Innovation centers, model factories start operating to support structural transformation

Hazal Özcan – ANKARA

Innovation centers and model factories have been established in Turkey’s three provinces, running successfully to support the entrepreneurship and innovation culture and promote structural transformation in the manufacturing industry.

Innovation centers and model factories are deemed as significant elements of a structural transformation in Turkey, as they aim to boost the role of local businesses in a globalized economy.

Operating in Turkey’s Aegean province of İzmir, the southeastern province of Gaziantep and the southern province of Mersin, these centers and factories intend to prepare companies for a new industrial revolution by guiding them on the path to entrepreneurship, institutionalization, process innovation, digitalization and lean production.

Established as part of the Turkey Resilience Project in Response to the Syria Crisis (TRP), these centers and factories are supported by the European Union (EU) and implemented in cooperation with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Turkey’s Industry and Technology Ministry.

EU Delegation to Turkey Head Ambassador Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut and a delegation with him visited the Model Factory and Innovation Center in Mersin. During the visit, Gül Taşkıran Battal, the head of the ministry’s Department of Productivity, accompanied the delegation, along with representatives from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Mersin Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The factory and center in Mersin cover an area of 5,000 square meters. These centers will also work in coordination with Çukurova Development Agency for matters concerning productivity as well as with Small and Medium Industry Development Organization (KOSGEB) to serve as a platform for entrepreneurship.

Companies and entrepreneurs who will receive consultancy and training from these centers and factories will also receive financial aid.

The main objectives behind the establishment of these innovation centers are to support local ecosystems, attract innovative businesses and large companies, and make them nationally and internationally acknowledged centers while increasing competitiveness in the field of innovation.

On the other hand, model factories aim to provide training and tailored business development consultancy programs on lean manufacturing to small and medium-sized enterprises, entrepreneurs and start-up businesses for Syrians and Turks.

The project, which merges UNDP’s specialty on sustainable development and the EU’s support, is estimated to generate about 2,000 new employment opportunities and establish 150 new companies or joint ventures.