1. START EXPORTING PROGRAM (SEP)

2. WHY?   SMEs COMPRISE APPROXIMATELY 98% OF ALL COMPANIES, CONTRIBUTE 38% OF GDP AND ACCOUNT FOR 76,7 % OF EMPLOYMENT, 26,5% OF INVESTMENTS, BUT ONLY 10% OF TOTAL EXPORTS   LACK OF INCENTIVE, KNOWLEDGE AND RESOURCES ARE THE BARRIERS TO THE INTERNATIONALISM OF SMEs  SEP  PROVIDING SUPPORT TO SMEs, WHICH ARE PLAYING A MAJOR ROLE IN ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES, IS ONE OF THE MAIN OBJECTIVES OF ICOC AND THIS WAS THE MAIN MOTIVE OF DEVELOPING SEP WITH MADRID CCI UNDER THE TURKISH CHAMBERS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (TCDP)-II

3.  SEP  SEP WAS DEVELOPED IN COOPERATION WITH MADRID CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (CCI) UNDER THE TCDP-II IMPLEMENTED BY EUROCHAMBRES AND TOBB, IN 2005   MADRID CCI’S “PIPE 2000” PLAN -PROVIDING SMEs TAILOR-MADE CONSULTANCY ASSISTANCE TO ACCESS FOREIGN MARKETS- WAS A VERY SUCCESSFUL EXPERIENCE  SEP:  SEP: ADAPTATION OF PIPE TO TURKISH SMEs; - DEVELOPED WITH MADRID CCI (TRANSFER OF KNOW-HOW) - AIMED AT SUPPORTING TURKISH SMEs BUILD-UP AN EXPORT-ORIENTED STRATEGY HOW?

4.  THE DEVELOPMENT & IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD OF SEP WITH MADRID CCI: 6 MONTHS  DURING THIS PERIOD: 1.IDENTIFICATION CRITERIA ARE DETERMINED 2.SEP IS ANNOUNCED TO ICOC MEMBERS IN SELECTED TARGET SECTORS (MACHINERY, ELECTRONIS&ELECTRONICS, METAL PRODUCTS, TEXTILE) 3.INTRODUCTION SEMINAR OF SEP IS ORGANIZED; PRESENTATIONS BY ICOC & MADRID CCI REPRESENTATIVES ON SEP & INTERNATIONALISM OF SMEs 4.MADRID CCI & ICOC SIGNED A COOPERATION AGREEMENT 5.A SURVEY CONDUCTED TO COMPANIES APPLIED FOR SEP 6.348 COMPANIES FULLY RESPONDED THE SURVEY 7.COMPANIES FILTERED DOWN TO 200 COMPANIES ACCORDING TO THE SELECTION CRITERIA 8.ICOC PROJECT TEAM WERE TRAINED BY MADRID CCI IN GENERAL & ABOUT THE SELECTION OF COMPANIES HOW?

5. 9.40 COMPANIES ARE SELECTED AMONG 200 10.ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS WITH 40 COMPANY DURING ONE WEEK 11.SELECTION OF 20 COMPANIES 12.CONSULTANTS HAD BEEN ASSIGNED BY ICOC 13.COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING PROGRAM FOR ICOC PROJECT TEAM & CONSULTANTS WAS ORGANIZED BY MADRID CCI 14.SEP MANUALS PROVIDED BY MADRID CCI IN ENGLISH WERE TRANSLATED TO TURKISH BY ICOC 15.SEP STARTED OFFICIALLY AFTER THE SIGNING OF “LETTER OF INSCRIPTION” BETWEEN ICOC & 20 SEP COMPANIES 16.SEP CARRIED OUT FOR 3 MONTHS PERIOD 17.120 PRIVATE VISITS TO 20 SEP COMPANIES WERE PERFORMED BY CONSULTANTS WITH THE GUIDANCE OF SEP MANUALS 18.AUDIT OF SEP BY MADRID CCI: GENERAL AUDIT OF THE PROGRAM & FACE TO FACE MEETINGS WITH 8 SEP COMPANY REPRESENTATIVES 19.RESULTS OF THE AUDIT HOW?

6. SEP: A REGULAR ACTIVITY OF ICOC  SEP  ICOC IMPLEMENTED THE FIRST PHASE OF SEP IN 2005 AS PART OF THE TCDP-II, AND 20 MEMBER COMPANIES BENEFITED  SEP-I  THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS TO PARTICIPATE IN SEP-I WAS CONSIDERABLY HIGH  SEP  THEREFORE, ICOC DECIDED TO CONTINUE IMPLEMENTING SEP AND THUS ENABLE MORE SMEs BENEFIT FROM THIS PROGRAM  SEP  SEP BECAME A REGULAR AND VERY IMPORTANT ACTIVITY OF ICOC  SEP  UNTIL NOW, 3 PHASES OF SEP ARE COMPLETED AND 80 COMPANIES ARE INVOLVED  SEP  THE 4 TH PHASE OF SEP IS STILL ONGOING WITH 20 COMPANIES

7. WHAT IS SEP ? 1.SEP 1.SEP IS AN EXPORT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM TO SUPPORT NON-EXPORT COMPANIES TO INTERNATIONALISE AND BECOME REGULAR EXPORTERS 2. 2.ICOC PROVIDES PRIVATE CONSULTANCY TO SMEs ON EXPORT PLANNING AND MARKETING AND HELPS THEM OVERCOME INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL BARRIERS WHICH THEY FACE IN OPENING UP TO FOREIGN MARKETS 3. 3.FACE-TO-FACE CONSULTING SERVICES FOR SMEs ARE PROVIDED BY PROFESSIONAL CONSULTANTS ASSIGNED BY ICOC 4. 4.THE PROGRAM IS IMPLEMENTED IN GROUPS, EACH INCLUDING 20 COMPANY

8. STEPS OF SEP Dissemination of SEP to member companies Receiving applications from the interested companies Pre-Selection of 40-50 Companies Face-to-face meetings with pre-selected companies in the Chamber Selection of eligible 20 companies Opening Meeting of SEP with project coordinators, company representatives & consultants Implementation of SEP 3 months period 30 hr consultancy/company Selection & Training of Consultants Complementary Services by ICOC Assessment of SEP “Customer Satisfaction Survey”

9. SELECTION OF COMPANIES  SEP  COMPANIES APPLIED TO PARTICIPATE IN SEP ARE ASKED TO COMPLETE A QUESTIONNAIRE   THE QUESTIONNAIRE HELPS THE PROJECT TEAM GET BRIEF INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMPANIES AND MAKE THE FIRST ELIMINATION   FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS WITH PRE-SELECTED COMPANIES TO DETERMINE THE 20 COMPANY   FINAL ASSESSMENT AND SELECTION OF THE MOST ELIGIBLE 20 COMPANIES

10. WHICH COMPANIES CAN BENEFIT FROM SEP?   MEMBER OF ICOC   MANUFACTURER   NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES BETWEEN 10-150   NOT OR VERY LITTLE ENGAGED IN EXPORT ACTIVITIES   AT LEAST ONE QUALIFIED & ENGLISH SPEAKING EMPLOYEE * SEP IS OPEN TO COMPANIES FROM ALL SECTORS SELECTION CRITERIA

11. SELECTION AND TRAINING OF CONSULTANTS   AFTER THE SELECTION OF 20 COMPANIES, PROFESSIONAL CONSULTANTS ARE ASSIGNED BY ICOC TO PROVIDE COMPANIES WITH CONSULTING SERVICES ON EXPORT MARKETING & PLANNING   THE ASSIGNED CONSULTANTS HAVING NO EXPERIENCE IN SEP ARE TRAINED BY THE CONSULTANTS WHO HAD BEEN TRAINED IN THE 1 ST PHASE OF SEP BY MADRID CCI CONSULTANTS

12. CONTENT OF CONSULTING SERVICES CONTENT OF CONSULTING SERVICES PROVIDED TO COMPANIES ARE FOCUSED ON EXPORT MARKETING & PLANNING: MODULE-1: DIAGNOSIS OF INTERNATIONALISATION MODULE-2: SELECTION OF EXPORT MARKETS MODULE-3: DETERMINATION OF DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS (ACCESS TO MARKETS) MODULE-4: DECISION ON INTERNATIONAL MARKETING & EXPORT PLANNING MODULE-5: INFORMATION RESOURCES TO ACHIEVE THE INTERNATIONALISM OBJECTIVES

13. COMPLEMENTARY SERVICES-I ICOC IS PROVIDING SOME COMPLEMENTARY SERVICES TO THE SEP COMPANIES DURING THE PROGRAM AND IN ONE-YEAR PERIOD AFTER THE PROGRAM:   THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE AT ONE OF THE EXHIBITIONS ORGANISED BY ICOC WITH 25 % DISCOUNT   FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO ALL ICOC PUBLICATIONS   FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO ICOC WEEKLY NEWSPAPER “ISTANBUL TICARET” AND ICOC MONTHLY MAGAZINE ITOVIZYON   FREE PARTICIPATION TO ALL SEMINARS, CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND LIKE EVENTS OF ICOC

14. COMPLEMENTARY SERVICES-II GARANTI BANK ASSIGNED CUSTOMER REPRESENTATIVES FOR EACH COMPANY AND OFFERED A LIST OF SERVICES INCLUDING:   ONE DAY INTENSIVE TRAINING ON FOREIGN TRADE LEGISLATION   SPECIAL DISCOUNTED CREDIT RATES   FREE CONSULTANCY SERVICES ON BANKING OPERATIONS   A REFERENCE GUIDE BOOK ON FOREIGN TRADE ICOC SIGNED A COLLABORATION AGREEMENT WITH ONE OF THE MAJOR TURKISH BANKS - GARANTI BANKASI - FOR 20 SEP COMPANIES

15. IMPLEMENTATION - I  SEP  SEP COMPANIES RECEIVE ONE-ON-ONE CONSULTING SERVICES FOR FOUR-MONTHS PERIOD   DURING THIS PERIOD, PRIVATE VISITS TO 20 SEP COMPANIES ARE PERFORMED BY CONSULTANTS   EACH CONSULTANT PROVIDE CONSULTANCY TO 4 COMPANIES AND SPEND MINIMUM 30 HOURS FOR EACH COMPANY   CONSULTANCY MEETINGS WITH COMPANIES ARE MADE THROUGH THE “GUIDANCE MANUALS”

16. IMPLEMENTATION - II DURING THESE ONE-ON-ONE VISITS: 1. 1. DIAGNOSIS OF THE COMPANY a) MOTIVATION ASSESSMENT b) EXPORT READINESS ASSESSMENT (FINANCIAL, & HUMAN RESOURCES, PRODUCTION CAPACITY, STANDARDS, PROMOTION INSTRUMENTS, ETC) 2. 2. SELECTION OF EXPORT MARKETS 3. 3. SELECTION OF DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS 4. 4. DETERMINATION OF EXPORT STRATEGY & DRAW UP AN ACTION PLAN FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS 5. 5. PROVIDING IN-DEPTH INFO ON TARGET MARKETS AND POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS 6. 6. MAKE CONTACT WITH POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS & ARRANGE BUSINESS MEETINGS 7. 7. PARTICIPATE IN TRADE FAIRS/DELEGATIONS, VISITING THE TARGET MARKETS

17. RESULTS OF SEP I, II, III   SMEs ARE FACING TOUGH COMPETITION BOTH IN DOMESTIC & INTERNATIONAL MARKETS AND THEY LACK OF TIME, FINANCE, MANAGEMENT CAPACITY AND INFORMATION TO DEVELOP AND ADOPT EXPORT-STRATEGIES   SO, IT WOULD BE AN OVER STATEMENT TO SAY ALL THE SEP COMPANIES WILL BECOME REGULAR EXPORTERS IN A VERY SHORT TIME OF 4 MONTHS   ICOC THEREFORE CONTINUES TO SUPPORT THE SEP COMPANIES WITH COMPLEMENTARY SERVICES AND FOLLOW-UP THE PROGRESS THEY MAKE IN ONE YEAR PERIOD AFTER THE PROGRAM

18. RESULTS OF SEP-I, II, III DESPITE ALL THE NEGATIVE FACTORS COMING FROM THE GLOBAL MARKETS, ICOC IS VERY PROUD THAT SEP I-II & III 80 COMPANIES IN SEP I-II & III MADE REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENTS:   45 COMPANIES REVIEWED AND ADJUSTED PRODUCT STANDARDS TO ACCESS THE TARGET MARKETS   25 COMPANIES DECIDED TO DIVERSIFY THEIR PRODUCT RANGE AND EXPAND PRODUCTION CAPACITY TO BETTER MEET CUSTOMER AND MARKET DEMANDS   65 COMPANIES PARTICIPATED IN DOMESTIC & INTERNATIONAL FAIRS, AND TRADE MISSIONS   48 COMPANY MADE CONTACTS WITH FOREIGN CUSTOMERS AND/OR MADE INDIRECT/DIRECT EXPORTS   42 COMPANIES ATTENDED TRAINING ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE THEIR HUMAN RESOURCES CAPACITY

19. RESULTS OF SEP-I, II, III   DEVELOPED THEIR PROMOTIONAL INSTRUMENTS: 10 COMPANIES WITHOUT A WEB PAGE CREATED ONE 45 COMPANIES REVISED CATALOGUES & BROCHURES, PUBLISHED IN ENGLISH OR OTHER LANGUAGES TO DISTRIBUTE TO THE POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS 40 COMPANIES REVISED & UPDATED THEIR WEB PAGE, WITH VERSIONS IN OTHER LANGUAGES 5 COMPANIES PREPARED CD-ROMS, AVAILABLE IN VARIOUS LANGUAGES   SEP COMPANIES LEARNED HOW TO CONTACT WITH FOREIGN CUSTOMERS (WRITING BUSINESS LETTERS/E- MAILS, ARRANGING BUSINESS MEETINGS, ETC)

20. RESULTS OF SEP-I, II, III   WITH THE GUIDANCE OF THEIR CONSULTANTS, ALL THE SEP COMPANIES LEARND HOW TO: DETERMINE TARGET MARKETS & ACCESS CHANNELS MAKE IN-DEPTH RESEARCH OF TARGET MARKETS (pricing, choosing the right distribution channels to access these markets, market requirements, etc) DEVELOP EXPORT-STRATEGY & ACTION PLAN   MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE EXPORT MOTIVATION OF THE COMPANIES INVOLVED IN SEP HAS INCREASED

21. EXTENSION OF SEP TO OTHER CHAMBERS  SEP  AS THE BIGGEST CHAMBER OF TURKEY, ICOC CONSIDERS IT A MATTER OF DUTY TO EXTEND SEP TO THE CHAMBERS IN OTHER REGIONS OF TURKEY AND THUS HELP THEM SUPPORT THE INTERNATIONALISM OF THEIR MEMBER COMPANIES   HAVING SIGNED A PROTOCOL WITH MADRID CCI ON 17 MAY 2005, ICOC ACQUIRES THE RIGHT TO IMPLEMENT “START EXPORTING PROGRAM” IN TURKEY

22.   UNTIL NOW, ICOC LAUNCHED SEP TO 11 CHAMBERS FROM TURKEY WITH “MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING”   THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THESE CHAMBERS RECEIVED A 2-DAYS TRAINING FROM ICOC PROJECT TEAM AND CONSULTANTS PERFORMED TRAININGSPLANNED TRAININGS IN 2008 Kırıkkale CCI Düzce CCI Yozgat CCI Gebze CC Erzincan CCI Salihli CCI Diyarbakır CCI Antalya CCI Eskişehir CC Aydın CC Bandırma CC Sivas CCI Konya CC Kayseri CC

23.   ICOC WILL CONTINUE “START EXPORTING PROGRAM” WITH 40 COMPANIES IN 2008, AIMING AT HELPING SMEs BECOME REGULAR EXPORTERS AND THUS STRENGTHEN AND IMPROVE THEIR COMPETITIVENESS BOTH IN DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL MARKETS   FURTHERMORE, COOPERATION WITH OTHER TURKISH CHAMBERS WILL ALSO CONTINUE TO HELP THEM SUPPORT THEIR MEMBERS’ INTERNATIONALISM

24. T H A N K Y O U