AliUitBombali
01-01-2013, 15:26
Another Turkish delight!
AS if the Arab world does not have not enough reasons to envy its neighbor and powerhouse Turkey, now here come some further new reasons to do so again. The Turks have managed very successfully to become the “model of success” in the eyes of a massive number of admiring Arabs. They have achieved that mainly through “soft power” tactics.
The Turks have produced a very successful economic story with areas of strengths mainly in the industrial and service sectors. They have also managed to mesmerize the Arabs with their well-produced TV soap operas which have become mega hits, not to overlook the great experiences of Arab tourists while visiting Turkey on holidays. Turkish food, a great culinary experience on its own, has also become a ‘must eat’ enticement for them as well.
Turkey’s charismatic leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan remains a major inspiration to many young Arabs today and is looked up to as one of the key global leaders. As if all these reasons were not enough here come some big news.
Turkey it seems has been doing incredibly well in the very competitive world of IT business. Turkey is witnessing a very important economic boom in the internet sector. It has been bursting with a growing number of internet companies targeting the young consumer.
They are doing that for very obvious reasons as the demographic statistics of the country show that half of the country’s 75 million population are under the age of 30. That makes Turkey, indeed, a young, big and dynamic country. Forty-four percent of the Turkish people are using the internet increasingly from an anemic 14 percent in 2006 and 3 percent in 2000.
The Turks make a noticeable presence on the mammoth social media platform “Facebook”, comprising its seventh largest national group. Turkish internet companies have managed to attract “respectable” money from foreign investors. Companies such as Peak Games, Yemeksepeti, Markafoni, GittiGidiyor and Trendyol.
The Arab economies have tried desperately to capitalize on the growing demand for the internet-based companies but one can hardly see any true success stories to cite and brag about. There have been tiny exceptional stories worth mentioning in Egypt, Jordan and Dubai but they remain just that: exceptional.
The Arabs can look — again — to the Turks as a source of inspiration and motivation in the field of education. Their educational system, far superior to that of the Arabs, did help the country very much but there were other added benefits as well. Financing small and medium enterprises is a fact in Turkey, unlike in the Arab world where it simply remains a juicy topic for conferences.
Internet companies in Turkey benefited greatly from an IT-friendly regulatory boards, which introduced pro-active sets of laws to enhance the business climate. Turkey does it again and this time it’s a ‘delight’ of a different kind but nevertheless just as impressive.
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20121231147 694