Technical Assistance for Empowering SMEs for Networking and Inter-Regional Cooperation EuropeAid/128610/D/SER/TR Start date: 22 February 2011 End date: 8 August 2013

WARM GREETINGS FROM THE BOARD OF ECORYS TO TODAY’S LAUNCHING EVENT ! Dr Julia Djarova 28 July 2011 Hilton Hotel, Ankara

Networking The first large scale “Networking” project for SMEs in Turkey Internationalisation Main focus “Internationalisation” of Turkish SMEs 2023 Agenda Contribution to the 2023 Agenda of the Turkish State

Conducive Environment for the Project Turkey - in the top 20 largest economies in the world Turkey - in the top 20 largest economies in the world Turkey - fast growing economy Turkey - fast growing economy Turkey - major world-wide trading partner Turkey - major world-wide trading partner Turkey - high ambition to utilise its huge potential Turkey - high ambition to utilise its huge potential Source: IMF World Economic Outlook April 2011, Turkish Statistical Institute

The Ambition of the Project  Further stage in the Enterprise Development in Turkey  Supports the 2023 export target of the Ministry of Economy  Improve competitiveness of enterprises in international markets  Strengthens networking and cooperation through business clusters

The Project Concept RCOP regions 5 B2B C2C 5 International markets non - RCOP regions 5

The Scope of the Project  Geographically: Trabzon Corum Samsun Kahramanmaras Gaziantep  400 SMEs supported across the five city regions  12 Business Clusters established  200 SMEs organised in Business Clusters

The Key Outputs of the Project  5 sector-specific regional and inter-regional cooperation and networking strategies and one cross-cutting strategy  5 Pilot Actions for 5 Priority Clusters  5 Cluster Info Spots  Online Knowledge Management System  National Benchmarking to measure the busıness impact of Clusters across Turkey

The Project Partners Joint efforts of: The Ministry of Economy Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Exporters Unions and RDAs CFCU and the EU Delegationand Consortium led by ECORYS and with: Cankaya University Inno Group EPROCA Fondazıone Parco Technologico Padano

The Project Key Team Team Leader: Mr John Murray Prominent international cluster and entrepreneurship expert with ability to adapt locally Flexible, highly creative, communicative with nice sense of humor Loves Turkey especially its regions Networking/Cooperation Expert: Mr Vedat Kunt Prominent Turkish expert in SMEs development and clusters with international reputation Ability to network and cooperate nationally and internationally Loves Turkey especially its sea

What has been done already Awareness road shows in the five regions All stakeholders are mobilised Cluster Info-Spots (CIS) in place CIS Coordinators selected Cluster Analysis in progress Cross-cutting strategy starts 30 companies visited Regional workshops held Regional advisory committees established National Project Advisory Committee held its first meeting

More than 2,500 parties are members of more than 10 networks in the Netherlands Source: Innovation Programmes, The drivıng force behind the innovation network (Ministry of Economic Affairs, 2009)

Thank you all for your support ‘Bon Voyage’ for a successful Project!