Macedonian-Turkish business meetings with women entrepreneurs from the Kocaeli Chamber of Industry

INTENSIFIED BUSINESS COOPERATION BETWEEN WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS FROM TURKEY AND MACEDONIA WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE EEN NETWORK

The Foundation for Management and Industrial Research and the Economic Chamber of North Macedonia, in cooperation with the Chamber of Kocaeli Chamber of Industry, Republic of Turkey, and with the support of the Enterprise Europe Network, (European Network for Business Opportunities – EEN Network), organized a company mission and business meetings between women entrepreneurs from both countries (31.10.2022). 

The Macedonian-Turkish business meetings were attended by 15 companies from the Republic of Turkey and representatives from around 35 companies from the Republic of North Macedonia.

The business delegation from Turkey was attended by women entrepreneurs from the metal and construction industry, the automotive and textile industry, the IT sector, the real estate sector, the consulting and training services sector, as well as manufacturers of products for the needs of construction, especially for heating and cooling, and ventilation; plastic products and aluminum profiles for furniture and decoration; architectural services, real estate, consulting and training services, trade in gold and jewelry and similar activities. 

In Macedonia, there are lots of available opportunities for cooperation and investment in infrastructure, the automotive and textile industry, agriculture, and tourism, with the possibility the potential of the Turkish economy to become a reality for us, with the intention of increasing Turkish investments in the country in the near future – stated Irena Mojsovska.

Gabriela Kostovska Bogoeska, co-founder and executive director of the Foundation for Management and Industrial Research (Mir Foundation), addressed the audience and emphasized that she is especially glad that we are starting this post-pandemic period of work on the EEN network precisely with bilateral meetings with women entrepreneurs from the Republic of Turkey. 

Precisely through the implementation of events and activities within the thematic group for women’s entrepreneurship, which functions through the EEN network, the goal is to enable as many women entrepreneurs as possible to perform on international markets.

NURCAN BABALIK from the company NACSOFT YAZILIM, IT sector, president of Kocaeli Women Entrepreneurs Council, addressed the audience and pointed out that the Council of Women Entrepreneurs was founded in 2008 within the framework of the Union of Turkish Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), for developing general policies to support female entrepreneurship in the country, as well as promoting female entrepreneurship through the organization of thematic trainings, seminars, trainings and other educational events. The Council includes 32 executive members with 232 active women entrepreneurs from various economic activities: IT industry, chemical and pharmaceutical industry, textiles and clothing, consulting services and others.

One of the missions of the Council of Women Entrepreneurs from Kocaeli is to increase awareness of female entrepreneurship, develop entrepreneurial culture among women in order to strengthen the economic and social status of women, in the direction of increasing the competitiveness of women in the country and internationalization in international markets. 
Such bilateral meetings are particularly significant for intensifying networking and cooperation between women entrepreneurs from both countries.

The region of Kocaeli is known for the production of products from the metal and automotive industry, the stone and earth industry, and the most well-known sector is the chemical industry with a share of 28% of the total production. Kocaeli industry also indirectly connects scientific research centers such as Kocaeli University, Sabancı University, Marmara Research Center, Gebze Institute of Technology, TÜBİTAK, Techno park, but also many other prominent institutions and organizations, which make this region a major center for scientific research and development.

This company mission is organized within the framework of the Enterprise Europe Network, (European Network for Business Opportunities – EEN Network), which is the largest network intended for the support of small and medium-sized companies, and the main goal is to support small and medium-sized businesses in the country and beyond, with the possibility of strengthening of business relations with the aim of more efficient cooperation of women entrepreneurs from the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Macedonia.

After the plenary session, business meetings were held, where contacts were made and experiences were exchanged between women entrepreneurs from both countries.