emphasized the specific role of Adana and Mersin Innovation Centers’ role in overcoming crises, strengthening regional economy, supporting local development and achieving sustainable growth.

Adana and Mersin Innovation Centers will be established under the Job Creation Component of UNDP’s “Turkey Resilience Project in Response to the Syria Crisis (TRP)”. The centers aim to support entrepreneurs’ and SME’s innovation and related branding processes by increasing their innovation capacities. In so doing, they aim to strengthen local economies, support industrial transformation at local and national levels and enhance job opportunities in related sectors. The innovation centers are also intended to facilitate the dissemination of digitalization, innovation and entrepreneurship cultures across diverse circles while making necessary technical capacity-building tools and services available for all.