VZCZCXRO4051
RR RUEHDA
DE RUEHDA #0079/01 3571326
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 231326Z DEC 09
FM AMCONSUL ADANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4817
INFO RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 1359
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 1123
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 0205
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 1426

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ADANA 000079 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
ATTENTION: S/P - GREG BEHRMAN, S/SRMC - KAREN CHANDLER, R - SEHREEN NOOR-ALI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EAID PREL SOCI TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY:  BUSINESS ROUNDTABLES IN GAZIANTEP, ADANA AND MERSIN 
PROVE MINDSET IS KEY TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP 
 
REF: STATE 112468 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  SUMMARY:  DCM Douglas Silliman, accompanied by Adana 
PO and DPO, held three business roundtables in Gaziantep, Adana 
and Mersin to discuss President Obama's Cairo speech and the 
upcoming Summit on Entrepreneurship.  During the roundtables, 
business leaders from Gaziantep, with their can-do spirit, 
ambition and commonsense approach to competition and enterprise, 
upheld their province's reputation for being the most 
entrepreneurial in Turkey.  Adana's business group discussed 
GoT-imposed impediments to entrepreneurship and held that 
private business foundations and associations should lead the 
way in building transatlantic links.  Another group of Adana 
entrepreneurs cited the lack of capital and a learn-by-rote 
education system as impediments to entrepreneurship.  Mersin's 
roundtable discussion touched on the need for the GoT to "become 
trustworthy" and give businesses a break through tax reform. 
All participants welcomed President Obama's ideas and encouraged 
support from the U.S. public and private sectors in expanding 
transatlantic business ties.  END SUMMARY 
 
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WHY IS GAZIANTEP SO SUCCESSFUL AT BUSINESS? 
 
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¶2.  (SBU)  When Gaziantep's top business leaders at the 
roundtable answered the question "Why is Gaziantep so successful 
at business?"several themes emerged.  Most mentioned Gaziantep's 
Silk Road history and strategic trade location, and from that an 
inherent understanding of the day-to-day struggle of commerce. 
As a board member from SANKO Holding, one of Turkey's largest 
companies operating in more than 10 sectors with over 14,000 
employees, said: "We had to learn to sell before we learned to 
produce.  We are inherently innovative, creative and have a 
spirit of self-sufficiency that is aggressive and 
uncompromising.  We channel that into business." 
 
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FAMILIES EMBRACE BUSINESS CULTURE AND EDUCATION 
 
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¶3.  (SBU)  Several business leaders described how their fathers 
took them to the workshops or factories to show them the ropes 
from an early age.  By making them partners from childhood, they 
ensured a business culture would be passed from generation to 
generation.  Business is discussed regularly at all mealtimes, a 
few business leaders commented.  In Gaziantep, they said, 
everyone is an entrepreneur.  All the leaders emphasized 
education was the top priority for parents who started 
businesses, and that the second generation was vital in 
expanding existing enterprises with their newfound know-how. 
 
 
 
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NO BRAIN DRAIN AND FIERCE LOYALTY TO THE PROVINCE 
 
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¶4.  (SBU)  Unlike other provinces where children of successful 
business leaders stay abroad or in Istanbul, Izmir or Ankara to 
seek their fortunes, Gaziantep business leaders and 
entrepreneurs have an unflagging loyalty to the province and a 
deep pride of association.  They pointed out Adana's prosperity 
began in the 1950s with five major family businesses that later 
pulled up stakes and moved to Istanbul, leaving the province 
bereft of any significant commercial entities.  In contrast, 
Gaziantep's second and third generations who are so central to 
expanding and invigorating Gaziantep businesses stay and carry 
out their commitment to making it a better place for the whole 
community.  SANKO Holding, for example, has set up foundation 
schools and provides scholarships to disadvantaged children, and 
its philanthropy in the area of archeology was instrumental in 
 
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salvaging submerged mosaics from the famed Zeugma collection. 
The spirit of contributing to the community lives in Gaziantep 
entrepreneurs. 
 
 
 
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UNITED BY SCARCITY AND INSPIRED BY THE SUCCESS OF OTHERS 
 
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¶5.  (SBU)  Gaziantep has little arable land and no resources to 
speak of.  Even potable water must be transported from 80 km 
away.  Under these circumstances, Gaziantep had to recognize its 
limitations and capitalize on its relative advantages, including 
its location on an established trade route, border crossings 
with Syria, and access to airports and seaports.  Gaziantep used 
its advantages to become a top producer of Turkish exports. 
Gaziantep's business leaders do not see other companies' success 
as something to be envied but rather as a model to admire and 
emulate. 
 
 
 
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NEVER POLITICIZE BUSINESS AND MAINTAIN FLEXIBILITY 
 
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¶6. (SBU)  Gaziantep business leaders uphold the rule of "no 
talking politics" in business meetings.  They emphasized the 
importance of taking a common sense approach to politics and 
government and working with the governor and mayor to "maximize 
the environment of opportunities."  Business leaders also 
mentioned holding their members of Parliament accountable for 
representing their business needs in Ankara.  The financial 
sector in Turkey did not develop until the 1980s, they said, so 
the maxim that has guided business in Gaziantep is "It may be 
small, but it's mine."  This independence is guarded carefully, 
and retaining the flexibility to adapt to changing economic 
fortunes is vital to the longevity of business.  For that 
reason, government intrusion into money matters is generally 
eschewed, including complicated financing schemes that might 
hinder movement. 
 
 
 
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THE BOTTOM LINE:  VIEW EVERYTHING AS AN OPPORTUNITY 
 
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¶7. (SBU)  Gaziantep business leaders summed up the secrets to 
Gaziantep with a single phrase:  view everything as an 
opportunity.  With the country's largest industrial zone 
employing the latest technology, exporting to more than 100 
countries and enjoying its position as Turkey's top exporting 
province by volume, Gaziantep's success is driven by this 
mindset.  Gaziantep business leaders expressed an interest in 
new opportunities in Afghanistan and welcomed additional 
information about the role they could play there. 
 
 
 
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ADANA:  FOCUS ON LINKING U.S.-TURKISH BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS 
 
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ADANA 00000079  003 OF 004 
 
 
 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Adana's  Cukurova Young Businessmen's Association 
(CUGIAD) leaders were critical of the GoT for making 
entrepreneurship so difficult, citing onerous and ill-conceived 
government regulations, a prohibitive tax burden, the lack of 
infrastructure to support entrepreneurs and the deficiency of 
available capital.  CUGIAD's president dismissed the value of 
large business delegations that accompany prime ministers and 
presidents on official trips, pointing out that very few 
meaningful business gains ever materialize.  One businessman was 
curious what the United States could offer that the European 
Union had not already offered, referring to the EU's numerous 
grant programs and business capacity-building projects.  CUGIAD 
members welcomed any structure that would promote partnerships 
between Turkey and the United States, but believed meaningful 
progress would come only by linking Turkish and American 
business-oriented civil society.  The association president said 
he wanted a "development solution" and would be pleased to start 
a dialogue with a U.S. counterpart, in particular to invigorate 
the province's agribusiness-based import/export businesses. 
 
 
 
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LACK OF CAPITAL HINDERS WOULD-BE ENTREPRENEURS 
 
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¶9.  (SBU)  During an evening roundtable discussion with some of 
Adana's most dynamic entrepreneurs, including three nominated 
for the 2010 Summit, the lamentable lack of capital for start-up 
businesses was cited as an enormous impediment to creating an 
entrepreneurial momentum akin to the United States.  One guest 
described a $19 million World Bank program that charged Adana 
government bureaucrats with evaluating proposals and 
distributing entrepreneurship grants.  In the end, the public 
officials were so parsimonious in their bequests that more than 
75 percent of the money was returned to the WB.  Another 
businessman, also a member of a national association of 
entrepreneurs, described the typical predicament of a policeman 
in western Turkey who went to more than 10 banks to finance the 
production of a textile machine he invented, but could not raise 
the funds.  An economist at the table pointed out that two 
venture capital funds operate in Turkey, but he did not believe 
they effectively supported entrepreneurship - and very few 
people outside of Ankara and Istanbul know about them.  The 
owner of one of Adana's most successful private schools pointed 
out the lack of an entrepreneurial mindset and the inability of 
the Turkish education system to imbue such a spirit in students 
who learn by rote and focus only on end-of-year exam 
preparations. 
 
 
 
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MERSIN:  THE GOVERNMENT MUST BECOME MORE TRUSTWORTHY 
 
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¶10.  (SBU)  Established leaders of Mersin's business community 
protested the arduous tax burden on established businesses, 
including payroll taxes and social security, as well as the high 
cost of energy and fuel as obstacles too daunting for most 
business start-ups.  The government, one leader said, must 
"become more trustworthy," citing opaque business contract 
awards, preferential treatment, and the inability to expand 
without government support.  Business leaders also pointed out 
the lack of capital to create or expand businesses.  They 
highlighted ways in which Mersin's economic potential rests in 
its flourishing port and transportation logistics operations.  A 
logistics center is currently under construction and will be a 
hub where rail, sea, and land transportation will converge to 
create Turkey's largest logistics operation and to boost 
Mersin's strategic position with access to markets in the Middle 
East, Northern Africa, and Europe. 
 
 
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COMMENT 
 
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¶11.  (SBU)  While business leaders unanimously pointed to 
obstacles such as the poor regulatory system, government 
shortcomings, heavy tax burden, lack of capital, and an 
education system apathetic to entrepreneurial spirit, the 
Gaziantep business roundtable was most encouraging in its 
revelation that entrepreneurship is a state of mind.  Business 
leaders across the provinces were also unanimous in their 
encouragement of U.S. support for business development.  Given 
Turkey's sensitivity and general objection to being labeled a 
"Muslim country," the message here must be crafted as 
"entrepreneurial outreach and support."  President Obama's Cairo 
speech espoused an important idea that has certainly resonated 
in southern and southeastern Turkey - to work towards economic 
development by creating a new corps of business volunteers to 
partner with counterparts.  END COMMENT. 
DARNELL