DOHA: As economic relations between Qatar and Turkey are touching new heights, Turkish entrepreneurs too want to build new partnerships with their Qatari counterparts to boost startup ecosystem in both countries.
Erdem Dereli (pictured), founder and Chairman of Entren (Entrepreneurship Expert Network) with second and third generations of leading companies in Turkey, told The Peninsula on the sidelines of Expo Turkey by Qatar 2018, recently concluded in Doha, that his organisation wanted to establish its branch in Qatar to expand relations between entrepreneurs of both countries.
“I am here not only to attract investments for technology startups of Turkey but we also want to develop long-lasting relations with Qatari entrepreneurs and startups,” Dereli said.
Dereli is a member of Musiad and also Chairman of working group “Young Entrepreneurs Council in Istanbul” that works under TOBB (Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey).
He said that Turkey with its youth population, having proclivity and expertise in information technology, had a great ecosystem for startups and by investing in those startups, Qatari investors could gain maximum profits.
“The startups in Turkey are working on artificial intelligence, automation, software systems and other digital solutions. There is great scope for Qatari investors to launch joint ventures with Turkish entrepreneurs,” he said.
Dereli has two startup companies, Argecon and Restroid; both technology-focused companies. “We are working with conglomerate corporations in Turkey.”
He said that return on investment (ROI) in technology startups was far greater than investments made in other sectors. “For example, in the real estate sector your ROI can be threefold but in tech startups it can be 10 times or more,” he added.
Dereli said that the investors from Europe and the US had invested huge sums in Turkish tech startups. “During this expo, I met many Qatari businessmen who expressed their interest in investing in Turkish startups.”
He said that from the platform of Entren, Turkish entrepreneurs wanted to develop relations with Qatari entrepreneurs. “For this purpose, I am planning to establish an office of Entren here in Doha,” he said, adding that startup ecosystem in Qatar was also very good.
He also lauded the role and efforts of Qatar Business Incubation Center for supporting entrepreneurs and companies. “We also want to host Qatari entrepreneurs in Turkey for exchange of knowledge and experiences.”
He said that Entrepreneurship Expert Network used to arrange lectures in colleges and schools of Turkey to promote entrepreneurship in the country.
“Entren aims to create value addition in an innovative manner for all stakeholders of the ecosystem with its own programs, projects and activities. It aims to bring the quality of the global standard for entrepreneurship ecosystem to the local stakeholders in Turkey,” he said, adding: “We want to collaborate with Qatar’s Entrepreneurship Ecosystem.”
