DTO showed Denizli entrepreneurs the door to exporting to Africa.

Denizli Chamber of Commerce (DTO) held an information meeting explaining the export opportunities to African countries for entrepreneurs. DTO Vice President Hasan Aracı stated, “As Denizli entrepreneurs, the time has come to have a say in trade in Africa after Europe and America.”

DTO signed another important organization; it hosted a discussion on Exporting to Africa with WCI Forum President Anıl Utku Bengisu. During the event held in the DTO Council Hall, trade opportunities related to the African market were addressed.

In his opening speech, DTO Vice President Hasan Aracı emphasized that African countries carry great potential in terms of exports. He said the time has come for entrepreneurs from Denizli to have a say in trade in Africa after Europe and America. Aracı stated, “I believe our today’s information meeting on exporting to Africa, which includes information about delegations, purchasing committees, and bilateral business meetings, will broaden the horizons of our sectors and our members. I hope it will be fruitful.”

Vice President Aracı also reminded that Denizli is one of Turkey’s leading export cities, stating that at least 10 Denizli firms enter Turkey’s largest 500 industrial organizations every year. Aracı added, “As Denizli, we are also among Turkey’s Top 1000 Exporter Companies and Anadolu’s Largest 1000 companies with an average of 25 companies each year. We are an important and significant economic value rapidly rising in our region. Our leading export sector is textiles and garments. We are number one in home textiles. One-third of our country’s exports in this area are produced in the machines in our city. We export to 174 countries. 68% of our exports go to European countries. Giants like the UK, the United States, Germany, and Italy rank among the top countries we export to. Recently, the increase in our trade volume with countries like Morocco and Egypt is noteworthy. We need to better evaluate this potential through organizations and initiatives like today. We want this process to accelerate and be conducted healthily. That is why we bring you together with experts who know the region well at every opportunity,” he said.

“DTO sends its members to national and international fairs”

Vice President Aracı also noted that they support their members in increasing their exports by taking them to international fairs. He mentioned that they send 500-600 members to national and international fairs every year and that they also try to strengthen their members in international competition with sectoral free training and courses. Aracı stated, “With our participation in Denizli ABİGEM and the Denizli Technical Textile Transformation Center supported by the Ministry of Industry and Technology, we provide services throughout Turkey in project preparation and R&D. At the same time, we also organize free personal and professional development trainings throughout the year, providing continuous support to our entrepreneurs in this regard. Based on requests, we are adding new links to this chain just like today. We will continue to increase this pace as far as our strength allows.”

After Aracı’s speech, Boğaziçi İhtisas Fuarcılık Board Chairman Anıl Utku Bengisu began his conference explaining the points to consider in exports to Africa. Thanking the Denizli Chamber of Commerce and its members for their intense interest, Bengisu said, “Africa is a continent made up of 54 countries. So it is not a small place as shown on maps. There are 1.4 billion recorded populations living there. According to World Bank estimates, it is predicted to rapidly increase to a population of 2.2 billion within 25 years. When we talk about Africa, we are talking about a continent that contains countries with economic sizes ranging from 400 billion dollars at the largest to 2-3 billion dollars at the smallest. Among these, Gambia is a country where Turkey recently broke its fertilizer export record. Turkey has a trade volume of about 35.5 billion dollars with the entire continent, but China’s trade volume with Angola is approximately this much. Niger, Senegal, and Rwanda are the fastest-growing economies on the continent. In fact, in Guinea and Somalia, Turkish companies operate the ports. They are not foreign to us. Africa is not only made up of those living on the continent; there is now an African diaspora composed of Africans from all over the world. Therefore, it means that Africa has an economic value that has reached a large purchasing index of 1.7 trillion dollars with the Afro-American population living in this scope. There is a wide range of business opportunities in this continent, from furniture to ceramics, from steel doors to food, and even from machinery to textile products. Why shouldn’t we turn this wealth into trade and the economy? Why should we ignore this opportunity?”

He reminded of the African youths studying in Turkey.

Bengisu pointed out that the African continent not only has sectoral diversity but also harbors a separate potential in African youth. “We have graduated more than 300,000 African students in Turkey, and they know Turkish. They are our voluntary cultural and trade ambassadors on the continent. We should make good use of this potential, or rather this opportunity. They are like an army. And each of them will be a guide and helper to our exporters. We must find ways to integrate those who are still studying in our country with our industry and trade as soon as possible to benefit our sectors and exports now and in the future,” said Bengisu, emphasizing that the business world needs to urgently focus on this issue.

He thanked President Erdoğan.

Bengisu also emphasized that he came before the audience as someone who has seen all the continent and its business opportunities firsthand, stating, “We went and saw it ourselves; we even took our companies there. We want to do even more, to move quickly as Turkish investors on the continent and to develop, to grow even more together. We are waiting for you. We want to see your companies there as well. We are here today to explain these things and to invite you; we are at the Denizli Chamber of Commerce. I thank our Presidents and their teams for giving us this opportunity. I know very well how much our President Uğur Erdoğan values fairs and organizations like this, exports, and our SMEs becoming exporters. I especially want to thank him for his sensitivity on this issue.”

“We are one of the top 4 countries in Africa”

Bengisu stated that Turkey is a country with a say on the continent and that it has managed to increase its exports to 42 billion dollars. Bengisu added, “With our embassies, we are pioneers on the continent, ranking 4th by being present in 44 of the 54 countries just after global giants like the United States and China. If we open two more embassies, we will catch up with France, which is ranked just above us. Moreover, we have over 10 billion dollars in investments on the continent. Why shouldn’t one of these be you?”

The event, attended by DTO Vice President Hasan Aracı, Engin Boyacı, the President of the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (MÜSİAD) Denizli Branch, and numerous DTO members and guests, garnered great interest. At the end of the conference, participants’ questions were also answered.

Participants in the event expressed that they are in search of new markets and therefore found the organization and content of the Denizli Chamber of Commerce very accurate. They also stated that they viewed the conference being aimed at the African market as a timely choice, saying, “It was a productive meeting. They provided us the opportunity to ask and learn about the African market and exports after the presentation. We closely follow and appreciate the activities and trainings of our Chamber; thank you.”

DTO Vice President Hasan Aracı also welcomed guest speaker Bengisu in the presidential office immediately after the event and presented him with a Denizli rooster figurine as a souvenir.