By Anadolu Staff
ISTANBUL (AA) - The International Young Entrepreneurs Congress (UGIK 2026) began Tuesday to highlight Türkiye’s emergence as a regional startup hub, underscored by nearly $700 million in early-stage tech investments last year.
The event is organized by the youth department of the Turkish NGO Independent Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (MUSIAD), Genc MUSIAD, with Anadolu serving as the global communications partner.
Under the theme Future: Today, the biennial congress focuses on navigating global economic uncertainties via innovation.
Burak Daglioglu, president of Türkiye’s Investment and Finance Office, said at the opening ceremony that Türkiye and Istanbul are hubs for local and international entrepreneurs.
Burhan Ozdemir, president of MUSIAD, highlighted shifting global supply chains and power balances, urging attendees to fill the gaps in this ever-changing and uncertain environment with principled leadership.
“The coming decades will be determined by not only tech firms but also by ethical rules and financial blocks -- companies building artificial intelligence (AI) will be more powerful than governments,” he said. “Those who control the data economy will shape the culture and politics of the world, which is why young businesspeople should be not only economic actors but also geopolitical ones -- they are the architects of this era.”
Magsum Usta, president of Genc MUSIAD, said young entrepreneurs should focus on the “discipline of listening” to build leadership and warned against impatience.
“True success is not like a leap that comes overnight, but it is the very ability to do the same thing with the same level of seriousness and the same ethics -- not without a plan or impatience, or not for show,” he said. “People who are lasting and successful in the business world make an impact.”
Omer Faruk Celik, executive chair of UGIK, identified three fundamental challenges facing youth in work: “self-understanding and identity” and “the weakening of the culture of struggle.”
“In this era of instant gratification and speed, the desire to acquire and consume everything fast is what is quietly draining this spirit of struggle from our lives,” he said. “We need to transition from a self-centered life to a youth understanding that carries a responsibility to the world and has an impact.”
The opening speeches were followed by the presentation of a plaque of appreciation to Anadolu, accepted by the agency’s finance news director, Mehmet Kadir Kilinc.
The congress will continue Tuesday with numerous panels held throughout the day.
*Writing by Emir Yildirim