-
Apr 11 2022 
How do we help Dutch entrepreneurs in Turkiye?
Turkiye is like a ‘candy shop’, a tempting paradise brimming with opportunity. It is nice to observe how this vast country gives Dutch entrepreneurs a burst of energy, every time.
But: where do you start as an entrepreneur? How should you deal with an unfamiliar bureaucracy and business culture? Who physically takes the Dutch entrepreneur into the local field? Read more about how the Chamber of Commerce Netherlands – Türkiye foundation (CCNT) and affiliated service providers can help on site.
Take Douwe from Friesland. Although his business is going well, he notices that his customers have become more demanding. These are continuously looking for ‘something new’ for consumers who have more free time. Citizens are looking for a holiday safer and closer to home in these uncertain times with post-Corona and other crisis.
Douwe is referred by the CCNT in Rotterdam to one of the affiliated service providers/experts on site in Turkiye. His request: “perform a market research for suitable melamine producers in Turkiye”. Melamine is an extremely durable and tear-resistant plastic available in a wide variety of shapes, colors and patterns. In addition, Douwe is looking for 15 types of textile products. All ideal for home, garden, kitchen and camping.
A successful B2B meeting doesn’t end at an airport…
In a first phase, the Dutch-speaking service provider in Turkiye makes a shortlist of potential producers. There are lots of phone calls and mails with all kinds of managers in Turkish companies. Subsequently, it is checked whether the products meet the EU quality requirements.
In a second phase, Douwe receives all relevant data. Although he has confidence in the high product quality and the necessary certificates, these must be produced and delivered under well-defined conditions. Are there perhaps more useful Turkish partners or suppliers, Douwe wonders…
As an exclusive service, more candidate producers are identified and cross-matched. Furthermore, product technical, Turkish experts from the large network of the service provider are involved. For this, the service provider again crawls into the pen, telephone and visits them.
In a third phase, Douwe is brought into personal contact with the Turkish producers and suppliers. The service provider organizes the journey from Schiphol, via Istanbul to other Turkish cities. B2B meetings are supported by the service provider and an additional guide.
A successful B2B meeting or trade mission does not end at an airport; it ends up on the shelves of a Dutch retail store, you would say, doesn’t it?
But: it is often (only) phase three that is offered by sector or network organizations. A pity: the high lords leave a country with or without a minister, while the actual work still has to be done.
-
Mar 07 2022 
Results board meeting Chamber of Commerce Foundation
During a recent board meeting, it was decided to open the doors to new board members.
Türkiye is ‘booming’ and offers many trading opportunities for SME companies. This demands experts and entrepreneurs who have affinity and experience with Türkiye.
The current board seats are held by entrepreneurs and experts in the area of tax advice and international corporate restructuring; legal services; bilateral trade relations, import/export; transport and logistics; IT, energy; project management and the healthcare sector. The vacant place is for a Turkish entrepreneur because of maintaining a balance between Dutch and Turks in the board.
The results of 2021 are satisfactory. Attention has been paid to further strengthen the foundation structure, to build a database with 15K company data, to establish relations with interest groups in both countries, organising trade missions, drawing up trade statistics reports, streamlining the human resources and the renewal of agreements with affiliated commercial service providers/partners.
Given the great success of the (Agri) trade mission in 2021, trade missions will be organized again in 2022. The first applications have already been received from Dutch companies interested in the sectors processed food, metal, furniture/interior and textile.
The ITR Connect initiative offering ‘good and cheaper’ Turkish IT/software experts for Dutch companies is showing good results. Contracts with Dutch clients are signed while the project is being supervised professionally, according to the responsible board member. The latter is also open to new project management requests from interested Dutch companies in Türkiye.
Furthermore, the board discussed handled trade applications from the Netherlands and Türkiye. In general, Dutch companies are searching Turkish production suppliers, or assistance for legal and administrative issues, or they want to have a local visit carried out in Türkiye to solve misunderstandings during production processes. From the Turkish side, there is often a need to find suitable Dutch clients and to market specific products.
-
Mar 07 2022 
Juicy news: Pomegranate fresh-pressing machine introduced in Dutch supermarket chain. It was about time!
More and more exotic fruit from all over the world is reaching the Dutch retail. Traditional oranges are delicious, but a sweet and sour, fresh pomegranate also gives a strong ‘boost’ to a vital lifestyle.
During a recent Agri trade mission to Türkiye, Dutch buyers were brought into contact with all kinds of fresh produce producers. The pomegranate was also discussed. The origin of this fruit lies in West and Central Asia. There was already mention of the pomegranate in Greek mythology, the Koran and the Old Testament. Over time, this historic fruit has become a well-known superfood. It contains minerals such as calcium, magnesium and potassium, which are important for the heart, nerves and muscles. The exotic fruit is also rich in trace minerals such as iron and zinc, fiber, antioxidants and vitamins.
Why this automatic juicer is good news? Because the tough skin of the pomegranate is not very inviting to for some. It is difficult to peel it with those 4 to 6 white walls inside. Subsequently, it has been solved now!
Discover these and other secrets of Türkiye. Contact CCNT if interested in trade missions (Agri or other sectors).
-
Sep 22 2021 
ICT ‘nearshoring’ Türkiye-Netherlands a great success!
The need for affordable, good software and programmers is great in the Netherlands. ITR Connect, the ICT nearshoring initiative for the Dutch business community, which we mentioned shortly after their start-up in May this year (see previous message), has already proven to be a great success.
“A diversity of clients have been served: sellers of sports products, employment agencies, energy-related companies, retail companies looking for a product assembler for their customers, financial service providers and R&D companies,” says founder and director Yaşar Yiğittürk. A turnover of at 150K is already expected this year.
ITR Connect has a large pool of highly experienced and certified software developers in various programming languages. Project leaders in the Netherlands guide the customer in the development processes using Scrum, an Agile development method with short ‘sprints’ that yields results within 4 weeks. Market demand varies from complex financial systems and apps for mobile applications to state-of-the-art websites.
Thanks to the efforts of (Turkish) Dutch project leaders and Turkish software developers, good software can be supplied that seamlessly meets the wishes of Dutch clients. This unique combination ensures that more and more Dutch companies that have their software developed in the Netherlands, India or Eastern Europe are starting to see the benefits of the nearshoring initiative of ITR Connect.
Get to know ITR Connect.
-
Sep 22 2021 
The start of Turkish lemon season…
The Turkish lemon season has started. Sizes are comparable to last season and Turkish growers have worked hard to ensure they comply with European crop protection regulations.
The quality of the fruit is monitored at all stages: cultivation, sorting, packaging, distribution and conservation. Quality reports with the name of the producer, certificate number of the ‘garden’, date of harvest, chemicals (if applied), certificate of approval Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and packaging date can be shown and/or partly printed on packaging labels.
Photo: MDA Agricultural Products
Turkish exporters, the Union and the Ministry of Agriculture are closely monitored and have intensively trained their growers in growing the right products, spraying, fertilizing and harvesting. Read full article here.
