Turkey’s rising technopreneurs

His reaction, however, was not surprising to me as I could tell it must be the case since even my senior family members, all of whom are over 60 years old -- including my mother, have Facebook profiles, chat with me on Skype and, yes, even tweet on a regular basis.

Saverin, therefore, was absolutely right to be excited. Turkey has benefited from a steady 5-percent economic growth in the past nine years from increasing private consumption and foreign investment. Turkey already has 35 million Internet users -- the fifth highest in Europe and the 13th worldwide. The Internet audience in Turkey, moreover, is one of the most active in the world, according to Internet marketing research company comScore. Based on the time they spend online, the country’s Internet users are ranked among the five populations worldwide most engaged online, with $16.3 billion of e-commerce volume as of 2010 and a record growth rate of 325 percent from 2006 through last year.

Turkey’s e-commerce penetration rate is assumed to be 25 percent of all Internet users, which is less than half of the developed European countries (e.g. Germany, the UK). This reflects an enormous potential of almost $20 billion for the coming years. Turkey is set to be one of the largest digital markets in Europe in the next 10, if not five years. The shift of power in the world is proceeding faster than we thought. Turkey is growing at a neck-breaking speed and so is its Internet infrastructure. It will be both the digital powerhouse of the region as well as the political powerhouse.

Turkey does have entrepreneurs; however, without money you won’t have a company. Sufficient funding is vital for the establishment and growth of a start-up company. Talk to technology entrepreneurs about their main problem and you always get the same answer: early-stage funding. Where are the Turkish angel investors and venture capitalists? Where do we go to get the money to start? Unfortunately, the infamous 3F plan -- friends, family and fools -- is still the main path.

Just recently, eBay acquired GittiGidiyor and Naspers/MIH acquired Markafoni. Apart from those major transactions, Tiger Global invested $10 million in private shopping club Trendyol in exchange for a stake of 36 percent in the company. Grupanya.com, one of the leading groups buying companies in Turkey, is valued at $40 million by Intel Capital. Kleiner Perkins, Intel Capital and many others have already started to contribute to the growth of the Turkish online market.

The founders of those Turkish businesses now become angel investors and put the money they have received from their acquisitions back into the start-up market. Although a few venture capitalists and angel investors have started to institutionalize, we still need to create our own Kleiner Perkins and Tiger Global with Turkish flags on them.

That is why we have to have a road map, and it isn’t just for the money that startups need -- it is also for business insight. New start-up companies need access to mentors and industry experts. The lack of capital will cease sooner or later. The government has been promoting technology entrepreneurship with increased public spending in research and development (R&D) and tax benefits for startups. However, we have to start today to redesign our education system and prepare our young population according to the needs of the future. On the other hand, we have to assist and coach start-up companies to make them ready to manage international expansion and global success. For “technopreneurs,” Turkey needs to design an advanced system that can cultivate full-scale innovation like the kind that made Silicon Valley the home to world-famous brands such as Apple, Oracle and Cisco.

Turkey’s continued success lies in the hands of the next wave of entrepreneurs, who are focused on innovation and technology. The Anatolian digital tigers are ready to roar.

*Sertaç Taşdelen is a Singapore-based entrepreneur, business consultant and fine arts/fashion photographer. Prior to moving to Singapore, he worked in Dubai for five years.