Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş said that they see women’s entrepreneurship as one of the basic elements of social development and family welfare.
World Turkish Business Council (DTİK) Balkans Women’s Meeting was held in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia.
Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, Minister of State of North Macedonia Zülfikar Zeynula, Türkiye’s Ambassador to Skopje Fatih Ulusoy, North Macedonian MPs, DEİK and DTİK representatives, representatives of Turkish and local institutions and organizations in the country, diaspora representatives, Turkish women entrepreneur business people operating in the Balkans and many guests attended the program organized by the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) and DTİK.
In his speech at the opening of the program, Göktaş expressed his happiness in meeting entrepreneurial women from all over the Balkans under the same roof.
Expressing his belief that the meeting will lead to the establishment of a strong communication network on both a regional and international scale, Göktaş said, “I wholeheartedly believe that such a valuable platform will offer new collaborations and new opportunities to women in the entrepreneurship ecosystem.” he said.
Describing the Balkans as a very special geography where common history, culture, friendship and bonds of love come to life, Göktaş said, “It is our geography of the heart. We encounter the same familiar traces in Skopje, Sarajevo, Pristina, Sofia, Tetovo, and Monastery. We are touched by the same melodies, we meet at the same tables, we understand each other in the same words. Today, a new power is given to the bridges of hearts that have connected us for centuries.” More are being added: “Women’s ideas, efforts, courage and entrepreneurial spirit.” he said.
Göktaş said that today Balkan women not only produce, but also establish companies, create employment, develop technology, open up to new markets and build new economic bridges between countries.
Pointing out that the world is going through a huge transformation and that digitalization, artificial intelligence, data economy and new production models affect not only the economy but also competition, especially on a global scale, Göktaş emphasized that countries that are left out of this transformation will lose their competitiveness, companies that are left out of this transformation will be left behind, and societies where women are left out of this transformation will have given up half of their potential.
“We have come a long way to remove obstacles for women”
Göktaş said that they want women to be developers, entrepreneurs, investors and decision makers, not just users of technology, and added, “Because wherever you are in the world, a woman’s strong participation in economic life does not only change her own life. It strengthens her family. It adds hope to the future of children. It transforms the society in which she lives and contributes to the welfare of her country. That is why we see women’s entrepreneurship as one of the basic elements of social development and family welfare.” made his assessment.
Reminding that they have implemented revolutionary reforms in this direction under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the last 24 years, Göktaş continued his words as follows:
“We have come a long way to remove the obstacles for women, from education to employment, from politics to entrepreneurship. Now, we are bringing these achievements together with the needs of the new era. We are further strengthening the position of women in economic and social life with the Women’s Empowerment Strategy Document and Action Plan covering the period 2024-2028. We are establishing collaborations with the public, private sector and civil society in many areas such as education, health, energy, agriculture and industry. The Women’s Move in Sustainable Development, which we announced on March 8 this year “These activities had a concrete outcome. With this move, we position women’s ideas at the center of entrepreneurship, women’s labor at the center of sectoral transformation, and women’s vision at the center of the business world.”
Göktaş said that in this regard, they increased maternity leaves to 24 weeks last May and that Türkiye is among the top 10 countries that reformed maternity leaves among the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.
Pointing out that data sets and technology teams in which women are not adequately represented may not accurately reflect the needs of the whole society, Göktaş said, “This leads to the reproduction of artificial intelligence systems, prejudices and discrimination risks. Therefore, women should not be left out of digital transformation. They should be included in it and among those who do it.” he said.
Göktaş noted that it is necessary to introduce girls to fields such as science, technology, mathematics and engineering, and stated that educational programs that will improve women’s digital data skills should be expanded.
“We can create a Balkans women entrepreneurship network”
Sharing his belief that they can establish a new economic cooperation model between Türkiye and the Balkans, Göktaş said:
“The Balkans have a young, dynamic and entrepreneurial human resource. Turkey, on the other hand, offers important opportunities with its strong industrial infrastructure, entrepreneurship ecosystem, technology capacity and wide trade network. We can bring these two potentials together much more strongly through women entrepreneurs. We can create a ‘Balkans women entrepreneurship network’. This can happen from here. So that a woman entrepreneur in Skopje can reach an investor in Istanbul. An entrepreneur in Pristina can develop a joint project with a woman in Sarajevo. “Even a woman in Western Thrace can expand to Central Asia, the Gulf or Africa, and a technology startup in Türkiye can reach new markets with women entrepreneurs in the Balkans.”
Pointing out that they want to build the ties between Türkiye and the Balkans not only on the memories of the past but also on the common successes of the future, Göktaş said that this is why they care about the successes of women entrepreneurs.
Göktaş said, “As you get stronger, the Turkish community in the Balkans gets stronger. As you establish new partnerships, the economic and human ties between Turkey and the Balkans get stronger. As you share your success stories, you open the doors of new success stories that will come after you. As Turkey, we will continue to stand by our citizens and compatriots wherever they are and wherever they live. We will continue to support women’s entrepreneurship journeys.” he said.
