EGİADEntrepreneurship Panel from

EGİAD In the event organized by the Youth Commission, which deals with entrepreneurship from 4 different perspectives; entrepreneurship, women's entrepreneurship, angel investing, mechanisms supporting entrepreneurship in İzmir were emphasized. Among the panelists, Betül Sezgin, Chairman of the Board of IZIKAD, EGİAD Melekleri Executive Board Chairman Levent Kuşgöz, Plastic Move Co-Founder Büşra Köksal and Entrepreneurship Center İzmir Coordinator Yener Ceylan took place.

Your server EGİAD The event, undertaken by Ezgi Çetin, President of the Youth Commission, EGİAD It started with the opening speech of Alp Avni Yelkenbiçer, Chairman of the Board of Directors. Yelkenbicer, EGİAD Noting the establishment of the Youth Commission, the purpose and scope of its work, he said, “To understand the perspectives of young people and to be able to talk with them at the same table is very valuable for our future. EGİAD Youth Commission and Youth and EGİAD A bridge is built between them. In this way, while our young people can benefit from our knowledge, we closely witness their innovative and different perspectives. In particular, we are in a triple transformation period, as it is stated in the literature today; Green Transformation, Digital Transformation and Social Transformation. In order to protect our resources and create new business models and different resources, we should care about green and be inclined. The Digital Transformation process gained a different momentum with industry 4.0. When we transform our minds and perspectives, we can say that we have completed this circle, that is, we have realized the Social Transformation. Entrepreneurship, on the other hand, is at the center of these, with its innovation and innovation models. Our young people and entrepreneurs, who learn continuously throughout their lives and follow developments on a global scale, are our heroes who will improve all these processes.” said.

Moderated EGİAD In the panel held by Youth Commission Member Çağatay Kılıçarslan, the panelists touched upon many important points. Betül Sezgin, Chairman of the Board of IZIKAD – İzmir Business Women's Association, “We are carrying out projects in various fields to improve the ecosystem. We are moving on a path where women are present in the business world, where they are more confident and have an approach based on equality. It is obvious that the importance of digital transformation and hybridization in the sectors has increased with the pandemic. As a result of these transformations, it also paves the way for new occupational groups by making changes in the sectors. Nowadays, when we talk about innovation and green environment a lot, cyclical development is important instead of linear in line with sustainable development goals. Awareness in this area should be internalized and action should be taken, not only in civil society, but also in global applications. With the Young IZIKAD Project competition, which we held for the tenth time this year, we focused on a theme and area every year. In this decade, young people are teaching us the new transformation.” she said.

EGİAD Levent Kuşgöz, Chairman of the Executive Board of Melekleri, expressed his views on the main issues of entrepreneurship and investment, “EGİAD Melekleri, as the first and only angel investment network of İzmir and the Aegean Region accredited to the Treasury, has invested in 2016 startups with a total of over 3.5 million dollars since 24. Its investors, on the other hand, are not only from Izmir, but also include many cities. The changes in the world, together with the transformation processes, the demands of the consumers and how the trends evolve determine the status of the sectors. Many businesses focus on interpreting big data and shaping their work accordingly. In the future, with this data, businesses will be able to guide consumers and trends. Technology is advancing very quickly in this regard. Startups that create value with technology are very valuable. Initiatives in the fields of games, financial technology, efficiency in the industry and protecting resources will gain importance. Entrepreneurs who have a business idea in the light of these opportunities, you can create added value by putting your ideas into practice. If not, it is a good team.” said.

Büşra Köksal, Founding Partner of Plastic Move, shared her entrepreneurial journey and said, “By producing biopolymer from starch honey waste; We provide support to production and consumption with sustainable development goals by reducing the use of petroleum-based plastics in the packaging, white goods and automotive sectors. With the solution we offer, we reduce the external dependency of raw material supply by 20%, and we also support businesses for green reconciliation. When we started this adventure, we reached this awareness with the fact that the energy crisis may be more important besides the food crisis, and that it is high in foreign dependency. As a hardware entrepreneur, we initially chose the crowdfunding platform to complete our initial phase. In line with the data we obtained, we received our first investment over 4.5 million valuations.” said.

Entrepreneurship Center İzmir Coordinator Yener Ceylan stated that entrepreneurship is also included in the city's policy in the near future, and said, “Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç SoyerWe are working to make İzmir an innovative city with the vision of . The outputs we have achieved with the aim of increasing the welfare of the city support our social transformation mission. İzmir is a city with an entrepreneurial spirit in many ways. Its cosmopolitan structure brings innovation. As the Entrepreneurship Center Izmir, smart and sustainable transportation is the theme we have addressed in 2022. With this theme, which we cooperate with Ford Otosan, there is a parallelism with the city planning principles of İzmir. In today's world where there are many opportunities for entrepreneurs, it is aimed to make an impact not only locally, but also worldwide when introducing innovative ideas.” said.

Advice from Panelists to Entrepreneurs

• “We have to keep trying and moving forward without losing our motivation.” – Betul Sezgin
• “Initiatives that act with a team rather than being alone have a higher chance of success.” – Levent Kuşgöz
• “When starting entrepreneurship, risks and disadvantages should be considered as well as opportunities and advantages.” – Büşra Koksal
• “In order to capture excitement and synergy in entrepreneurship, networking between entrepreneurs, investors and teams should be considered.” – Yener Ceylan