Turkey aims to promote young entrepreneurs: Minister

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey attaches great importance to supporting young entrepreneurs, Mehmet Kasapoglu, country's youth and sports minister, said Monday.

"Turkey has a youth, who will be able to establish serious enterprises in the future, as they did in the past," he noted in the World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF), in Istanbul.

Kasapoglu stressed that many of the world's leading companies were set up 25-30 years by one or a few young entrepreneurs.

"The world is in a constant process of development, and Istanbul is the center of the [Turkey's immediate] region, which is a locomotive for economic development."

Baybars Altuntas, the chairman of the WBAF, asserted: "Today's customers need innovation rather than invention."

Entrepreneurs, who are creating new jobs and values, should actively seek for innovation, he expressed.

Kadri Veseli, the president of the assembly of Kosovo, said that the importance of entrepreneurship, communication, and collaboration is better understood in the world.

"In terms of globalization, achieving goals is impossible without the international coordination," he noted.

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, Croatia's president, said Croatia has been attracting investors since 1993 and Turkish business-people have investments in the country.

"We see Turkey as an EU candidate country," she said, adding that Turkey was an important partner for tackling common challenges such as refugee crisis and terrorism.

- WBAF 2019

The two-day WBAF, started on Monday, is hosting policymakers, entrepreneurs, representatives of financial institutions and companies, and hundreds of angel investors from all around the world.

This year, the WBAF 2019, for which Anadolu Agency is the global communications partner, was organized under the theme, "Connecting angel investors with private equity funds to boost innovation."

During the event, 110 speakers from 42 countries will give speeches in 23 panels, two masterclasses, and six international workshops.