Young Entrepreneurs are Trained at This Center
The Opening Meeting of the “INNOSMART TOGETHER: Joint Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center Project,” supported by the Ministry of Industry and Technology and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), and facilitated by the Bursa Eskişehir Bilecik Development Agency (BEBKA), was held. B-CUBE Smart Urbanism and Innovation Center, established by Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, hosts the “INNOSMART TOGETHER: Joint Entrepreneurship and Innovation Project,” carried out with the support of the Ministry of Industry and Technology and ICMPD under the European Union Fund. The project aims to develop the entrepreneurship ecosystem considering local needs.
The opening of the project, guiding young entrepreneurs, was held at the Atatürk Congress and Cultural Center. The opening meeting of the project was attended by Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Secretary-General Ulaş Akhan, BEBKA Secretary-General Prof. Dr. Muhammed Zeki Durak, ICMPD ENHANCER Grant Programs Coordinator Mehmet Çağlar Aydın, entrepreneurship ecosystem stakeholders, and entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurship Capacity
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Secretary-General Ulaş Akhan said they identify the city’s current needs within the scope of the smart city vision and develop projects and activities to address these needs. Emphasizing that they consider the smart city concept with all its components as an institution, Akhan said, “We adopt the understanding of maintaining inclusive innovative cooperation with institutions. We approach the smart city concept with all its components and support it with a holistic strategy, carrying out studies that include innovation and entrepreneurship. In line with our strategy, we have brought the smart urbanism and innovation center to our city. We applied to the ENHANCER program’s shared use facilities grant program with the support of BEBKA. With the acceptance of our application, we started project activities in July 2022. With the INNOSMART TOGETHER project, we will work to develop the entrepreneurship ecosystem considering local needs in cooperation with local institutions to contribute to the development of social and economic policies. We will try to improve the entrepreneurship capacity of local actors and disadvantaged groups in our city, both individually and institutionally,” he said.
Our Focus is on Entrepreneurship
BEBKA Secretary-General Prof. Dr. Muhammed Zeki Durak stated that they give special importance to entrepreneurship and innovation and have carried out exemplary projects with the Metropolitan Municipality in many areas. Durak also said that they would meet to support the young people trained in these centers: “Entrepreneurship is a subject entirely at our focus. We will invite the entrepreneurs trained in the entrepreneurship centers that our Metropolitan Municipality is now part of to meet with the venture capital investment funds we will co-operate with. When they convince one of them, they will have the opportunity to receive investment. This is a significant support in terms of strengthening the ecosystem in our region,” he said.
One of the Good Examples
ENHANCER Grant Programs Coordinator Mehmet Çağlar Aydın said, “We have a total budget of 32.5 million euros within our project. Within this budget, 20 million euros of the fund is provided to various institutions and organizations, especially within the scope of grant programs. The project we are part of today is one of the important steps in this regard. Within this scope, we want to establish centers that can contribute to socio-economic cohesion, where entrepreneurs can work together, learn together, benefit from shared machinery parks, training, and consultancy services. This project is a good example of the efforts of Bursa Metropolitan Municipality. I would like to thank our development agencies and BEBKA, which supported the project development phase,” he said.
After the speeches, the details of the INNOSMART TOGETHER: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Project were shared with the participants by the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Project Development Experts. At the end of the program, Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Secretary-General Ulaş Akhan, BEBKA Secretary-General Prof. Dr. Muhammed Zeki Durak, and Mehmet Çağlar Aydın toured the center and chatted with the young people receiving training.
