TİM WINGS Women Exporters Summit Brought Together Leading Women Entrepreneurs
The TİM WINGS Women Exporters Summit, organized by the Türkiye Exporters Assembly (TİM), convened women who are influential in their sectors and serve as role models in their respective fields.
The TİM WINGS Women Exporters Summit, organized by the Türkiye Exporters' Assembly (TİM), brought together women who shape their industries and are recognized as exemplars in their domains.
At the opening of the summit, attended by such distinguished figures as Demet Sabancı Çetindoğan, Vice Chairperson of the Board of DEMSA Group, Leyla Alaton, Board Member of Alarko Holding, and Hülya Gedik, Chairperson of the Board of Gedik Holding, TİM Chairman Mustafa Gültepe recalled that they had embarked on the Republic's second century with the aim of elevating Türkiye into the top ten exporting countries worldwide. Emphasizing the necessity of mobilizing all resources—foremost among them a highly qualified workforce—to the utmost degree in pursuit of this goal, Gültepe continued:
“We must place the intellect, perspective, vision, intelligence, and entrepreneurial spirit of women, who constitute half our population, at the very heart of production and export. We are all acutely aware of the pivotal roles our women assumed during the War of Independence and on the path to the Republic. Today, women continue to build Türkiye's future through production, exports, entrepreneurship, and leadership. As TİM, we aspire to engage an even greater number of women with enhanced strength in these endeavors. With this awareness, we have launched the TİM WINGS project, which offers additional advantages to our women entrepreneurs. Within the scope of the project, we have established a significant collaboration with the Turkish Standards Institution (TSE) to create the 'Women Entrepreneur Certification Criteria.' Enterprises managed and owned by women entrepreneurs become eligible for this certificate. As of today, thirty-nine of our companies actively utilize this certificate, while more than eighty have qualified to obtain it. Our certified companies, beyond gaining extra advantages in the Ministry of Trade's Overseas Market Research support, can also access special financing and guarantee opportunities provided through the collaboration of Eximbank and İGE Inc.”
Gültepe added that they expect women exporters to seize the opportunities provided by TİM WINGS with courage and to persist with determination in production and export.
In the panel entitled 'Journey Stories with Role Model Women in Business,' women entrepreneurs shared their experiences and insights with the participants. Highlights from the speeches of panelists in the session, moderated by Betül Gülbahar, Chairperson of the Women's Confederation (KADKON), are as follows:
DEMET SABANCI ÇETİNDOĞAN, VICE CHAIRPERSON OF THE BOARD, DEMSA GROUP:
Success requires the convergence of many parameters. Failing to embark upon the right venture at the right time can lead an individual or a company to failure. We experienced such a setback with our South Korean partner. Sometimes, market conditions are not conducive, and at other times, as in our experience, discrepancies in partners' work cultures may result in failure. Our unique business dynamics and living conditions inevitably influence our undertakings, and even the state's perspective on an issue can trigger either success or failure.
PROF. DR. ELİF HAYKIR HOBİKOĞLU, MEMBER OF THE MONETARY POLICY COMMITTEE, CENTRAL BANK:
There may be doubts as to whether women can successfully balance both motherhood and professional careers. I encountered such doubts at the outset of my academic journey. Yet, I never lost heart. Moreover, in life, we must regard failures as natural, just as we do successes. Rather than seeing failures as insurmountable walls, we should perceive them as steps to be ascended. When we contemplate how to overcome these steps, myriad opportunities open up before us.
SEVDA KAYHAN YILMAZ, CEO OF KAYAHAN HYDRAULIC:
Every individual and every company may experience failure and go through challenging periods. In times of adversity, I rely on two weapons. Firstly, I know that overcoming difficulties strengthens me; thus, I view every challenge as an opportunity to become even stronger. Secondly, I never give up. No matter how exhausted I become, I will never stray from the path to my goal or abandon it.
LEYLA ALATON, BOARD MEMBER OF ALARKO HOLDING:
From my own experience, I see that it is crucial for young people to chart their paths boldly and fearlessly, in accordance with their talents. I do not find it appropriate to assume that a career must necessarily be built within the family business. On the other hand, it is imperative for women to take on influential roles in business life. When women unite and cluster together, that is when true change will happen. If we can raise awareness—for example, by choosing to purchase products made or sold by women—even such small actions can have profound meaning.
HÜLYA GEDİK, CHAIRPERSON OF THE BOARD, GEDİK HOLDING:
Like everyone, I have many stories of failure in my professional life. If you are engaged in business, you are inevitably confronted by setbacks. What matters is extracting the necessary lessons from such failures. I consider every failure from which a lesson is learned as a form of success. We must never forget this and must never yield in the face of failure. Furthermore, no matter how close we may be with our business partners, we must always remember that absolute trust is never advisable.
In the second panel of the summit, Fatih Tuğrul Topaç, General Manager of İGE Inc., together with representatives from Eximbank and TSE, provided participants with information on access to financing and the Women Entrepreneur Certification Criteria.