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PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIT #0468/01 3630551
ZNR UUUUU ZZH(CCY ADX03D1D1 MSI1496 532A)
P 290551Z DEC 09 ZDS
FM AMCONSUL ISTANBUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9407
INFO RHMFIUU/39ABG INCIRLIK AB TU PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS ISTANBUL 000468 
 
C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y  (ADDED SENSITIVE CAPTION) 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
S/P - GREG BEHRMAN, S/SRMC KAREN CHANDLER, 
AND R - SEHREEN NOOR-ALI). 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIN EINT ETRD PHUM PREL TU
SUBJECT: LEADING ENTREPRENEURS PARTICIPATE IN ISTANBUL 
ROUNDTABLE 
 
REF: SECSTATE 112468 
 
¶1.  (U)   Summary.  A Presidential Entrepreneurship Summit 
Roundtable was hosted in Istanbul by Consul General Wiener on 
December 21, bringing together a group of successful Turkish 
entrepreneurs to discuss shared experiences and lessons 
learned, and to discuss the potential for new partnerships at 
home and abroad.  The interlocutors were upbeat about the 
climate for creative business ventures in Turkey, and 
welcomed the possibility of future trade missions from the 
United States where the emphasis would be on entrepreneurism 
rather than specific industrial sectors.  All were aware of 
the upcoming Presidential Entrepreneurship Summit (reftel), 
and viewed it as a potential bridge for business partnership 
between Turkey and the United States.    End summary. 
 
¶2.  (U)  The group unanimously held that the environment for 
entrepreneurship in Turkey is much better now than in the 
past, and this improvement is largely a function of better 
funding, accumulated experience and the Internet.  One 
benefit of this improvement is that successful expatriate 
Turks are coming back home, partially reversing the brain 
drain that has hurt so many emerging markets.  All of the 
Roundtable participants were aware of the 2010 Presidential 
Entrepreneurship Summit in Washington, and several seemed 
interested in the possibility that they might be among those 
chosen to participate. 
 
¶3.  (U)  Ebru Cerezci of Hiref, a high end clothing and 
accessories company, stated that good NGO,s 
(non-governmental organizations) are vital to the support of 
entrepreneurs:  "a good NGO should fight for you."  Cerezci 
offered KAGIDER (Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey) 
as an example of an NGO that actively provides mentoring and 
funding to women starting out in business.  She also 
mentioned ENDEAVOR, a U.S. based organization that promotes 
entrepreneurism in emerging markets, as an example of a 
"capitalist mentor."  ENDEAVOR links up small and midsize 
businesses with seasoned entrepreneurs to receive advice and 
contacts, with the aim of growing companies and employment. 
Fatih Isbecer, the CEO of Pozitron, one of Turkey's leading 
wireless communications companies, cited TUBITAK (The 
Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) as 
an occasional source of funding and management for business 
related research in Turkey.  Although TUBITAK requires 
documentation, the preparation of this documentation, Isbecer 
notes, is not onerous.  Cerezci added that TOBB (The Union of 
Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey) is also starting 
to "get" the entrepreneur,s mentality. 
 
 
¶4.  (U)  Kerim Taner of Alara, one of the world,s leading 
exporters of cherries and figs, stated that an entrepreneur 
must first get a crucial idea, then grow the idea and then 
create a brand.  All of the participants agreed that 
successful entrepreneurs have certain shared characteristics: 
 they are risk-loving, self-confident and sociable. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Bulent Celebi, the CEO of Air Ties, a leader in 
high speed internet access, said that Turkey, unlike many 
countries in the Middle East, is market oriented.  Pozitron's 
Isbecer added that in many parts of the Middle East, such as 
Morocco, most of the investment capital is imported, not 
domestic.  The participants agreed that Turkey, a country not 
unused to crises and turmoil, adapts well and flexibly to 
changing conditions.  By definition, creativity is essential 
to entrepreneurship, and the Turkish business community has 
always been creative.  Networking takes place not only within 
Turkey, but overseas.  On this note, there was strong 
enthusiasm for the idea of inviting to Turkey U.S. trade 
missions with an emphasis on new business ventures and risk 
capital formation, vice the more traditional sectoral 
orientation of such missions.   Such missions could include 
the public and private sectors, NGO,s and academics, and 
would probably entail USG interagency involvement. 
 
¶6.   (SBU)  Turkey,s bureaucracy was a recurring subject of 
discussion.  Celebi said that he opposes government support 
to the business community, largely because the "support" 
usually entails red tape and obstruction.  "The Government 
doesn,t trust anyone," the former California businessman 
noted, and it frequently sets up mechanisms that hinder 
business.  Pozitron's Isbecer added that the government 
should reduce burdensome bureaucracy because, frequently, "a 
good idea gets destroyed." 
 
 
¶7.  (U)  Nevzat Aydin, the General Manager of Yemek Sepeti, 
Turkey's first and leading food order and home/office 
delivery Web site, stated that more venture capital and 
private equity are needed in Turkey.  Alara CEO Taner added 
that Turkey needs better investment banking, which could 
bring more U.S. equity to Turkey.  He noted that Alara,s 
2006 merger with Belgian conglomerate Univeg enabled the 
company to lower its costs through cheaper borrowing, an 
improved capital structure and better risk management. 
Celebi expressed the concern that corporate capital 
structures in Turkey are not well developed, specifically for 
minority shareholders.  Preferred stock is not well regulated 
and structured, he noted, and minority and subordinate 
shareholders do not always fare well. 
 
¶8.   (U) One of the Roundtable participants noted that only 
4-7 percent of Turkish entrepreneurs are women, far below the 
European Union (EU) level.  Air Ties CEO Celebi offered that 
it is hard for a woman to get her foot through the door in 
Turkey, but once in, she actually has a better chance of 
succeeding than in the United States.  He also noted that 
women in Turkey do well in academia, finance and the 
judiciary.  The trick, Celebi contended, will be to find a 
way for more women to gain access to the labor market, with 
better and more attainable education a key:  (Note:  In 2008, 
according to the Prime Ministry's General Directorate of 
Women's Status, 20 percent of women in Turkey are illiterate, 
and roughly four percent have university degrees.  However, 
43 percent of the students currently enrolled in universities 
are women.  End note). 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  In discussing at the Roundtable the Presidential 
Entrepreneurship Summit, we described it as intended for 
participants from Muslim-majority countries (MMCs).  Alluding 
to Turkish sensitivities about being categorized as a 
"Muslim" country, the Consul General explained to the 
Roundtable guests that the term "Muslim" within the context 
of the Presidential Summit is meant in a broad cultural 
sense, and that at least 150 participants from a wide range 
of countries will attend the Summit.  Turkish participants in 
the Summit will be viewed first and foremost as 
businesspeople, leaders and role models. 
WIENER