Turkey offers quite a sophisticated platform for entrepreneurs. It has a diversified industrial base, a relatively stable political and economic environment, a critical mass of willing early adopters, a considerable talent pool, a strong domestic market and underserved neighboring markets. Yet, currently only 6 out of 100 people are entrepreneurs – a very low rate given the country’s level of development. What challenges does Turkey need to address in order to unleash entrepreneurship as a force for economic growth?
Endeavor Turkey has
identified many obstacles, including the high costs of navigating the
inefficient and inconsistent bureaucracy, the difficulty in protecting
intellectual property rights, and monopolistic marketplace dynamics in
which dominant players abuse smaller suppliers. It is also difficult to
hire and fire in Turkey. According to the World Bank’s Doing Business
indicators, Turkey ranks among the most difficult countries in this
regard (143 out 183 countries). Then there is the problem of limited
access to capital. For Turkey’s youth, entrepreneurship seems like a
pipedream given this financial limitation. Accordingly, Endeavor’s
entrepreneurship experts recommend that the government launch
alternative capital markets, incentivize small business lending and
enact regulatory reform labor laws (to allow for part-time, flex-time
and long-term consultants).
Perhaps most difficult to change, as is often the case around the world, is culture. Although entrepreneurs “by necessity” are generally respected for their work ethic, entrepreneurs “by choice” who have other promising career options are often discouraged by their families. High-impact entrepreneurs are admired but considered “lucky.” In addition, the absence of a “win-win” social and business culture undermines entrepreneurship and innovation. Thus, Turkey is in as much need for cultural capital as financial capital.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Policy Dialogue on Entrepreneurship | Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Author: Jonathan Ortmans
Jonathan Ortmans is president of the Public Forum Institute, a non-partisan organization dedicated to fostering dialogue on important policy issues. In this capacity, he leads the Policy Dialogue on Entrepreneurship, focused on public policies to promote entrepreneurship in the U.S. and around the world. In addition, he serves as a senior fellow at the Kauffman Foundation.
