"Izmir Entrepreneurship Center" established by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality in order to improve the entrepreneurship ecosystem of the city, to increase awareness and competence regarding entrepreneurship and to contribute to the transformation of Izmir that creates added value, has opened its doors.

TÜSİAD Chairman Simone Kaslowski, CHP deputies and mayors, business people from Aegean Region, university representatives and TUSIAD Board Member Entrepreneurship and Youth Roundtable Chairman İrem Oral Kayacık attended the center's opening ceremony established in Konak Umurbey Mahallesi which TÜSİAD supports within the scope of Turkey's Entrepreneurship Transformation Project in regards of content and application. Before the opening, TÜSİAD Chairman Simone Kaslowski visited the Mayor Tunç Soyer at his office.
 
The theme of the first year is agriculture
Stating that every year an initiative program in different thematic areas will be selected in the Entrepreneurship Centre taking into account the needs of Izmir and successful business ideas will be added to the entrepreneurship ecosystem of the city, President Soyer said, “We determined the theme of our centre in the first year as 'agriculture' with all our stakeholders. Our Entrepreneurship Center, which will host agricultural entrepreneurship projects, will produce innovative solutions in areas such as agricultural logistics and food supply, marketing and branding, information and technology in agriculture, rural development and cooperatives. Thus, this center will make significant contributions to the increase in the agricultural production level and the growth of welfare in Izmir, in line with our Izmir Agriculture strategy, which we have determined with the vision of Another Agriculture is Possible.”
 
Three-stage evaluation process
Summarizing the application process for the programs in the Entrepreneurship Centre, Soyer stated that the projects will be accepted after three stages of evaluation. “The first evaluation will be about whether the project meets the application conditions or not. In the second stage, the potential impact, innovation and applicability of the project idea will be evaluated by industry experts. The third and final stage will be carried out by the selection committee formed by our Municipality and TÜSİAD. Within the scope of the agriculture theme determined for the first year, we aim to make the relevant projects suitable for investment at the end of the 6-7 month incubation period,” Soyer said.
 
"We are establishing umbrella institutions for entrepreneurship”
Saying that while integrating Izmir with the world, they established an "economic climate" that manages its local potential correctly, "The economic crisis in our country has become much deeper with the pandemic. Undoubtedly, Izmir is very affected by this negative process. In order to make Izmir resilient against all these problems, we carry out studies that encourage entrepreneurship, innovation and innovation in harmony with all actors and we establish umbrella institutions. Our first step in this regard was to offer the Historical Coal Gas to the service of the youth as the Youth Campus. We took an important step for the entrepreneurship ecosystem last week with our open data portal. In addition, we join forces with the well-established business organizations and trade associations of Izmir to establish an Entrepreneurship and Innovation company under the name of "IzQ,” Soyer said. I believe that our company, which will be established in the coming days, will enter into operation this year and make great contributions to the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem of our city. Today, we are adding a new step to the steps we have taken in this framework by combining our strength with the experience and expertise of TÜSİAD ”.
 
Izmir will lead to Turkey
TUSIAD Chairman Simone Kaslowski said in his speech at the ceremony: "TÜSİAD as many years to increase awareness of entrepreneurship in Turkey, especially young people, including all intellectual ones Simone attention they carried out extensive work to promote entrepreneurship Kaslowski" This belief Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, together with that we realized the Entrepreneurship Centre, that will lead to the spread of Izmir, Turkey entire generation of innovative solutions and sample our entrepreneurial culture with over 1300 municipalities in this context, we strongly believe will create”.