News

Bahçıvan: “Priority Transformation Programs and Industry Strategy Document Should Constitute a Road Map”

25.11.2015
News

The ordinary meeting of Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO) Assembly for November was held on November 25, 2015 under the main agenda item of ‘Istanbul Chamber of Industry’s Expectations from and Suggestions for the New Government regarding Industry and Economy’.

The meeting opened with the speech of Erdal Bahçıvan, Chairman of ISO Board. Assembly members deliberated on the agenda items during the meeting. Mr. Mehmet Karaca, Rector of Istanbul Technical University (ITU), which ISO collaborates with for the purposes of ITU Core Entrepreneurship Ecosystem (İTÜ Çekirdek Girişimcilik Ekosistemi), and Mr. Kenan Çolpan, CEO of ITU ARI Technocity, also participated the meeting.

In his opening speech, Erdal Bahçıvan, Chairman of ISO Board, underlined that Priority Transformation Programs and Industry Strategy Document for Türkiye constitute the basis for the expectations of industrialists from the new government and said “We plan to present our work that reflects our expectation and suggestions on economy to the new government during a face-to-face meeting.” Regarding Türkiye’s downing a Russian aircraft, Bahçıvan said “In the face of the worrisome development, we believe it will serve the interests of both Türkiye and Russia to act in common sense and sobriety.”

November meeting of ISO Assembly was kicked off with the speech of Zeynep Bodur Okyay, President of ISO Assembly. Okyay emphasized that Türkiye must implement the expected reforms as soon as possible and commented on the elections. Speaking of the G20 Summit in Antalya, Okyay said “Türkiye successfully acted as the president of G20. I believe we succeeded in the G20 process which we are a part of.”

Zeynep Bodur Okyay said “Türkiye needs to grow by 4-5 percent in a sustainable manner in order to be positively distinguished. Türkiye went through very tough and challenging conjunctions until today. Terrorism is on the rise specifically since the summer months and this causes a loss of morale and energy. Yet we need not be desperate. ISO has seen Türkiye to successfully overcome many challenges. Following the elections, we expect to experience an uninterrupted reform period for the next four years. We hope industry will come forth for the great economic transformation that we need. A human-oriented, long-term production culture is what we all need.”

Following her speech, Okyay invited Erdal Bahçıvan, Chairman of ISO Board, to the floor to deliver his speech on the main agenda item of the Assembly meeting. Bahçıvan first underlined the fact that the results of November 1 elections, which were held in sobriety in a democratic environment, set an important opportunity for the structural reforms needed for the economy.

Emphasizing that the Priority Transformation Programs and 2015-2018 Industry Strategy for Türkiye, which were publicly shared by the previous government, set the framework for the reforms requested by the business world and the action steps for implementation, Bahçıvan said, “In Istanbul Chamber of Industry, we believe the five most important points regarding the success of these programs are to introduce clearer details for action plans, start implementation immediately, implement the process in maximum transparency, make sure that audit mechanisms function soundly and ensure that maximum cooperation and contribution comes from the business world in practice.”

Priority Transformation Programs and Industry Strategy Document Should Constitute a Road Map

“We publicly shared the Industry Strategy Document for Istanbul in February 2015, which is the first response from the business world to such programs. In ISO, we are ready to do our best in terms of putting the actions in the Industry Strategy for Türkiye into practice. The Priority Transformation Programs and the Industry Strategy Document for Türkiye constitute a road map for us, the industrialists, ahead of the upcoming reform period. The work that reflects our expectations from and suggestions for the new government is based on these two documents. We consider this work to be the start of a dialogue process based on a culture of collaboration between our government and Istanbul Chamber of Industry. We plan to present our work to the new government during a face-to-face meeting rather than sharing it through the press” Bahçıvan said.

Türkiye and Russia should act in common sense

In his remarks on the downing of a Russian military aircraft by Türkiye, Erdal Bahçıvan, Chairman of ISO Board, underlined the need for both countries to act in common sense. “The relations between the two neighboring countries have been growing rapidly in many fields, specifically in economy, in recent years. It is obvious that both sides benefit from this example-setting relationship of neighborhood. In the face of yesterday’s worrisome development, we believe it will serve the interests of both Türkiye and Russia to act in common sense and sobriety” Bahçıvan said.

ISO-ITU Collaboration for the Core Entrepreneurship Ecosystem will increase the number of entrepreneurs

Speaking of ISO’s collaboration with ITU for the Core Entrepreneurship Ecosystem, Bahçıvan said “Entrepreneurship, global talent and innovation are of vital importance for our future. ITU Core Entrepreneurship Ecosystem will bring together members of the academia, mentors, entrepreneurs, industrialists and investors. During ITU Core Big Bang contest finals, we extended support to two ventures/entrepreneurs among the entrepreneurs applying for ‘core capital’ through a total prize of TRY 200,000 under the name ‘ISO Grand Prize for Future’s Industrialists’. We have established an overarching framework called ‘ISO COCOON’ to include entrepreneurs who are vested with the right to be a part of ITU Core Ecosystem for one year as well as the entrepreneurs who are awarded the ‘ISO Grand Prize for Future’s Industrialists’. We will support entrepreneurs via ‘mentoring’ in order to help them develop their business strategies. We will extend ‘industrialist trainer’ support in order for them to transform innovative ideas into commercial value.”

Prof. Mehmet Karaca, Rector of ITU, then took the floor and said they were proud of the contributions that ITU, an institution with a history of 242 years, made to the modernization of our country. Karaca stated that universities produced knowledge but it was industrialists who turned such knowledge into products. Underlining the fact that ISO’s contribution enhanced the brand value of ITU Core Entrepreneurship Ecosystem, Rector Karaca said their university was ranked in the international champions’ league for incubators. Karaca remarked that they would focus on thematic technocities in the upcoming period and said they established an energy technocity and continued to work for a marine technocity.

Associate Prof. Özge Çelik from TRD Biotek, who was awarded the TRY 50,000 prize in the ISO Grand Prize for Future’s Industrialists, then took the floor to provide information on her entrepreneurship project. Çelik said Türkiye was known as a country of agriculture but this was not the case when international trade figures were considered. Associate Prof. Özge Çelik remarked that the current seed technology was based on imports and their efforts focused on producing domestic seeds that increased the quantity of production and yielded products in a short amount of time. Çelik also stated that they wanted to establish Türkiye’s first high-tech seed production company and requested support from ISO members for their entrepreneurship project.

Miray Turan from Vivosens Biosensor project, which was awarded the TRY 150,000-worth ISO Grand Prize for Future’s Industrialists, thanked ISO for their support. Turan said patients would see doctors less in the future and portable/mobile laboratories would receive highlight and stated that they wanted to manufacture portable/mobile laboratory technologies to become a global player. Turan added that ISO’s prize was a promising and encouraging sparkle for their project.

ICI Chairman of the Board of Directors, Erdal Bahçıvan's Speech Text Attach