Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

In his speech here, Hisarcıklıoğlu reminded that as a country, they first missed the agricultural revolution and then the industrial revolution, and said, “We are now in the period of digital revolution. A different world is forming in front of us. 7 billion people, a $20 trillion market, is behind a single button. This is both an opportunity and a threat. Customer, market, supplier, it is possible to reach all of them with computers.”

TOBB President said that Turkey's e-commerce volume reached 382 billion liras in 2021, an increase of 70 percent compared to the previous year, and the share of e-commerce in total retail trade approached 20 percent.

Stating that the trend towards e-commerce, which has accelerated with the pandemic, continues without slowing down, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “e-Commerce is becoming a habit for the consumer who has started to shop on the internet. We need to use social media to make money. Now a question is, where is the most valuable land in the world? The most valuable land is the screens of our mobile phones. The important thing is to be able to take up space on this valuable land. In the past, it was important to have a store, a grocery store on the busiest street. Now, being able to take part in the mobile phone screen is very important. So how can we get involved in the world's most valuable land on a mobile phone screen? Your company or product will either have a mobile app. Or you will take part in the developed mobile application.”

Emphasizing that this issue is not limited to domestic only, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Our cross-border e-commerce volume has exceeded 2 billion dollars. Individual and macro exporters who sell abroad over the Internet have also been provided with support and facilities such as tax exemption and exemption from customs declaration. Considering that China's cross-border e-commerce transaction volume has reached $ 260 billion, it becomes clear that we have a long way to go. When it comes to exports, you should not only think of selling clothes or goods. Innovative business models born in Turkey are also holding up in the world.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu, stating that those who find new ideas and use technology win, said, “We are one of the countries with the highest use of internet and social media. But we still use this technology not to produce work, but to make words and insults. Young entrepreneurs and companies are replacing the old rich.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu continued, “With a computer, a good idea and perseverance, it is possible to start our own business.

Look, now you might think of that these happen in another country, but not here. Last year, 129 Turkish startups received and invested $1.3 billion from abroad. Most of them were formed by our young entrepreneur brothers who are university students or have just finished school. So what I'm saying is, the opportunities are too many. The real capital in this era is not money, but good ideas and perseverance. But for this, it is necessary to bring new customs to the old village. Look, Henry Ford, the inventor of mass production, says, “If I stuck to the opinion of the people around me, I would design a faster horse-drawn carriage instead of a motor vehicle.” So, we have to raise our young people to invent them.

We should leave aside the superstitions that computers or robots will come and will take all the jobs. Look, only 10 years ago, there was no such thing as social media. Now there are thousands of social media experts. As a job dies, new job opportunities arise. For example, in the real estate business, which is a traditional sector, an entrepreneur takes images of spaces, uses virtual reality VR glasses, markets them and increases sales rapidly. Thanks to e-Commerce, there is no longer a need for brick and mortar stores. But there is a need to build a large chain of logistics centers made of brick and mortar, artificial intelligence experts and cyber security teams to organize all this. That's how development happens. So, what is left of yesterday should be left to yesterday and look ahead.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that there was a window of opportunity to enter the automotive sector, which was parceled by centuries-old brands in the past, and said that the TOGG car would come off the line on October 29 and will be on the roads next year.