Promoting German trade from Istanbul
have a true opinion on Turkey only “YOU CAN by experiencing it yourself.” As economic journalists who have been reporting from the hearth of the business life for years, we have heard thousands of quotes like this, especially from foreigners. Frank Kaiser, a business consultant for German companies, is no exception. “What I had not realized before I came to Turkey, and I believe most foreign business people get wrong, is how rich and diverse Turkey and Turkish business culture is,” Kaiser says. “Turkey being at the crossroads between Asia and Europe is an amalgamation of many different cultures,” a view Kaiser says may be cliché, but is relevant for the business environment. Therefore, he always advises his clients to be adaptable and flexible when it comes to negotiations and business etiquette.
Kaiser is the General Manager and Board Member at DEinternational Servis Hizmetleri A.S., a consultancy firm that assists Turkish and German companies investing in foreign markets. “Although we act as a commercial firm, we do have a bit of a hybrid role having trade promotion written in our mission statement,” he explains, referring to the company’s official status in the external trade promotion network of the Federal Republic of Germany.
EXECUTIVE MBA IN TURKEY
DEinternational used to be the consulting unit of the German Chamber of Commerce in Turkey. Kaiser himself has been in Turkey since 2010, when he first completed his Executive MBA at Koc University in Istanbul.
He then became the Director for the Market Research and Market Entry Services at the German Chamber of Commerce. In 2016, the department freed itself from the chamber and became an independent business consultancy company. The consultancy firm has a dedicated team of 15 bilingual professionals in Istanbul and Izmir.
LEARNING TO ADAPT AND CREATE
As vice president and board member, Kaiser is responsible for the overall strategy and operations of the company. The biggest challenge for him in terms of doing business in Turkey is the volatility. “But this has become more and more a global phenomenon,” he says, adding that he has learned to be more adaptable and creative and to always look for the opportunities in a changed environment.
Kaiser and his team are all based in Turkey but they were frequently on business trips in Germany before the C•VID -19 pandemic. Their mainstay - delegations and trade fairs- have been the hardest hit by pandemic restrictions, he says. “All in all, we were very quick in adapting and digitalizing a lot of our services, so there is also an upside from this experience. We do expect, however, this year will be behind last year’s results.”
Kaiser, who thinks that team work became far more efficient with everyone working remotely from their homes, turned the lockdown into an opportunity to spend more time with family again and start reading more in his personal life.
“As much as I try to think about something I never encountered anything really “bizarre” but having lived in other big cities like Tokyo, Paris and London, I had expected to see more international restaurants in Istanbul until I realized that Turkish cuisine is indeed a tough competition to deal with.”