ENHANCER project brought Turkey’s leading companies and entrepreneurs together. Turkish and Syrian entrepreneurs from textile, ready-made clothing, shoemaking, food and supporting innovative sectors came together with leading buyers, investors and representatives of funding sources. The event drew intense attention by hosting the titans with the highest turnover in their sectors in Turkey
The second B2B Business Networking Event was held on 30 March 2022 in Istanbul within the scope of “Enhancement of Entrepreneurship Capacities for Sustainable Socio-Economic Integration (ENHANCER) Project”, which is funded by the European Union Facility for Refugees in Turkey Programme (FRIT) and implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in coordination with of Directorate General of Development Agencies of the Ministry of Industry and Technology.
Alongside bringing Turkey’s leading companies and entrepreneurs together, the platform also attracted the attention of Turkish and Syrian entrepreneurs and enabled them to explore potential collaborations with leading buyers and financial companies.
Companies with the highest turnover in their sectors in Turkey participated in this event. The event provided an enabling platform for companies and enhanced the collaboration opportunities of Turkish and Syrian entrepreneurs while helping them acquire new business development skills and to strengthen their business network. In total, 237 participants and 128 companies followed the event.
The event started with the opening speeches held by; Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Turkey Ambassador Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Çetin Ali Dönmez, ICPMD’s Migration Dialogues and Cooperation Director Martijn Pluim, and ICMPD’s Western Balkans and Turkey Regional Office Head of Region Tamer Kılıç. Recent developments in entrepreneurship in Turkey have been addressed during opening speeches, while ICMPD's efforts in Turkey and the World were being explained. The event, which has provided detailed information about the ENHANCER Project's objectives and practices, also allowed the participants to analyse the textile, ready-made clothing, and food sector. Arzu Kaprol, Wearable Technologies Coordinator of IT Valley, and Şeref Fayat, Head of Council of Ready Garment and Apparel Sector from Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey joined the event as inspirational speakers, discussing the business idea and product development and commercialization processes.
Two interesting panels with the topics of “Alternative Finance Mechanisms for Start-ups in Turkey” and “Quality Process Compliance Session/Positive Contributions to Compliance and Sustainability” were held by the leading representatives of the business world in Turkey.
Turkish and Syrian companies from main sectors as well as suppliers providing service to these sectors, software, design service suppliers, and sector leaders, who are the buyers of such sectors, organized retail companies and e-commerce platforms found the opportunity to exhibit their products at their stands at the foyer.
Inspirational Speeches & Effective Business Matching
Following the ENHANCER project presentation by ICMPD Portfolio Manager Pınar Yapanoğlu, Arzu Kaprol and Şeref Fayat delivered their inspirational speeches to further motivate the participants in their entrepreneurial journey. Inspirational speeches encouraged entrepreneurs to develop innovative business ideas and evaluate of their sectoral capacities.
Matchings sessions tailored for the sectoral needs of Turkish and Syrian entrepreneurs and company representatives took place during the event. The sessions focused on investment axis, raw material, and product trade, domestic market and export channels, and aimed to create new partnerships and solutions for the companies. During one-to-one and collective meetings, companies exchanged ideas and explored potential ways for collaboration.
The event also provided an opportunity for the start-ups to meet with investors in a pitching session where start-up representatives presented their business ideas to the members of the jury. Additionally, the leading companies met with potential providers and delivered their expectations and needs. ICMPD took an active role during the event to bolster the networking opportunities for all participants and ensured that companies were matched with their potential future partners during the event day.
ICMPD will continue its efforts under ENHANCER to unleash the untapped potential of Turkish and Syrian Entrepreneurs in Turkey by supporting the establishment of an enabling entrepreneurship environment, fostering partnerships and collaborations.