Alibaba to contribute at least $50B to Turkey’s exports, country manager says
ALIBABA.COM’S Turkey manager Cüneyt Erpolat announced that it will make an additional contribution of at least $50 billion to the country’s exports in 2023.
Erpolat said that the figure may sound aggressive and surprising, but that they were making all preparations in this direction, according to a report in the Turkish Dünya newspaper.
Noting that the developments in the fields of information and internet in the last 10 years and the indispensable role of communication tools such as smart phones, portable computers and tablets in people’s lives have created an important awareness in their shopping habit, which in turn lead to the revolutionary transformation in the economy, Erpolat said e-commerce is increasing its share in the traditional economy day by day.
He informed that only 2 years from now, e-commerce’s share will reach 13 percent of the general economy, amounting to $10 trillion, according to recent studies.
Erpolat stated that this new economy, which is growing exponentially, is preparing to break all the molds in trade from production to logistics and from exports to payment methods.
He stressed that while the growth and profitability ratios of companies investing in this area are rapidly increasing, those who cannot compete with this process will come to the point of extinction.
In reference to their “Turkey goal,” Erpolat first pointed to their confidence in the potential of Turkey and of Turkish small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) highlighting that there is a very dynamic economic structure in Turkey’s economy and that Turkish firms can take important steps through digitalization.
“We have very important goals related to the 2023 exports. If e-commerce is understood and used correctly, it will be much easier to reach these target,” he continued. “As Alibaba.com Turkey, we plan all our work in accordance with this future. We believe we will make great contribution to Turkey’s exports. As Alibaba. com alone, our export target for 2023 will be $50 billion.”
“Our target is not only the existing exporting SMEs but all the SMEs with the potential to export. In fact, the Ministry of Economy has the same aim. They are doing important work to turn all the SMEs into e-export companies through incentives, trainings, preparations, infra- structure studies and support for membership in e-commerce platforms like ours,” he said, adding that this process will make significant contributions to Turkey’s employment.
Pointing out that $50 billion additional export means at least 60,000 additional jobs and also increasing the number of registered exporters from 67,000 to over 100,000, Erpolat said including other platforms, this figure will be at a much more important level.
He noted that e-exports will provide a significant contribution to the growth of Turkey’s economy in this regard.
Erpolat stated that the Ministry of Economy provides very important support for e-commerce and e-exports, which is not available in any other country in the world.