Turkey Represented by Prof. Dr. Esra Karadeniz at Seoul GEM
Countries conducting the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Project, known as the world's most comprehensive entrepreneurship project, came together between January 28-31 in Seoul's Capital of South Korea. Turkey was represented by Yeditepe University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences Department of Economics instructor Prof. Dr. Esra Karadeniz.
Prof. Dr. Esra Karadeniz, who provided information on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Global Report 2017/18, stated that there was a worrisome decrease in the level of job creation expectations, especially in underdeveloped countries and added:
"Compared to 2016 and 2017, two major changes were observed: the number of entrepreneurs who did not expect to create any business in the next five years rose from 43 percent in 2016 to 64 percent in 2017. The second most important finding is that while the number of people expecting to create six or more jobs in the next five years was 19 percent in 2016, this ratio dropped to 11 percent in 2017. "
Entrepreneurs Are Not Creating Employment
Noting that the report shows that more entrepreneurs prefer to work on their own, Prof. Dr. Karadeniz pointed out that the most important reasons for this preference are that they can do a lot of work with the help of technology without employing people and that they can make use of their knowledge and experience thanks to the network they have acquired with the help of technology. Prof. Dr. Karadeniz said "Our hope lies in entrepreneurship, but entrepreneurs do not plan to create jobs because they have technology. The significant portion of efficiency they normally obtain from humans, they get now from technology". In addition, economic and political instability is decreasing entrepreneurs' growth expectancies.
Emphasizing that entrepreneurship should be increased to increase employment, Prof. Dr. Esra Karadeniz said, "Entrepreneurship is necessary for job creation, economic growth and stability in the world. For this reason, policymakers and private stakeholders should focus their attention on policies and practices that will strengthen the ecosystem that support entrepreneurial efforts."
Turkey Supports Entrepreneurs
The GEM Project, one of the best examples of public, university and private sector cooperation in Turkey, is run under the leadership of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development and Support Administration (KOSGEB), the contributions of the Turkish Economy Bank (TEB) and with the academic support of the Yeditepe University. The project, which is an important reference for government, local governments, academic circles and the private sector for the development of an entrepreneurship eco-system, is said to have an important place in the entrepreneurship policy of the country.
Prof. Dr. Esra Karadeniz, in her speech in Seoul as part of the GEM project talked about the developments in Turkey. Speaking about how Turkey developed in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the last 10 years, Prof. Dr. Karadeniz said:
"According to studies, Turkey, who was ranked last among the participating 23 countries in 2006, moved up to 7th position in 2016 in terms of accessibility and diversity and the presence of entrepreneurs supporting financial resources, which is the first requirement for an entrepreneurship infrastructure. Furthermore, according to the same study, Turkey has made considerable progress both on government and the local government level in terms of government support, which is the second requirement for an entrepreneurship infrastructure.
Reports can be found at gemconsortium.org
• GEM 2017/2018 Global Report • The Influence of GEM on Policy