current situation and needs analysis report

2017-1-TR01-KA202-046223

CURRENT SITUATION AND NEEDS

ANALYSIS REPORT

This publication has been produced with the

financial support of the Erasmus+ Programme of

the European Union.

S m a l l B u s i n e s s D e v e l o p m e n t C e n t e r f o r Y o u n g E n t r e p r e n e u r s O1

C U R R E N T S I T U A T I O N A N D N E E D S A N A L Y S I S

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1. Introduction and Background

1.1. What is Entrepreneurship?

Increasing entrepreneurship and developing entrepreneurial characteristics and quality

is extremely important in the development of a country. Successful entrepreneurship activities

are quite functional in the employment generation in the country, in accelerating economic

growth, in the emergence of new industries, in the process of change and development of

society.

In the economy and business literature, entrepreneurship is seen as a key factor in

preventing unemployment, accelerating economic growth and initiating a changing /

innovative process in the social structure.

As a global economic driven, entrepreneurship adds real value through the creation of

new jobs and the production of innovative products and services. In short, entrepreneurship

promotes the generation of wealth. Yet, a review of the literature indicates many definitions

of entrepreneurship have been conceived over the years by researchers in the field. A single,

commonly accepted definition of the term is simply nonexistent, though common elements

tend to meet across the spectrum. Given this conundrum, a functional definition of

entrepreneurship upon which to base our discussion is necessary.

The origin of the word entrepreneurship is derived from the French word

"entreprende," which means "to undertake," as in undertaking a particular activity. Likewise,

some researchers give credit for the word entrepreneur (in a business context) to eighteenth-

century French businessman Richard Cantillon, who, in his published work “Essai Sur la

Nature du Commerce en General”, "described entrepreneurs as 'undertakers' engaged in

market exchanges at their own risk for the purpose of making a profit" (Roberts and Woods,

2005, p.46). The concept of entrepreneur was also used by French economist Jean Baptiste

Say. Say, by improving the definition of Cantillon; he has emphasized that entrepreneurs

should have the qualifications of organizing and managing the factors of production as well as

assumption of risk (Hisrich ve Peters, 1995: 6).



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Koh (1996), stated the basic psychological characteristics of entrepreneurship in his

study as follows; the need of success, the internal sense of control, the willingness to take

risks, tolerance to uncertainty, self-confidence and innovative thinking (Koh, 1996).

Entrepreneurship is the common name given to the activities of transforming the

economic and sociological opportunities into value by combining the factors of production for

the production of economic goods or services. Entrepreneurship is both an economic value

production and a cultural and sociological phenomenon due to the variational mobility that it

generates. From the economic point of view, it is understood that while entrepreneur is the

person directing the supply and demand, entrepreneurship is the activity of mobilizing and

stimulating the resources economically (MEB; 2016).

In general, perception of initiative and entrepreneurship can be defined as the capacity to

transform ideas that create value for someone other than themselves into action. The

understanding of initiative and entrepreneurship is the cross-key competence that every

citizen needs for personal satisfaction and development, effective citizenship, social inclusion

and employment in the information society. (Entrepreneurship Competency Framework,

2016)

1.2. Importance of Entrepreneurship

There are two major functions of entrepreneurship as economic and social. The content of the

economic function of entrepreneurship can be listed as follows:

Entrepreneurship is functional in economic field;

• in preventing unemployment by expanding the volume of employment,

• in accelerating economic growth (Carree & Thurik, 2003; Van Praag & Versloot,

2007)

• in the emergence of new industries (Carree & Thurik, 2003; Van Praag & Versloot,

2007)

• in extending the high level of welfare to a broader social base and in strengthening the

middle class. (İlhan, 2005)

• in the elimination or reduction of regional development disparities (Özkul & Dulupçu,

2007)



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Social functions of entrepreneurship can be listed as follows:

Entrepreneurship is functional in social field;

• in transforming many technological inventions into innovative products or services for

the benefit of society (Acs and Varga, 2005),

• in creating value,

• in initiating a changing / innovative process in the social structure,

• in the process of change and development of all societies due to the nature of

entrepreneurship as a risk-taking, innovative and pioneer.

1.3. Factors Affecting Entrepreneurship

According to the study of World Entrepreneurship Platform, the factors affecting

entrepreneurship are gathered in two main dimensions as the infrastructure of the country and

the infrastructure of entrepreneurship. Topics covered in the infrastructure of the country are

as follows: the openness of the economy, the role of the state, the effectiveness of the finance

sector, technology intensity, physical infrastructure, management skills, flexible labor market,

legal institutions, economic growth, social, political and cultural environment. The factors that

constitute the infrastructure of entrepreneurship are listed as follows: Finance, state policies,

state programs, education, transfer of R&D, commercial infrastructure, openness of the

internal market, physical infrastructure and cultural norms. (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor,

2010.)

In a survey conducted by TÜGİAD (Young Businessmen Association of Turkey) in

1993, “the ability of the entrepreneur to see the future”, which was one of the answers given

to the questions posed to the Turkish industrialists and businessmen about the qualifications

required for an entrepreneur, was considered as very important by a large section (75.9%).

According to the severity, the other features are respectively expressed as follows; the ability

to create innovation, the ability to analyze and the feature to undertake risk, the ability to

organize, communication skill, the ambition to achieve, decision-making ability, leadership

qualifications, competitive understanding and being frugal. In the same research, the first

three answers of the question, of what qualifications Turkish entrepreneurs should possess in

the 2000s, were respectively to get a good education, to keep up with the developments in the

world and to be open to innovations. Qualifications such as being able to see the future, to



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know a foreign language, to be creative and to have the ability to analyze, have become the

points where entrepreneurs are most united. However, it should be noted that entrepreneurship

is a social and cultural phenomenon. For a successful application, the universal qualifications

of entrepreneurship should be determined as well as the local qualifications. (Durukan, 2000)

Apart from the external factors affecting entrepreneurship, individual structuring is

also an important factor affecting entrepreneurship. When a literature review was carried out,

different approaches and suggestions were made for the characteristics of the entrepreneur.

The intersection areas of these studies starting from the 18th century give us the characteristics

of the entrepreneur. The most important ones are listed below.

a. Risk bearer

b. Qualifications of organizing and managing production factors

c. Innovative

d. Forming a new style of peeling away from familiar work patterns

e. By perceiving opportunities, shaping the business in accordance with these

opportunities

f. Bringing labor, raw materials and other assets together to create greater value

g. Person who plans work by predicting resources, who manages the human resources to

process inputs, has the ability to present the obtained output to the use of consumers in

a way to create profitability

h. Change-oriented

i. Creative

j. Communication skilled

k. Proactive

l. High success motivation

m. Persistent

Regardless of how much the entrepreneurship-related criteria changes according to the

periods and countries, the theoretical analyzes have agreed on the impact of the economic,

sociological and psychological factors on the formation of the entrepreneurial personality,

albeit in different significance. (Arslan, 2002:1-11)

Turkey Entrepreneurship Strategy and Action Plan (2013-2018) includes the following

definitions, which focuses on the entrepreneur's behavior and activities:



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• The person by whom providing the resources needed in order to take the existing or

self-created opportunities, combines them with the resources available and organizes

them to transform into production and service,

• The person who takes the initiative and shows leadership characteristics in all stages

of a business establishment,

• The person who continues the target despite the risks by calculating the risks in these

stages and taking the related precautions,

• The person who is constantly looking for innovation and creates expectations rather

than being sensitive to the expectations of the customers in this quest,

(Turkey Entrepreneurship Strategy and Action Plan 2013 – 2018)

1.4. Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Belgium

Belgium policy to promote innovative entrepreneurship or innovation activities is

largely designed and delivered at the regional level, aside from elements captured in the

national Lisbon Reform Programme. Federal responsibility in these matters is restricted to

fiscal incentives and actions to improve the business environment. This included actions for

administrative simplification as well as a tax measure to support the hiring of R&D personnel

in young innovative companies.

At the regional level, initial support for incubators and business innovation centers and

financial measures have in the past few years shifted towards a more strategic emphasis on

fostering commercialization of the academic research base, on supporting entrepreneurship

(regional entrepreneurship action plans) and on providing Access to finance (business angel

networks). In Flanders, the participation Company Flanders works to boost the

innovativeness of regional SME’s, by leveraging additional risk capital for new ventures. In

Wallonia, a pre-activity grant can be applied for by individuals who propose to create a new

firm based on original idea, and an innovation grant aims to support SMEs innovation

activities through support for consulting missions, the production of prototypes or the

acquisition of necessary research equipment. In addition, SME’s can make use of different

existing schemes to get advice on technological innovation1.

1 https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/industry-and-services/smes-entrepreneurship-and-innovation_9789264080355-en#page54



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Figure 1: Structural indicators on enterprise population, 2007

Sources: OECD, Structural and Demographic Business Statistics

1.5. Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Greece

The National Strategic Reference Framework 2007-2013, co-founded by the European

Regional Development Fund, is geared towards transforming Greece into a highly

competitive and open economy. The Operational Programme Programme “Competitiveness

and Entrepreneurship” and five Regional Operational Programme are the main tools for

improving competitiveness and entrepreneurship and fostering innovation. The total of EUR

732 million, part of which goes to innovative starts-up, are allocated to two priorities of the

OPCE as well as to threads of the five-regional operational programmes related to

entrepreneurship and digital convergence.




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Source: OECD, Structural and Demographic Business Statistics

The OPCE provides for a good number of measures, of which the most relevant for

entrepreneurship includes support of a broad range of infrastructers, the creation of

intermediary organisations and the set up incentives for venture capital funds and of grant

schemes for special categories of entrepreneurs.

1.6. Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Slovenia

Since independence in 1991, Slovenia has successfully transitioned to an advanced

economy. It is one of the smallest OECD member countries in terms of economic size, with a

level of GDP close to EUR 41.6 billion. The same holds true demographically, with a

population just above 2.1 million. After the recession, economic growth returned in 2014,

driven by net exports supported by improved cost competitiveness. GDP growth is expected

strengthening to 3.6% this year and then hovering around 3% in 2018 and 2019. The drivers

of 2017 growth remain similar to those last year; the acceleration relative to 2016 will mainly

reflect the dynamics of government investment. Exports will remain the key driver of

economic activity over the entire 2017–19 period (IMAD, 2017a).

The national government has recently launched several initiatives to improve the

business environment for all entrepreneurs and business owners. These actions are not

targeted to any particular group but people from under-represented and disadvantaged groups

stand to gain disproportionately because they often have lower levels of skills. These

initiatives include:

• E-VEM contact points: The E-VEM portal offers electronic services related to

business creation and registration. The portal allows for online registration and acts as

an information portal where entrepreneurs can access information on business start-up

and development, as well as ceasing operations (Ministry of Public Administration,

2017a).

• E-davki (e-tax portal): The e-tax portal enables convenient, easy and secure

completion and submission of tax forms from the user’s computer at home or in the

office. It is a safe web service that fully substitutes for the relevant paper work. The

portal offers also the information on the services that can be done electronically

(Ministry of Finance – Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia, 2017).



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• “Stop birokraciji” website (“Stop bureaucracy”): is the portal intended for all

entrepreneurs and citizens who have contact with administrative procedures where

they encounter obligations they have to fulfil to meet the requirements of legislation.

The aim is to reduce administrative burdens and simplify procedures by 25 per cent.

The project is partly financed by the European Social Fund (Ministry of Public

Administration, 2017c).

Figure 3: Barriers to entrepreneurship by target group2

In addition, the national government continues with the implementation of its Action

Plan for the Implementation of the Small Business Act and The Strategy for Development of

Public Administration 2015-2020 were adopted in April 2015. The strategy addresses several

challenges including establishing e-government. A more streamlined regulatory environment

would be expected to increase the rates of business creation and improve business survival

rates. Entrepreneurs starting from disadvantaged groups stand to benefit greatly given their

lack of experience in self-employment and entrepreneurial engagement.

2 Note: Data were pooled for the period 2012-16. Responses were weighted to reflect the population in each year, but no

weighting was used when pooling the time series data, i.e. all years have the same weight regardless of the sample size in

each year. The EU27 average covers all EU Member States except Malta. Source: GEM (2017), special tabulations of the

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s household surveys from the 2012 to 2016.



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Figure 4: Entrepreneurship rates by target group3

1.7. Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Turkey

The Young Entrepreneurship Development Programme was designed to help increase

awareness of entrepreneurship, stimulate start-up of new tecnology-based firms among

university students and graduates and cretae new jobs. It has been run together with

universities since 1998. During a 66 hour course, students are assisted with developing their

business ideas and business plan.

3 The TEA rate is the Total early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity rate, which is defined as the proportion of the population

actively involved in pre start-up activities and those who have started a new business within the last 42 months. The

proportion of TEA that is necessity entrepreneurship is the proportion of entrepreneurs involved in setting-up a new business

or operating a business that is less than 42 months old, who were motivated to start their business because they had no better

options for work. Data for panels b, c, and d were pooled for the period 2012-16. Responses were weighted to reflect the

population in each year, but no weighting was used when pooling the time series data, i.e. all years have the same weight

regardless of the sample size in each year. The EU27 average covers all EU Member States except Malta. Source: Global

Entrepreneurship Monitor household surveys that were tabulated for the OECD (2017)



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Turkey has experienced an entrepreneurial boom in the last decade. The number of

adults involved in early entrepreneurial activity (businesses of up to three-and-a-half years

old) has risen from six out of every 100 adults in 2006, to about 17 out of every 100 adults in

2015.

Added to this, on the back of strong economic growth (a collective 24% between 2008

and 2012), between 2009 and 2012 the total value-add and employment of small and medium-

sized enterprises (SMEs) grew by about 28% and 35% respectively.

In general, conditions for entrepreneurship in Turkey improved during the period 2006

to 2012. There have been improvements in government support policy, as well as the financial

environment related to entrepreneurship and government regulations and programmes.

However, the large gap between male and female entrepreneurship is cause for concern.

In February 2013 the Under Secretariat of the Treasury launched the Law of Business

Angels which grants angel investors a 75% corporate tax reduction should they hold company

shares in recipient businesses for at least two years. If a business angel invests in a Turkish

venture company that undertakes a project supported by the Scientific and Technological

Research Council of Turkey during the past five years, the angel investor will be granted a

100% tax deduction. To be classified as an angel investors one must be either an experienced

investor or high-net worth individual.

The tax exemption offered by Turkey, according to the Department of Economic

Affairs, is higher than in Britain, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Singapore, Israel and many

US states. The law aims to help support new ventures and to increase the availability of



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financial sources for small enterprises. Since the enactment of the law and until February

2016 a total of 378 persons had been accredited by the Financial Markets Regulatory

Department of Treasury to take advantage of the incentive. The figure is ahead of a target to

license 625 angel investors in the first five years of the scheme.

In addition, in 2014 the Turkish stock exchange, Borsa Istanbul, launched an online

matchmaking platform. The Private Market platform allows entrepreneurs to find angel

investors that have been registered and accredited by the stock exchange. It offers companies

the opportunity to raise finance without going public while allowing company partners to sell

their shares, and investors to liquidate their investments.

In March 2016 Borsa İstanbul and the Scientific and Technological Research Council

of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) signed an agreement aimed at strengthening technology-focused

entrepreneurship. Nearly 25 companies that receive research & development (R&D) support

from TÜBİTAK became members of the Private Market platform and came together with the

investors in the Private Market. At the event, two new Private Market investments were

announced and by March 2016, the number of investment contracts on the Private Market had

increased to a total of six.

To galvanise support for innovative start-ups, the government has also invested in two

venture capital funds which will co-invest with private-sector funds in early-stage ventures.

As of May 2016, Turkey’s treasury had committed 60 million euros to the European

Investment Fund’s Turkish Growth and Innovation Fund and another 16 million euros to the

Turkish Investment Fund, run by the KOBI Venture Capital Trust. The government plans to

commit a further 84 million to both, while seeking to finalise crowdfunding legislation in

2016.

In the first half of 2015 the amount invested in early-stage investments grew by more

than 200% compared to the same period in 2014, with the number of investments growing

from 22 to 33, according to figures from Tech EU, a tech blog. In addition the volume of

angel investment in 2013 stood at 14.7 million euros a year, making Turkey the eighth largest

in the European region. The UK leads at 84.4m euros in investments. (GEM2016-2017 report)

To ensure the development of entrepreneurs in Turkey it will first need to determine

the current situation. There are many studies for Turkey's entrepreneurial ecosystem. When



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these studies are examined, it is seen that there are many common points. Some of these are

listed below.

a. As in studies in the world, the age of to become entrepreneurs in Turkey are mainly in

the 22-45 age range.

b. Approximately one third of the entrepreneurs are educated after high school, and

almost half of them graduated from high school. The rest are below the high school

level. In this context, it can be said that the educational level of entrepreneurs in

Turkey increases.

c. Interesting data show that entrepreneurship increases in proportion to the number of

siblings. It is determined that there are more entrepreneur people than families with

more than 3 children.

According to the social learning theory in entrepreneurship, the person learns by

observing entrepreneurship from the environment. This observation is thought to be

increased in case of many children.

d. In order to be sustainable of the initiative initiated by the entrepreneur in Turkey,

Education and Experience are considered to be the most important elements..

e. According to the Turkish entrepreneurs, the most important characteristics of the

successful entrepreneur are self-confidence, commercial ethics and risk.

f. An analysis of factors hindering entrepreneurship in Turkey; False policies of the

state, insufficient educational institutions, fierce competition and family pressure stand

out.

g. In order to increase entrepreneurship in Turkey, education and government incentives

are equally at the top of the list.

In the 2016 entrepreneurship report of GEM, the spider graphs showing the ecosystem of the

project partner countries are as follows.



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Belgium

Greece



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Slovenia

Turkey



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In the same report, the ratios of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the project partners

are stated as in the table below.

Belgium Greece Slovenia Turkey

World

Average

2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016

Entrepreneurial Finance 2,68 2,39 1,92 2,15 2,68 2,39 2,8 2,29 2,6

Governmental Policies:

Support and Relevance 2,55 2,45 1,99 1,78 2,55 2,45 2,68 2,64 2,59

Government Policies:

Taxes and Bureaucracy 1,84 1,89 1,57 1,49 1,84 1,89 1,82 2,14 2,38

Government

Entrepreneurship

Programs 2,66 2,59 1,93 1,77 2,66 2,59 2,26 2,48 2,63

Entrepreneurial

Education at School

Stage 2,08 1,71 1,75 1,84 2,08 1,71 1,68 1,46 1,97

Entrepreneurial

Education at Post School

Stage 2,85 2,61 2,67 2,62 2,85 2,61 2,9 3,06 2,87

R&D Transfer 2,63 2,3 2,33 2,49 2,36 2,3 2,63 2,53 2,37

Commercial and Legal

Infrastructure 2,96 3,05 2,82 2,79 2,96 3,05 3,22 3,07 2,94

Internal Market

Dynamics 3,15 3,17 2,95 3,38 3,15 3,17 3,7 3,35 3,04

Internal Market

Burdens or Entry

Regulation 2,56 2,49 2,34 2,49 2,56 2,49 2,43 2,37 2,53

Physical Infrastructure 3,93 4,15 3,61 3,77 3,03 4,15 3,49 3,78 3,84

Cultural and Social

Norms 2,3 1,98 2,49 2,25 2,3 1,98 2,89 3,12 2,91

1.8. Entrepreneurship Trainings

Entrepreneurship training has long been a policy priority at EU level, emphasizing a

number of strategic EU documents and communications, including the Key Competencies

Framework for Life Long Learning European 2020, the Small Business Act and, finally, the

New Skills Agenda. The European Commission recommends that all young people should

have a viable entrepreneurial experience before leaving the school in the Entrepreneurship

Action Plan 2020 and the Rethinking Educational Communication.

Nevertheless, the European Commission's Overview of Employment and Social

Developments in Europe for 2015 reveals that the lack of entrepreneurship education remains

an important obstacle to promoting self-employment and entrepreneurship within the EU. The



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COSME program emphasizes the importance of investment, particularly in the development

of entrepreneurship skills and competencies at all levels of education.

The EURYDICE report on Entrepreneurship Education published in 2016 clearly

demonstrates that the understanding of entrepreneurship education in the EU is an important

way to progress. So far, only 11 Member States have given this issue a significant priority.

The European Parliament, as of September 2015, underlines the need for training systems to

include entrepreneurship as a priority in the national education curriculum and the need to

train teachers to increase the understanding of the entrepreneurial education in European

schools, in accordance with the decision to support young entrepreneurship through education

and training.

As presented in the GEM report, entrepreneurship in Turkey with high economic

development success during the 2009-2012 period has achieved a significant leap, and a

sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem has been created as the continuation of this bounce

until the year 2018. After this leap, gaps in the entrepreneurship system especially in respect

of government supports and training have been comprised. The state has demonstrated

support for new entrepreneurs to close this gap, especially through KOSGEB (Small and

Medium Enterprises Development Organization) and the Ministry of National Education.

Within the framework of Turkey Entrepreneurship Strategy and Action Plan 2013-2018, it is

stated that The Ministry of National Education should include Entrepreneurship Trainings and

to increase the effectiveness of the trainings within the scope of Formal and Non-Formal

Education.

It is seen that the studies on contextualizing entrepreneurship trainings in the

curriculum at primary, secondary, high school and tertiary level are becoming more

widespread and reflected in the strategic plans of the countries. Entrepreneurship in Turkey

was included in the individual strategic plans of primary and secondary schools in Turkey

Lifelong Learning Strategy Document and Action Plan (2014-2018) and the Ministry of

National Education Strategic Plan (2010-2014). EU projects on entrepreneurship are being

carried out in primary and secondary schools.



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When considered within the scope of Education Programs;

• One of the eight core competencies, that are attempted to be reached in students within

the education programs from 1st to 8th grade, is entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is

defined as an interdisciplinary discipline in the curriculum, and the basic achievements

are given in relation to some courses.

• In the vocational development course, creation of entrepreneurial ideas,

entrepreneurial idea development and business start-up and development modules are

included. In addition, within the framework of the vocational training programs of

vocational and technical education schools and institutions, Entrepreneurship and

Business Management courses, 2 hours per week, are given to students who are

expected to follow the economic developments, choose the field of activity and

develop the idea of establishing a business. Students are given the opportunity to take

this elective course in 11th or 12th grade.

• In the technology and design course applied in 7th and 8th grades, students are

encouraged to transform the knowledge, they have learned in all courses, into a

product by developing creative ideas with interdisciplinary approach. In addition, the

project studies, which is the work of the students' innovativeness and entrepreneurship

skills, is exhibited at the national level.

• The curriculum of the entrepreneurship course, which is taught as elective in general

secondary schools, has been prepared and is still being implemented.

• The objectives set by the Ministry of National Education include study of considering

the characteristics of providing entrepreneurship education on conducting training of

teacher, and preparation and implementation of teacher qualifications; developing

working methods for cooperation among sectors (education and business) and sharing

good practice examples for entrepreneurship training on the website of the Head

Council of Education and Morality.

Besides national education and KOSGEB, universities and then consultancy firms

have developed various models on entrepreneurship training. Almost all of these models have

been applied training needs analysis. As a result of these analyzes, entrepreneurs within the

Entrepreneurship Ecosystem determined that they had deficiencies in communication and

legal fields as shown in the table below and demanded trainings in this issues.



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Training Needs of Successful Entrepreneurs Rate

Communication 19,0%

Law 14,4%

Productivity and Quality Improving 13,2%

IT 8,6%

New Business Areas 8,0%

Sales Techniques 7,5%

Economy 6,9%

Accounting and Finance 6,9%

Good Expression / Good Presentation 6,3%

New Management Approaches 3,4%

Purchase 3,4%

Foreign Language Education 1,1%

Vocational Education 0,6%

Institutionalization 0,6%

In addition, the common aspects of applied entrepreneurship training needs analysis

results in Turkey are reported in the result of Advisory Board Meeting Workshop of European

Entrepreneurship Training Development Network as follows:

a. Studies are carried out to increase Entrepreneurship Awareness in students; however,

both these studies should be intensified and awareness raising activities should be

conducted for parents.

b. Basic entrepreneurship skills must be gained in schools from primary school age.

c. Following the strategy and policy-making activities, there is a loss of time in putting

these into operation or the decisions taken are not implemented.

d. The Entrepreneurship Curriculum, which is in practice in schools, needs to be not only

theoretical, but also practical.

e. Teachers should be ensured to encourage entrepreneurship, and to this end, teachers

should be provided with entrepreneurial trainings related to their field of studies, and

they should be allowed to practice in their classrooms.

f. Announcements of entrepreneurship-oriented project - education - competition etc.

applications should be more effective.

g. Entrepreneurship should be considered not only as business-oriented, but also as a

logic and effective working style.

h. Emphasis should be placed on entrepreneurship in vocational education and training.



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i. Public institutions should establish platforms to share experiences, except for financial

support.

j. Entrepreneurship should be added to the curriculum of teacher training in the faculty

of education.

k. Stakeholders such as NGOs, public institutions and organizations should work in

cooperation.

l. Entrepreneurship projects in schools should be paved the way for, and projects should

be sustainable.

m. Entrepreneurship skills and trends of policy developers should be increased.

n. The quality and originality of the business ideas produced in schools should be

increased.

o. Entrepreneurship perception on families should be positively developed and

entrepreneurship should be encouraged within the family.

p. Entrepreneurship trainings should be mandatory at the primary and secondary level

and should be designed as practical.

q. It is necessary to measure the return of the trainings and the grants provided and the

impact on the economic life.

When the analysis is evaluated, the purpose of the entrepreneurship training program to be

held in Turkey is to make people participating in the program do the following activities:

a. To be able to explain the basic concepts of entrepreneurship

b. Determining a successful and applicable business idea

c. To choose the type of business, to establish its organization, to provide the means of

production, to be informed about the marketing, organization and management of the

goods and services produced and to know the types of operations,

d. Explaining the concept of production management and planning of production,

e. To be able to plan market research stages

f. To be able to explain the elements of marketing mix,

g. Knowing the financial resources of a business,

h. Creating a business plan by bringing together the resources such as business idea,

work place, staff, machine-equipment (equipment), financing etc. ,

i. Establishing a business according to the business plan,

j. Developing the business, he founded,



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k. Operating the establishment in accordance with the rules of labor law by taking

advantage of the incentives given to the enterprise,

1.9. Related Literature Review

In Aydemir's (2018) study, a questionnaire was applied to 123 students who were

educated in a vocational school in order to determine the level of entrepreneurship before and

after the entrepreneurship training and to determine whether the entrepreneurial spirit varies

according to various factors. As a result of his study, a significant difference occurred before

and after the training, and he emphasized that after the training the entrepreneurial spirit of the

students increased and the training was successful. Moreover, according to the results of the

study, the entrepreneurial spirit of men was higher than that of women.

Özdemir et al. (2018) analyzed the effects of the entrepreneurship education given in

the universities on the entrepreneurial personality traits of the students by using the first test-

post-test technique which is one of the semi-experimental design types. As a result of their

studies, they found that entrepreneurship education increased the self-confidence of the

participants and at the same time, their perception on innovation, locus of control, need to

succeed and taking risks increased after the training.

Çolakoğlu and Çolakoğlu (2016) aimed to identify the differences in entrepreneurship

potentials and self-efficacy perceptions of students who have and do not have

entrepreneurship education. In their study, 259 students from the department of business

administration have been conducted questionnaires. As a result of their studies, they found

that individuals with high self-efficacy perceptions were more likely to be entrepreneurs.

Özdemir et al. (2016) in their study, conducted a comparison and made

recommendations by making domestic and foreign literature review in order to determine the

relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurship activities. As a result of

their studies, according to the literature on entrepreneurship education; they discovered that

there were many studies conducted abroad under the following titles;

• entrepreneurship education and initiative creation,

• entrepreneurship education and intention to become an entrepreneur,

• entrepreneurship education and opportunity recognition,

• entrepreneurship training and influencing and directing the entrepreneur,

• entrepreneurship training for locus of control and need for success,



Page 21

• entrepreneurship education and other information on entrepreneurship

On the other, they also discovered that there were limited number of studies conducted

in Turkey and only about the following titles;

• entrepreneurship training and intention to become an entrepreneur

• entrepreneurship education and influencing and directing the entrepreneur

Tanriverdi et al. (2016) aimed to examine the entrepreneurial trend levels of people

who have been trained on entrepreneurship. In their study, they surveyed 255 people who

participated in KOSGEB (Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization of

Turkey) supported entrepreneurship courses in different periods of 2014 in Istanbul. As a

result of their studies, they found that entrepreneurship education had an impact on

entrepreneurship tendency, but that education was only at the level of enthusiasm to reveal

trends and that entrepreneurship education alone was not sufficient to reveal the

entrepreneurial tendency.

Demiral (2016) aimed to investigate the factors affecting the attitude and perception of

entrepreneurship education. In his study, she used a data set from 11 European Union (EU)

countries for a period of 7 years from 2007-2013. As a result of his work, he emphasized that

entrepreneurship education should be privatized according to country specific dynamics.

Kedmenec et al. (2016) examined the relationship between social entrepreneurship

education and experience in social behaviors. In their study, 512 undergraduate students were

evaluated from 5 countries (Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and the

Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia). As a result of their work, they stated that social

entrepreneurship training should enable people to gain experience in volunteering, activism

and donation because these activities focus the students’ attention on social problems and

empower them to find appropriate solutions.

Mirjana et al. (2018) conducted a survey on the determinants of entrepreneurial

behavior by using 330 undergraduate and graduate students in economics and business from

Slovenia. They evaluated how personal attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral

control affect their intention to become entrepreneurs. As a result of their studies, they

revealed that individuals' entrepreneurial intentions have been positively associated with

personal attitudes towards entrepreneurial behavior, subjective norms perceived by the

external environment, and perceived behavioral control.



Page 22

Mandić et al. (2017) discussed economic freedom and entrepreneurship activities in

their study. They included 11 EU countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece,

Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom) between 2000 and 2014.

As a result of the study, it was found that economic freedom had a strong positive relationship

on entrepreneurial activity and statistically significant.

Utha et al. (2016) carried out their work in order to determine the perceptions of

Bhutanese students about entrepreneurship and career choice of entrepreneurship. As a result

of the study, students are more proned to entrepreneurship, and state jobs are in the second

plan. Students and their parents are aware of the increasing unemployment in Bhutan. It has

been determined that the curriculum of schools is not sufficient to focus on entrepreneurship

education and pedagogical practices. Since entrepreneurship is in favor of the development of

knowledge and skills, it has been proposed to include school curricula from primary education

and disseminate information on entrepreneurship in all schools.

Nasrullah et al. (2016) discussed entrepreneurship education and academic

performance in their study. The study was conducted on graduate students at Bahawalpur

Universities, and universities that do not recommend and offer entrepreneurship as a subject

of education are included. In the study, the academic performance of the students who study

entrepreneurship and the students who were not educated in this field were compared, and the

performance of the students was measured by GPA.

Meyer and Jongh (2018) have worked to identify and emphasize the importance of

entrepreneurship as a contributing factor to economic growth and development. In the study,

the data of the European Union (EU) countries (Germany, Netherlands, Hungary, Poland and

Belgium) between 2005 and 2016 were discussed. As a result of the study, it is seen that

economic growth, development and entrepreneurship are inexplicably related. They

determined that economic growth and development results may have fluctuations that vary

from one country to another. The analysis of the economies of the Netherlands, Hungary and

Poland for the period in question revealed the appropriate economic and social environment in

which entrepreneurial climates developed. The analysis in Germany and Belgium revealed

only the development of suppressed entrepreneurship. Based on these findings, they suggested

that the development of SMEs, particularly in transition economies, should be centralized as

focal points for improving economic and social growth views. In contrast, policy stakeholders



Page 23

have identified the provision of structured environments around sensitive micro- and macro-

decision-making mechanisms.

Pappas et al. (2018) investigated the career prospects of management positions in

Greece in order to map the current situation, identify needs, and suggest ways of education, as

well as the effects of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on employability

and entrepreneurship of women. The data of 1035 women were collected through

questionnaires and interviews on the benefits of ICT skills for women's employability and

entrepreneurship. Although women believe that ICT skills are one of the most important

success factors in the 21st century, they do not represent themselves sufficiently in the digital

age.

Sidiropoulos (2017), in his study, wanted to determine the appropriate financing

options for business development in initial entrepreneurship in Greece. He stated that Greece's

performance in the field of government support to entrepreneurship, ease of entry and exit to

the market and bank financing is very low and that there are important problems related to the

interconnection of universities with industrial researches. The Greek ecosystem has supported

the development of some innovative initiatives so far, but the sustainability of a successful

ecosystem for innovative work in Greece has to be discussed according to the available data.

Papagiannis (2018) studied entrepreneurship education programs in his study. The

contribution of the courses, seminars and competitions to the entrepreneurial activity and the

contribution of the young people in Greece to the entrepreneurial spirit and mentality were

examined through the respondents (students and alumni). Thus, the opinions of the young

people participating in the equivalent programs on entrepreneurship were taken. He also

stated that, in addition to the relationship between the above-mentioned programs and the

factors related to the decision making of the entrepreneurial activity, young people should

make an effort to evaluate their contribution to the predictable feasibility, desirability and

opportunities to act in entrepreneurship.

Korkmaz (2012) stated that the students studying in the department of business

administration in Bülent Ecevit University have entrepreneurial personality in order to

determine whether they have an entrepreneurial personality and various factors

(psychological, demographic, family) that affect entrepreneurship tendencies. In his study,

Korkmaz stated that the family factor has a positive relationship with the dimensions of self-

confidence, innovation and the need to achieve success in the decisions of the students in



Page 24

establishing their own business in the future. In addition, Korkmaz concluded that students are

self-confident, innovative, need to succeed, have a tendency to take risks, but do not have a

locus of control and do not tolerate uncertainty.

Karadal et al. (2017) has examined the postgraduate thesis written about

entrepreneurship in Turkey in the scope of statistical analysis and content analysis. Of the 199

theses that constitute the sample of their studies, 151 are master and 48 are doctoral thesis,

and they have reached the full text of 160 theses. In their studies, they commented that since

the 2000s, there has been a significant increase in the number of theses on entrepreneurship

and the reason for this is the general acceptance that entrepreneurship has an important place

in the national economy, and that the incentives, grants and project systems offered by the

public institutions and organizations related to the subject have started to be developed. They

found that most of the theses on entrepreneurship were in business, economics and education.

As a result of their work, Karadal et al. stated that the projects, incentives and grants funded

by public institutions and organizations have a positive effect on the entrepreneurship culture.

Er et al. (2015) stated that the desired progress in entrepreneurship could not be

achieved and the reason for this was the insufficient financial resources and the difficulties in

accessing these resources. They also mentioned that alternative sources of finance could be

considered as an opportunity for the development of entrepreneurship in order to access

financing resources. Therefore, they evaluated the traditional and alternative financial

resources and offered suggestions for more efficient use of alternative financial resources.

They stated that the troubles in accessing appropriate conditional financing constitute a

significant obstacle in set-up and growth of SMEs in Turkey. Compared to the developed

countries and the majority of the countries with similar level of development, banking sector

loans provided to businesses in Turkey are lower. Interest rates on loans are also higher than

those in these countries. In addition, since a large part of the SMEs in Turkey is micro-sized

and the financial and organizational structure of them are weak, it becomes complicated in

access to credit. Another problem according to the authors is the share of SME loans in total

bank loans in Turkey is quite low; therefore, small businesses have to search for resources

through other channels of the economy and most of the time, they cannot find enough

resources to meet the needs of their new and growing business. Er et al. talked about venture

capital, business angel, Islamic banking and microfinance as the alternative methods of

financing of entrepreneurs and offered various suggestions.



Page 25

In their studies, Korkmaz and Güner (2016) examined Applied Entrepreneurship

Education (UGE), one of the sub-titles of Entrepreneurship Support Program provided by

KOSGEB, and investigated the reasons for not setting up a business of majority of

entrepreneurs after the UGE. As a result of their work, they have reached the following

conclusion as the reasons why UGE participants did not open their workplace; not the right

time to open a workplace (they are expecting the appropriate conditions), lack of financial

support (lack of support of KOSGEB) and difficulties in finding a business idea.

Ilhan (2003), in his study, emphasized the main factors as a socio-economic

phenomenon affecting the formation of entrepreneurship and listed these factors as

entrepreneurial personality, socio-cultural / political factors and other factors. In his study,

İlhan stated that during the process of managerial decision making and implementation, the

establishment of a strong and functional legal ground and financial / technical infrastructure

by the state is important in terms of the formation, development, and institutionalization of

entrepreneurship. Therefore, he said that the traditional statist-bureaucratic understanding in

Turkey was the reason for the underdevelopment of entrepreneurship. Ilhan also stated that

urbanization and globalization are important factors for the formation and development of

entrepreneurship.

Güreşçi (2014) aims to determine the entrepreneurship tendencies of 2nd year students

of Department of Office Management and Secretarial of Ispir Hamza Polat Vocational High

School at Atatürk University. As a result of his study, Güreşçi concluded that all of the

students were potential entrepreneurs, but said that this result was insufficient to say that the

participants would be entrepreneurs in the future, because the other elements (capital, job

opportunity and opportunities to be able to do entrepreneurship) should be fulfilled in order to

realize entrepreneurship tendency as entrepreneurs.

In their study applied at Celal Bayar University, Bilge and Bal (2012) aimed to

determine the interest level and qualifications of undergraduate and associate degree students

in entrepreneurship and formed six dimensions as risk taking, using the opportunities,

leadership-oriented, future-oriented, determination and individual strength against external

factors. As a result of their research; entrepreneurship interests of students were low

especially in terms of the sub-dimensions of entrepreneurship such as risk taking,

opportunism, determination and individual strength against external influences, and they

stated that they were not related to theoretical education.



Page 26

Durak (2011) aims to determine the demographic characteristics and entrepreneurship

perceptions of entrepreneurs operating in Kayseri in terms of environmental factors. As a

result of his study, he stated that Kayseri's entrepreneurs partially participate in the idea that

the cultural structure of our society encourages entrepreneurship; however, the entrepreneurs

in Kayseri were undecided about the state policies that had encouraged entrepreneurship and

the economic structure of the country that had encouraged entrepreneurship. According to the

study, it was determined that entrepreneurs did not participate in the idea of conformity of the

education in Turkey to entrepreneurship of individuals and the idea of the bureaucratic

structure that encourages entrepreneurship in Turkey.

In his study, Bozkurt (2006) examined the relationships within the scope of the final

year students of Business Administration, Economics, Labor Economics, and Industrial

Relations Departments of Sakarya University between important personality characteristics of

entrepreneurs and demographic, social and psychological factors influencing

entrepreneurship. As a result of the study, it is concluded that although the sample mass does

not have entrepreneurial personality characteristics, they answer yes to the question of

whether they want to establish their own business in the future, and besides, they want to

work in a prestigious job in the private sector if they do not establish their own business in the

future. According to the research findings, the idea that the sample mass of Sakarya

University students might have an entrepreneurial tendency did not give the expected result.

Taş and Şemşek (2017) examined the impact on employment of several major

breakthroughs launched by social entrepreneurship in the world and in Turkey. They stated

that examples of social entrepreneurship in Turkey were Social Entrepreneur Young Leaders

Academy (SOGLA) and AKUT. As a result of the study, the United States is in the top rank

in social entrepreneurship, followed by Japan and Germany respectively. In addition, while

women mostly volunteer in the field of health and service, men are more prominent in sports

activities. Taş and Şemşek stated that social entrepreneurs positively affect employment by

direct or indirect ways and that Turkey is one of the countries made rapid progress in this

field.

Yuksel et al. (2015) investigated the personality traits and entrepreneurial tendencies

of the students. The main aim of the study is to analyze the relationship between

entrepreneurial personality traits and entrepreneurial tendencies of students studying in the

department of business administration. Therefore, they applied questionnaires to the students



Page 27

studying in the business administration department of the vocational high school in order to

test the hypotheses. According to the results of the data obtained, entrepreneurial personality

traits emerged as innovation, sensitivity and opportunism. Among the entrepreneurial

personality traits, the resistance to stress was low. In the study, between the entrepreneurial

characteristics of the participants and the entrepreneurship characteristics through gender and

family occupations were statistically significant.

Yavuz, A. and Yavuz, H.İ. (2017) conducted a study to determine the entrepreneurship

tendencies of Selcuk University Tashkent Vocational High School students. They aimed to

reveal the competence and interest of students about entrepreneurship. They analyzed the data

obtained from questionnaires by using SPSS program. At the end of the study demographic

characteristics of the students and the entrepreneurship tendencies were related and found that

entrepreneurial tendencies of the students did not differ significantly with demographic

characteristics.

Saygın and Karadal (2017) conducted a qualitative study by discussing with

entrepreneur candidates who participated in the interview of applied entrepreneurship training

given by KOSGEB. The study was conducted with 277 entrepreneur candidates in Silifke

district of Mersin province. In the context of the findings, it was found that there were

economic anxiety, independence, employment creation, desire to establish business and

earning money.

In their studies, Zorlu and Tetik (2018) examined the effects of entrepreneurial

leadership behavior on the creativity of employees. They used the survey method as the data

collection tool. In the study, it was concluded that the level of creativity could partially

increase when there is a positive increase in employees' perceptions about entrepreneurial

leadership behaviors in their workplaces.

Ergün Özler et al. (2017) examined the effects of self-efficacy and locus of control on

the intention of entrepreneurship in individuals. They collected and analyzed the data through

a survey. In conclusion, the effect of self-efficacy and internal locus of control on the

intention of entrepreneurship has been observed to be positive. When the effects of different

demographic variables on entrepreneurship were examined, they concluded that the

entrepreneurial intention only in terms of gender was differentiated.

In their study Uygun and Öner (2016) investigated the relationship between

entrepreneurship tendencies and their perceptions about entrepreneurial and entrepreneurship



Page 28

cases of young entrepreneur candidates. As a result of the findings, they found that

entrepreneurial and entrepreneurship perceptions are important for the development of

entrepreneurship tendencies.

Tanriverdi and Alkan (2018) investigated the relationship between entrepreneurship,

making innovation, innovative thoughts and innovative entrepreneurship levels. As a result,

entrepreneurs who participated in the research found that there was a significant relationship

between entrepreneurship, innovation, innovative thoughts and innovative entrepreneurship

levels. In order to increase their innovative entrepreneurial characteristics, entrepreneurs have

determined that they need to develop their entrepreneurial characteristics, development of

innovation levels and innovative levels. They have determined that entrepreneurs need to

develop entrepreneurial characteristics and levels of innovation.

Turkoglu et al. (2017) examined whether the students in vocational high schools have

entrepreneurial personality characteristics that affect entrepreneurship tendencies and the

relationship between socio-demographic characteristics and entrepreneurial personality traits.

They determined that the students who participated in the study had the entrepreneurial

personality characteristics at a medium level. Socio-demographic characteristics such as age,

gender, type of learning, academic program, personality trait, place of residence, class, some

family factors and their regions have a significant relationship with respect to entrepreneurial

characteristics.

Akın and Zor (2009) examined student perceptions in the development of the

entrepreneurial skills of the individuals thanks to the education provided by universities. As a

result, they have determined the existence of student perceptions that business education

programs have improved the entrepreneurial qualities. They determined that students in

foundation universities compared to public universities were more likely to start an enterprise

independently.

Patır and Karahan (2010) investigated determining the entrepreneurial profiles of the

students in the university and the producing solutions by analyzing the problems in

entrepreneurship education. As a result, they concluded that the entrepreneurship

infrastructures of university students are sufficient and that those who receive

entrepreneurship training are more inclined to establish their own workplace.



Page 29

2. Content of the Study and Applied Methods

2.1. Summary of the Project

The project is carried out with the grant which is managed by the Center for European

Union Education and Youth Programmes (Turkish National Agency) provided by the

European Union.

The general purpose of this project is to improve the managerial, financial and

business competence of young entrepreneurs by the open access training modules. Equipped

young entrepreneurs with core competencies will ensure the development of business life and

of course their nations in EU standards.

In order to achieve this goal, it will be constituted a “Small Business Development

Centre” including applied methods. It will be generated training curriculum, materials,

documents and media in order to use in business life effectively. So, the professional

qualifications of the youngsters will be developed and the differences will be reduced.

The project has start in January 2018 and will last 2 years. During 2 years,

transnational meetings will be handled, and multiplier events will be organized. Besides,

below mentioned results will be also implemented for each country. Expected results of the

proposal are briefly listed below:

1. Current Situation and Need Analysis Study: ‘Current situation’ and the ‘needs of the

young entrepreneurs’ will be analysed.

2. Training Program: Training methodology and related modules for entrepreneurs will be

prepared in accordance with their needs.

3. NGO-young entrepreneurs’ relation: It is improved thanks to developing vocational

training modules for current and potential youngsters.

4. E-learning Portal: The flexible learning process in line with entrepreneurs' needs and

objectives will be formed, and so the use of digital training will be promoted.

5. 4 Multiplier Events: Dissemination of project outputs to the stakeholders and the target

groups will be conducted.

6. Open Access to materials, documents and media is provided that is useful for learning and

training.



Page 30

7. A sustainable network for the continuous training of entrepreneurs is generated.

8. A Policy Report: It is prepared for the policy makers by providing professional and

methodological tools.

9. A best practice for young entrepreneurs at national and international levels will be

developed by implementing a new innovative project

10. Cooperation and Partnerships: By this project, continuous relations between the partners

at local, national and European level will be ensured. They will have an impact on the

internationalization of young entrepreneurship.

2.1.1. Project Partners

The applicant of the project is Usak University from Turkey, and the partners are as

follows; UC Limburg from Belgium, Drustvo Za Razvijanje Prostovoljnega Delanovo Mesto

(DRPDNM) from Slovenia, Tsaltampasi Apostolina and Co (OECON Group) from Greece,

Usak Ticaret ve Sanayi Odasi from Turkey and KM Group Yatirim Online Dis Tic. Ltd. Sti.

from Turkey.

Usak University (TR) is a higher educational institution in territory level in the region

of Usak with years of experience in social policies and skills studies. It is responsible for the

organization and development of the Intellectual Output 1 and the overall management and

coordination of the project. Also, the first kick-off meeting and multiplier event (E1) will be

organized in Usak within the responsibility of Usak University.

UC Limburg (BE) is a higher educational institution and gives courses to the refugees

in Houthalen-Helchteren, where refugees live in barracks. The courses are thought together

with 1st and 2nd year teacher-students in order to development of them in language skills and

work experiences. It will organize a translational project meeting in Belgium.

Drustvo Za Razvijanje Prostovoljnega Dela Novo Mesto (SL) is a social partner and is

curentlly leading a regional program of social integration. Also it is working on the e-

psychosocial program ‘Step by Step to Recovery’, developed in 1992 to address the needs of

refugee children coping with traumatic war experiences, was a unique creative model based

on public health models and art therapy model. It is responsible for the organization of a

translational project meeting in Slovenia.



Page 31

Tsaltampasi Apostolina and CO (GR) is a VET organization working as an expert in

the quality assurance of the educational and training activities. Their mission is to provide

high quality development consulting services that deal with special attention the needs and

special characteristics of each organization move and initiative. Their goal is the designing of

a dynamic development policy in the educational perspective. It is responsible for the

organization of a translational project meeting in Greece, the development of the Intellectual

Output 2 and also the organization of multiplier event (E4) in Greece.

Usak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UCCI) is an active NGO in Usak in order

to boost the economy and entrepreneurs. UCCI can penetrate many areas. Its dissemination

capacity is large enough. It is responsible for the organization and development of the

Intellectual Output 4 and also multiplier event (E2) which will be organized in USAK.

KM Group is an entrepreneur company. Its work areas and employees are relevant to

the project subject such as entrepreneurship, e-commerce and foreign trade. It is responsible

for the organization and development of the Intellectual Output 3 and also organization of

multiplier event (E3) in USAK.

2.2. Survey Study

As it is known, the nature of the source of the data is very important for the research

results to be valid, reliable and usable. The healthiest result is the result obtained from all

sources where the sought information will be obtained. But this is not always possible. It is

extremely difficult to do this, especially when the source is too large and common. In this

context, instead of the entire source, a specific sample is being studied. In other words,

sampling from a whole or from the universe is chosen as the basic approach. The results of the

research are obtained by limiting and defining the whole desired universe. Within this context,

survey and focus group studies were used as methods in the field study. In the design of the

questionnaire, the questions were asked in a way to ensure a direct and clear response. The

applied questionnaire is given in the ANNEXES section.

2.2.1. Results of Survey Analysis

2.2.1.1.General Evaluation

Within the scope of the project named Small Business Development Centre for Young

Entrepreneurs, 300 people participated in the survey conducted in four countries (Turkey,



Page 32

Greece, Belgium and Slovenia). Of the participants, 146 (48.7%) were female and 154

(51.3%) were male.

The distribution of the participants by age ranges is as follows; 104 people aged 18-25

years, 58 persons aged 26-32 years, 79 persons aged 33-42 years, 45 persons aged 42-55

years, 14 persons aged 56 and over.

The distribution of the countries where the respondents are residing is as follows;

Belgium: 42 pcs (14%), Greece: 41 pcs (13.7%), Slovenia: 38 pcs (12.7%), Turkey: 151 pcs

(50.3%), Other EU Countries: 28 pcs (9.3%)

Sex

Female Male

35%

19%

26%

15%

5%

Age

18-25 years

26-32 years

33-42 years

42-55 years

56 years and over



Page 33

Employment situation of the respondents; 115 people employed over 5 years, 80

students, 63 people working for their own jobs (self-employed), 30 people for unemployed

and 8 others. It is seen that the entrepreneurship tendencies of the individuals who have

already taken a job are positive. On the other hand, it is observed that the entrepreneurial

tendencies of the people who are surveyed and unemployed are negative. It is understood that

the most important reason behind this is the reservation to take risks. The perspective of

participants who are students and have been educated in entrepreneurship is positive about

entrepreneurship.

According to the entrepreneurship activity, 55 people of the participants have more

than 3 years of experience (Company owner with experience over 3 years), 32 people start

new business, 167 people plan to start a business, 19 people owned a business in the past and

16 others. People with more than 3 years of professional experience are more courageous to

take a new initiative. It is understood that the individuals who have just joined in business life

are reluctant about entrepreneurship. One of the main reasons for this is that individuals with

experience tend to take risks due to their understanding of the dynamics of business life.

39%

27%

21%

10%3%

Employment Situation

Employed over 5 years

Student

Self-employed

Umemployed

Other



Page 34

The answers of the participants according to their family status were as follows:

Family with children is 96 people (32.2%), Married or in civil relationship is 73 people

(24.5%) and single is 129 people (43.3%). According to this distribution, 37.5% of the

participants who selected the “family with children” are female and 62.5% are male. In other

family situations, almost equal results have been achieved. Contrary to expectations, the

views of married people on entrepreneurship are more positive. It is thought that one of the

reasons behind this is the order and confidence environment created by the family institution.

It is seen that the individuals who get the support of their spouses are more courageous about

entrepreneurship.

According to the level of education, the participants were as follows: 47 people High

school diploma, 62 people Master Degree, 12 people PHD Degree, 174 people University

Degree, and 4 people other. Besides, the education level of the parents of the participants is as

follows; 142 people High school diploma, 79 people University Degree, 14 people Master

Degree, 8 people PHD Degree, and 43 people other.

According to the results of the analysis, the education level of the participants is

48.8% for femal and 51.2% for male. The level of education of the parents of the participants

is 49% in female and 51% in male, and in both cases, education levels are almost equal

according to gender.

Although the thinking about entrepreneurship varies according to education levels, the

entrepreneurial idea among individuals with high school graduates and individuals with

19%

11%

58%

7%5%

Entrepreneurship Activity

Company owner with experienceover 3 years

New business owners

Planning to start a business

Owned a business in the past

Other



Page 35

undergraduate or higher graduation degrees are differentiated. It is observed that those who

receive entrepreneurship education during the undergraduate education have more

comprehensive ideas.

The family of 164 participants (55.4%) had previously owned or managed a small

business, however, 132 people (44.6%) stated that they had not previously had a small

business. It is seen that participants with their own workplace or participants who have their

own family business are more willing to create the idea of initiative.

According to the table where the respondents evaluated their own abilities, the skills

with the highest average value are as follows; Leadership (4.20), Critical thinking (4.10),

Communication and negotiation (4.06), Creativity (4.06) and Flexibility (4.03).

16%

58%

21%

4%

1%

Level of Education of the Participants

High school diploma

University Degree

Master Degree

PHD Degree

other

50%

27%

5% 3%

15%

Participants' parents education level

High school diploma

University Degree

Master Degree

PHD Degree

other



Page 36

The answers of the participants according to the obstacles to establish a business are as

follows; 114 people Undercapitalization, 85 people Bureaucratic obstacle, 12 people

Education system, 29 people Inadequacy of know-how, 33 people Taxes, 18 people Personal

incompetence, and 9 people other.

According to the answers of the participants, the first five of the most important

sources of motivation are; Be my own boss 98 people (32.4%), Make more money 49 people

(16.3%), Use my talents freely 49 people (16.3%), Have a respectable place in society 48

people (16%), and Unemployment 31 people (10.3%). Profit maximization which is the main

purpose of the commercial activity is consistent with the option of making more money in the

answers given by the participants. It is observed that the participants do not declare any idea

about create added value or social responsibility. At this point, it is necessary to emphasize

different elements about entrepreneurship which is intended to contribute to the country's

economy.

According to the work experience, the distribution of the participants is as follows;

Less than 1 year 57 people (19.1%), 61 people (20.4%) between 1-3 years, 62 people (20.7%)

between 3-8 years, 57 people (19.1%) between 8-15 years and 62 People (20.7%) more than

15 years.

The first five of the ratings of the competences based on their importance for future

entrepreneurs are as follows; Motivation and perseverance (4.25), Planning and management

(4.22), Learning through experience (4.20), Creativity (4.18), and Valuing ideas (4.10).

38%

28%

4%

10%

11%

6% 3%

The Obstacles to Establish a Business

Undercapitalization

Bureaucratic obstacle

Education system

Inadequacy of know-how

Taxes

Personal incompetence

Other



Page 37

According to gender factor, in the results of entrepreneurship activity variable,

• 66.7% of women plan to start a business,

• 10.1% of women have started a new business,

• 8.7% of women own a company with more than 3 years of experience.

• 49.7% of men plan to start a business,

• 28.5% of men own a company with more than 3 years of experience,

• 11.9% of men have started a new business.

Looking at the values of entrepreneurship activity according to age range, it is

observed that 35.6% is between the ages of 18-25, 19.4% is between the ages of 26-32, 26%

is between the ages of 33-42, 14.5% is between the ages of 42-59 and 4.5% is over the age of

56 years. According to these values, it can be seen that entrepreneurial activity varies

according to age ranges.

2.2.1.2. Results for Belgium

In the distribution of those who want to be entrepreneurs according to gender, 33.3%

(14 persons) were female and 66.7% (28 persons) were male. People in Belgium; 33.3% (14

people) are company owner with more than 3 years of experience, 31.0% (13 people) have

started a new business, and 23.8% (10 people) are planning to start a business. People who

plan to start a business; 2.4% (1 person) female, 21.4% (9 people) were male. Family status of

those who want to be entrepreneurs; 11.9% (5 people) are single person, and 11.9% (5 people)

are married or in civil relationship.

Distribution of those who are undertaking entrepreneurship activities or planning to do

entrepreneurship in Belgium is as follows; 66.7% married or in civil relationship, 23.8%

single, and 9.5% Family with children. According to the family status, the families of 69% of

the respondents who want to be entrepreneurs have previously had a small business or

managed.

In Belgium, the age range of those who plan to start a new business and engaged in

entrepreneurship activities is as follows: 42.9% (18 people) are between 26-32 years old,

16.7% (7 people) aer between 18-25 years old, 26.2% (11 people) are between 33-42 years

old, 11.9% (5 people) are between 42-55 years old, and 2.4% (1 person) is 56 years and over.

Those who want to become entrepreneurs in Belgium are high school graduate with

21.4% (9 people). In all educational situations, this rate is only 23.8%. 33.3% of entrepreneurs

in Belgium have more than 3 years of own business. Graduation of those are as follows:

21.4% University Degree, 57.1% Master Degree, and 21.4% High school diploma. 31.0% of



Page 38

the entrepreneurs are just established a new business. Graduation of those are as follows:

23.1% University Degree, 4.2% Master Degree, and 30.8% High school diploma.

The skills that should be in the entrepreneurial person in Belgium are as follows;

Leadership (mean 2.50), Creativity (mean 2.50), Communication and negotiation (3.00),

Critical thinking (2.50), Flexibility (3.00), Technical Competency (3.00), Project management

and planning (3.00), Networking (3.00), and Foreign languages (3.50). According to this

information, it is seen that the most important talent is foreign languages. However, the

participation in this part of the survey is very low.

The obstacles to entrepreneurship in Belgium are as follows; Undercapitalization

52.4% (22 people), Bureaucratic obstacle 28.6% (12 people), Inadequacy of know-how 11.9%

(5 people), Personal incompetence 2.4% (1 person), and Taxes 4.8% (2 people). In line with

these results, it is seen that the biggest obstacles in front of entrepreneurship in Belgium are

Undercapitalization, Bureaucratic obstacle and Inadequacy of know-how based on those who

have high averages.

The most important source of motivation for those who want to be an entrepreneur; Be

my own boss 31.0% (13 people), Have a respectable place in society 9.5% (4 people), Make

more money 23.8% (10 people), Use my talents freely 14.3% (6 people), Liking to take risks

2.4% (1 person), and Unemployment 19.0% (8 people).

Competences to be found in entrepreneurs in Belgium were scored as follows;

Spotting opportunities (3.00), Creativity (3.50), Vision (3.50), Valuing ideas (3.50), Ethical

and sustainable thinking (4.00), Self-awareness and self-efficacy (4.50), Motivation and

perseverance (4.00), Mobilizing resources (3.00), Financial and economic literacy (4.50),

Mobilizing others (3.00), Taking the initiative (4.00), Planning and management (4.00),

Coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk (2.50), Working with others (2.50), and Learning

through experience (3.00). Based on these results, two of the most important characteristics of

the entrepreneur were found as “Self-awareness and self-efficacy” and “Financial and

economic literacy”.

2.2.1.3. Results for Greece

In the distribution of those who want to be entrepreneurs in Greece according to

gender, 58.5% (24 persons) were female and 41.5% (17 persons) were male. 52.5% of these

people are planning to start a business. The remaining 47.5% have chosen other options;



Page 39

company owner with more than 3 years of experience, have started a new business, owner a

business in the past.

Family status of entrepreneurs and participants who want to be entrepreneurs is as

follows; 37.5% (15 people) are single, 35.0% (14 people) are married or in civil relationship,

and 27.5% (11 people) are family with children. According to the family status, the families

of 72.5% (29 people) of the respondents who want to be entrepreneurs have previously had a

small business or managed.

Distribution of the age range of those who plan to start a new business and who have

enterprises is as follows; 35.0% (14 people) are between the ages of 33-42, 12.5% (5 people)

are between 18-25 years, 25.0% (10 people) are between 26-32 years, 20.0% (8 people) are

between 43-55 years, 7.5% (3 people) are 56 years and over.

According to educational status, entrepreneurship activities were planned as planning

to establish a business with the rate of 52.2. Educational level of those who plan to be

entrepreneurs is as follows; 28.6% (6 people) are University Degree, 42.9% (9 people) are

Master Degree, 14.3% (3 people) are High school diploma, 14.3% (3 people) are PHD

Degree.

The skills that should be in the entrepreneurial person are as follows; Leadership

(mean 4.11), Creativity (mean 3.97), Communication and negotiation (3.97), Critical thinking

(4.41), Flexibility (4.24), Technical Competency (3.86), Project management and planning

(4.16), Networking (4.14), and Foreign languages (3.92). The most important three of these

are as follows; Critical thinking, Flexibility, and Networking.

In Greece the obstacles to entrepreneurship are as follows; Undercapitalization 12.2%

(5 people), Bureaucratic obstacle 51.2% (21 people), Inadequacy of know-how 9.8% (4

people), Personal incompetence 14.6% (6 people), Taxes 7.3% (3 people), and Other 4.9% (2

people). According to these results, the biggest obstacles to entrepreneurship in Greece are

Undercapitalization, Bureaucratic obstacle and Inadequacy of know-how.

The most important source of motivation for those who want to be an entrepreneur is

as follows; Be my own boss 24.4% (10 people), Have a respectable place in society 14.6% (6

people), Make more money 14.6% (6 people), Use my talents freely 14.6% (6 people), Liking

to take risks 4.9% (2 people), Having a family run establishment 4.9% (2 people),

Unemployment 19.5% (8 people), and Other 2.4% (1 person).



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Competences to be found in entrepreneurs are as follows; Spotting opportunities

(4.33), Creativity (4.24), Vision (4.28), Valuing ideas (4.17), Ethical and sustainable thinking

(4.00), Self-awareness and self-efficacy (4.00), Motivation and perseverance (4.29),

Mobilizing resources (4.11), Financial and economic literacy (4.08), Mobilizing others (4.89),

Taking the initiative (3.97), Planning and management (4.14), Coping with uncertainty,

ambiguity and risk (3.89), Working with others (4.00), and Learning through experience

(4.12). Based on these results, mobilizing others, spotting opportunities, and motivation and

perseverance are the leading characteristics of the entrepreneur.

2.2.1.4. Results for Slovenia

In the distribution of those who want to be entrepreneurs in Slovenia according to

gender, 47.4% (18 persons) were female and 52.6% (20 persons) were male.


follows; 52.6% (20 people) are family with children, 23.7% (9 people) are married or in civil

relationship, and 23.7% (9 people) are single. According to the family status, the families of

52.6% of the respondents who want to be entrepreneurs have previously had a small business

or managed.

Distribution of the age range of those who plan to start a new business and who have

enterprises is as follows; 79.0% (30 people) are between the ages of 33-55, 5.3% (2 people)

are between 18-26 years, 10.5% (4 people) are between 26-32 years, 5.3% (2 people) are 56

years and over.

Educational level of those who are entrepreneurs and plan to be an entrepreneur is as

follows; 52.6% (20 people) have University Degree, 15.8% (6 people) have Master Degree,

26.3% (10 people) have High school diploma, and 5.3% (2 people) have PHD Degree.

The skills that should be in the entrepreneurial person are as follows; Leadership

(mean 4.50), Creativity (mean 4.37), Communication and negotiation (4.47), Critical thinking

(4.57), Flexibility (4.50), Technical Competency (4.31), Project management and planning

(4.17), Networking (3.90), and Foreign languages (3.77). The most important three of these

are as follows; Critical thinking, Leadership, and Flexibility.

The obstacles to entrepreneurship are as follows; Undercapitalization 13.2% (5

people), Bureaucratic obstacle 47.4% (18 people), Inadequacy of know-how 2.6% (1 person),

and Taxes 36.8% (14 people). According to these results, the biggest obstacles to



Page 41

entrepreneurship in Slovenia are observed as Undercapitalization, Bureaucratic obstacle and

Taxes.

The most important source of motivation for those who want to be an entrepreneur is

as follows; Be my own boss 36.8% (14 people), Have a respectable place in society 2.6% (1

person), Make more money 5.3% (2 people), Use my talents freely 34.2% (13 people), and

Unemployment 2.6% (4 people).

Competences to be found in entrepreneurs are as follows; Spotting opportunities

(4.67), Creativity (4.73), Vision (4.91), Valuing ideas (4.59), Ethical and sustainable thinking

(4.36), Self-awareness and self-efficacy (4.68), Motivation and perseverance (4.73),

Mobilizing resources (4.59), Financial and economic literacy (4.77), Mobilizing others (4.27),

Taking the initiative (4.68), Planning and management (4.77), Coping with uncertainty,

ambiguity and risk (4.41), Working with others (4.55), Learning through experience (4.82).

Based on these results, vision, learning through experience, financial and economic literacy,

and planning and management are the leading characteristics of the entrepreneur.

2.2.1.5. Results for Turkey

In the distribution of those who want to be entrepreneurs in Turkey according to

gender, 49.7% (75 persons) were female and 50.3% (76 persons) were male. 82.8% of these

people are planning to start a business. The remaining 17.2% have chosen other options;

company owner with more than 3 years of experience, have started a new business, owner a

business in the past.


follows; 58.3% (88 people) are single (The reason for this is considered to be the low average

age of the respondents.), 31.8% (48 people) are family with children, and 9.9% (15 people)

are married or in civil relationship. According to the family status, the families of 44.6% of

the respondents who want to be entrepreneurs have previously had a small business or

managed.

The age range of those who plan to start a new business and engaged in

entrepreneurship activities is as follows; 58.3% (88 people) are between 18-25 years, 19.9%

(30 people) are between 33-42 years, 15.2% (23 people) are between 26-32 years, 4.6% (7

people) are between 43-55 years and 2.0% (3 people) are 56 years and over. The overall rate



Page 42

of those planning to establish a new business for all age groups is 82.8% (125 persons) and

the rate of those who choose other options is 17.2% (26 persons).



7.9% (12 people) have High school diploma, 3.3% (5 people) have other, 0.7% (1 person) has

PHD Degree. According to the education level, the general rate of those who want to become

entrepreneurs is 82.8% (125 people) while the general ratio of those who carry out

entrepreneurship activities is 17.2% (26 people).

The skills that should be in the entrepreneurial person in order of importance are as

follows; Leadership (mean 4.19), Creativity (mean 4.05), Communication and negotiation

(4.04), Critical thinking (3.90), Flexibility (3.85), Technical Competency (3.81), Project

management and planning (3.69), Networking (3.21), Foreign languages (2.73).


people), Bureaucratic obstacle 11.3% (17 people), Inadequacy of know-how 11.3% (17

people), Personal incompetence 6% (9 people), Taxes 8.6% (13 people), Education system

7.3% (11 people), and Other 4% (6 people). According to these results, the biggest obstacles

to entrepreneurship in Turkey are Undercapitalization, Bureaucratic obstacle and Inadequacy

of know-how.


my own boss 33.8% (51 people), Have a respectable place in society 23.2% (35 people),

Make more money 17.2% (26 people), Use my talents freely 11.3% (17 people), Liking to

take risks 7.3% (11 people), Having a family run establishment 4.6% (7 people), and

Unemployment 2.6% (4 people).

Competences to be found in entrepreneurs in Turkey are as follows; Spotting

opportunities (3.56), Creativity (4.04), Vision (3.87), Valuing ideas (3.96), Ethical and

sustainable thinking (3.80), Self-awareness and self-efficacy (3.91), Motivation and




through experience (4.04). Based on these results, planning and management, motivation and

perseverance, and creativity are the leading characteristics of the entrepreneur.



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2.2.1.6. Results for EU Countries

In the distribution of those who want to be entrepreneurs in other EU countries

according to gender, 57.1% (16 persons) were female and 42.9% (12 persons) were male.


follows; 28.6% (8 people) are single, 46.4% (13 people) are family with children, and 25.0%

(7 people) are married or in civil relationship. According to the family status, the families of

28.6% of the respondents who want to be entrepreneurs have previously had a small business

or managed.

The age range of those who plan to start a new business and engaged in

entrepreneurship activities is as follows; 35.7% (10 people) are between 43-55 years, 32.1%

(9 people) are between 33-42 years, 14.3% (4 people) are between 26-32 years, 14.3% (4

people) are 56 years and over, and 3.6% (1 person) is between 18-25 years, and.



7.1% (2 people) have High school diploma, and 17.9% (5 people) have PHD Degree.

The skills that should be in the entrepreneurial person in order of importance are as

follows; Leadership (3.88), Creativity (4.19), Communication and negotiation (4.19), Critical

thinking (4.00), Flexibility (4.25), Technical Competency (4.06), Project management and

planning (4.13), Networking (4.56), Foreign languages (3.88). The most important of them

are as follows; Networking, Flexibility, Creativity, and Communication and negotiation.


people), Bureaucratic obstacle 64.3% (18 people), Inadequacy of know-how 7.1% (2 people),

Personal incompetence 7.1% (2 people), Taxes 7.1% (2 person), Education system 3.6% (1

person), and Other 3.6% (1 person). According to these results, the biggest obstacles to

entrepreneurship in Turkey are Bureaucratic obstacle and Undercapitalization.


my own boss 39.3% (11 people), Have a respectable place in society 7.1% (2 people), Make

more money 14.3% (4 people), Use my talents freely 25.0% (7 people), Unemployment

10.7% (3 people), and Other 3.6% (1 person).



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Competences to be found in entrepreneurs in other EU countries are as follows;

Spotting opportunities (3.87), Creativity (4.44), Vision (4.19), Valuing ideas (4.38), Ethical

and sustainable thinking (4.13), Self-awareness and self-efficacy (4.19), Motivation and




through experience (4.75). Based on these results, learning through experience, working with

others, and motivation and perseverance are the leading characteristics of the entrepreneur.

2.3. Focus Group Studies

In each partner country focus group meetings were organized. In Turkey and Slovenia

2 focus groups were organized. The overall aim of the meetings was to present the current

situation on the entrepreneurship sector in the partner countries and respecting the experience

and the views of the small and medium sized enterprises invited. Additionally, partners were

officially introduced the project, its main activities and the research that is in process of

implementation. All the participants introduced themselves, shared their experiences,

thoughts, critics and good practices in the field of entrepreneurship education and support.

During the focus group brainstorming session, the main topics discussed are presented below:

1. What is the current situation of entrepreneurship in the region?

2. What are the problems experienced in an entrepreneurship?

3. What are the biggest obstacles to entrepreneurship? bureaucratic obstacle, personal

incompetence, taxes, undercapitalization, education system, legal hurdles, fear of

failure …)

4. What is the expectation from entrepreneurship training?

5. What is the most important lack of entrepreneurship training?

6. What are the skills that your training has brought?

7. What are the skills that an entrepreneur should possess? (research, planning,

calculating, marketing, financial literacy, effective communication, accounting

knowledge, networking, foreign trade, e-commerce, social media …)

8. How should the method of entrepreneurship education be?

9. What are the things that the individual, the society and the government should do

about entrepreneurship?

The comments of participants are as follows;



Page 45

• Focus Group in Belgium;

• Entrepreneurial skills in Education in Flanders:

• A lot of attention is given to entrepreneurial skills and especially for young

entrepreneurs.

• Special initiatives, supported by the Agency for innovation and entrepreneurship

are widely spread, especially the mini-enterprises for youngsters in secondary

education. However, it depends on the autonomous schools to decide if they

participate. This has influence for the pupils in schools that don’t participate.

• Adult education centers offer a lot of separated courses to support

entrepreneurship. However, this is mostly accountancy, financial management, …

• Advices:

• More attention should be given to creativity sessions

• New forms of entrepreneurship: e.g. working as independants (freelancer.com)

• Learning at the workfield, not only for jobs but also for entrepreneurship is

needed.

• E-learning and blended learning are needed.

• Focus Group in Greece;

What is the current

situation of

entrepreneurship in the

region?

The participants fully agreed that the economic crises had created

significant obstacles for easily development of the economy and

entrepreneurship in Greece. As a result, a lot of companies are

closing and people lose their jobs. That is also creating possibilities

for increasing the self-employment rate but the % of institutional

and governmental support is not satisfying.

What are the problems

experienced in an

entrepreneurship?

The main problems that the businesses are facing are considering

the high taxes and rates that should be paid by the entrepreneurs

and make the local products expensive.

What are the biggest

obstacles to

entrepreneurship?

The biggest obstacles that the entrepreneurship faces are mostly

taxes and fair of failure. There is very low percentage of national

funding for support the new entrepreneurs. Additionally, the

participants believe that the educational and training support that

the educational institutions (universities) provide is insufficient to

the need of the young people.

What is the expectation

from entrepreneurship

training?

The entrepreneurship training should provide the NE the necessary

tools and knowledge to start their businesses and be able to deal

with unexpected difficulties.



Page 46

What is the most

important lack of

entrepreneurship

training

The most important lack is the practical knowledge and Exchange

of experience with successful entrepreneurs

What are the skills that

your training has

brought?

Social, communicational, innovative thinking and brainstorming


an entrepreneur should

possess?

The skill that an entrepreneur should possess is very individual and

depends of the entrepreneurship he/she is guiding. Based on the

participants there are the 5 main skills that an entrepreneur should

have:

• Communication and communication skills

• Branding (personal and business)

• Sales

• Strategy (planning and networking)

• Finance and financial skills

How should the method

of entrepreneurship

education be?

Transformative changes are happening in Higher Education

Institutions worldwide and in Greece in entrepreneurship education.

These changes are conceptual as well as technological due to the

upheaval in the global, social, political, and technological

environment. The entrepreneurship education does not always have

the same results on our students in the classroom and after they

graduate. In the education of entrepreneurs, we hold that it is

change that is the cornerstone of reality-our entrepreneurship

students are in the process of becoming something they previously

were not. Implications and comparisons of the process theory

applied to entrepreneurship education are discussed.

What are the things that

the individual, the

society and the

government should do

about

entrepreneurship?

Any new business requires certain necessities to get started: hard

work, a strong offering and a solid plan of action. In addition to

these, I have come up with a handy set of five pillars of

entrepreneurship that can provide a solid foundation for a new

business and which every entrepreneur should utilize. The main

things/pillars for supporting the entrepreneurship are:

• Envision: The perfect entrepreneur understands how to

capitalize on trends and paradigm shifts. They have the ability

to predict new opportunities based on human behavior. They

also understand that maintaining and communicating the vision

consistently is the most important focus for continued success

of the company.

• Enlist: Once a vision is in place, entrepreneurs need to enlist

people around the startup to support and grow their adventure.

Whether its family members, investors, employees, customers,



Page 47

partners or potential acquirers, these are all an integral part of

the beginning stages of a startup.

• Embark: Many people have ideas and are even able to enlist

people around these ideas. However, the majority fall short of

actually taking the step and starting a business. Embarking is

what sets leaders apart from followers and most entrepreneurs

from employees.

• Execute: With a vision, team and the start of something great,

it’s time to execute. Many groups fail here, and often

additional or other entrepreneurs need to be brought in to do

the job.

• Evolve: Entrepreneurs can go through the entire cycle and

succeed, but to have lasting success, they will need to

continuously evolve. The only constant in a startup is change,

and to succeed one needs to make a sworn (pinkie) promise not

to fall into the trap of comfort and complacency.

• Focus Groups in Slovenia;

What is the current

situation of


region?

Participants told told that it has been increasing number of young

entrepreneurs under 30. They choose entrepreneurship as a way of

employment, but most of them do not succeed because the lack of

knowledge and skills. All of them agreed that the state should have

more beneficies for entreprenuers.


experienced in an

entrepreneurship?

Participants emphasized the following problems as the most

common ones: grey economy, disloyal competence, lack of skills,

lack of funds, improvement of technology, closed EU market and

fear from failing to succeed.


obstacles to

entrepreneurship?

Obstacles for entrepreneurs are Beuracraucy, lack of skills, high

taxes and duties, lack of funds, high duties for employees, and very

poor education for entrepreneurs.



training?

Participants agreed that entrepreneurship training should provide

theme like how to prevent stress at work, how to motivate

employees, how to get funds to start a business, law knowledge,

leading the business – organizational skills. Also, it is mentioned

that it is needed training for social entrepreneurship in EU, foreign

markets and 3rd World countries markets. For beginners it is crucial

to have a lot of practical knowledge to learn how to start their

business and be successful. Training should provide practical

informations to use them on field, not just professional knowledge

which is hard to put into practice.

What is the most Lack of warnings for high taxes and duties. Fine for not complying



Page 48

important lack of

entrepreneurship

training

with all laws or missing documents. Lack of practical knowledge

and encouragement for connecting with other sectors. Lack of

practical knowledge and useful informations for starters.

Entrepreneurs and NGOs miss training where this to sectors can

connect and work with each other, because the both have very

important skills and knowledge and can together provide very good

projects.


your training has

brought?

Some of participants have participate in trainings, some of them

haven’t, but the one that did, said that training is a good place to

connect with other people and get social skills. Other skills depend

from what kind of training you participate – organizational skills,

communication, marketing, finance, etc.

The participants also mentioned communication skills, knowledge

of finances and rules, social skills and new connections. Also

special skills for accounting, marketing, etc.



possess?

The participants discussed that it is crucial for good and successful

entrepreneur to all skills (research, planning, calculating, marketing,

financial skills, communication skills, business law knowledge,

foreign trade, etc). And other skills that are connected to their

business.


of entrepreneurship

education be?

Methods of entrepreneurship learning should be different than it is

today. We can notice in our country increased number of young

entrepreneurs who are successful a few years and then the close

their businesses. The participants are guessing that this is because

of lack of entrepreneurship knowledge. Schools who teach

economics should have more subject of entrepreneurship, from

basics to developing different skills entrepreneur should have

trough formal learning. And it is crucial that schools and NGOs

provide informal learning by training and practicing entrepreneurial

skills.

Methods of entrepreneurship learning should be connected with

practical knowledge and skills. With presentations and practices of

good practices of successful enterprises and individuals. More

practice of students in different companies and a lot of informal

learning.


the individual, the

society and the


about

entrepreneurship?

Indviduals should find and participate in as much quality trainings

as they can. Individuals should learn informal as much as possible.

Society should encourage connections and relations between

sectors, especially NGOs and businesses. Government should

provide different stimulations for entrepreneurs and encourage new

enterprises by giving fund for start ups. Most of improvement is on

the national level, free market, local and world. Less taxes and

more positive funds for enterprises.



Page 49

• Focus Groups in Turkey;

What is the current

situation of


region?

Since the exchange rates of other currencies in Turkey are very

high, it affects the investment expenses of entrepreneurs too much

during establishment and later on. Besides, payment of government

supports & incentives is made 6-7 months later from the date they

invested. Additionally, entrepreneurs don’t plan their business in

the long term. They usually miss branding and institutionalization

opportunities in the near future. Lastly, bureaucracy is a general

problem and obstacle to entrepreneurship.


experienced in an

entrepreneurship?

Environmental pressure is one of discouragement issue for

enterpreneurs. For example, being a member of Social Security

System as owner, that means cost and paper works. People are

around entrepreneurs always telling these kinds of things to them,

and these are breaking their eager to start business life.

Starting a new business with institutionalization view of looking is

very hard if you are with your family members like brothers, father

etc. That transforms into family business more than independence

enterpreneurship. A business should be professionally managed.

Lack of fisibility plan is also one of important issue. Enterpreneurs

are not calculating even whether a business is fisible or not.

Questionarries and kind of investigations should be done before

investment as well.

Almost 100 years companies are moving very careful while

investing, but enterpreneurs without experiences do not doing these

researchings even before the investment. Enterpreneurs must be

more careful during the establishment of business.

If the mantalities are like “If others do that, I can do that”,

businesses are going to collapse! Most of these enterpreneurs are

finished with failure. Enterpreneurs should behave logical and

analytic.

People are not recognizing opportunities too much. That is why

there are only a few succesful enterpreneurship samples happen.

You should follow actual developments and foreseen which

direction business life will go.

Enterpreneur should be realistic not only be postive always.

Otherwise, they are getting disappointed. Being succesful ratio is

very low when compared with total enterpreneurship numbers.


obstacles to

entrepreneurship?

Before actually investing to any sector, one of biggiest problem is

lack of brave and confidence due to limited financial power, capital

and environmental support. Even the business ideas are very

hopeful, people are generally afraid to be enterpreneur due to above



Page 50

reasons.

Some laws prevent enterpreneurs to do some specific businesses.

For example, in order to export a product to any country, some of

foreign countries apply 2 times more customs tariffs, etc. Or same

thing is happening in opposite way.

Main problem is capital for establishes a new company. Second is

plan making. Without business plan, there is no success comes.

People should focus tomorrow, not only today. Establishment is

only first step to join business life, then people should care about

their business’s future too.

Conflicts with family members are one of the biggiest problem and

source of fair while making investments. Firstly, you need to

convince your members. Than you can start to create your own

business. It is very bad not to take your family’s support.

Some bureaucracy issues take long time and do not allow people to

be enterpreneur somehow if they are dealing with some sectors (i.e.

which includes dangerous material expertising / job security

business types)

Unfortunately, government asks for taxes, due to government grants

too. That is also strange and ridiculous for enterpreneurs.

Finally bank interests rates are too high in Turkey when you need

credit/loan from your bank. The lower cost of money, the higher

opportunity to be succesful in enterpreneurship.



training?

Most people expect money or grants from these educations in fact.

Or educations and its certificates are only way to take supports &

grants.

People expect to see more up-to-dated educations which includes e-

trade, IT technologies, etc. But at the moment there is no current

educations like that.

Educations should teach people how to behave professional in

business life. Kind of institituonalization lessons can be added into

cirriculums of eduations.

Most of the visitors tell educations should prepare entrepreneurs

both in enterprise management and fieldwork issues. Moreover,

after these pieces of training, entrepreneurs should do a kind of

internship (training management) in their planning sector in which

they invest on. That will let them have experienced before entering

the market.

Addition to the practical information, entrepreneurs expect to get

much more technical training. Because they will find themselves in

calculations, profit-loss compares, etc. When entering business life.

If they are trained much more technically, that will help them to be



Page 51

successful in company management and giving direction to their

firms.

What is the most

important lack of

entrepreneurship

training

If you are an enterpreneur, you are registering yourself to Social

Security System as company owner. Yet, in order to get Applied

Enterpreneurship Education (of KOSGEB), you should be

registered to Social Security System as a worker, liable, etc. not

company owner. That prevents some people to get education and

supports. It should be open for both sides if a person thinks to

establish new business.

Some people if they want to be an enterpreneur, take these

educations only for money support. This makes educations’ quality

low.

As an enterpreneurship education organisor KOSGEB should

divide educations into sectors. For example, a hairdresser and a

manufacturer should not take the same trainings. While a

haridresser doesn’t need a foreign trade, risk management, financial

management, etc., a manufacturer can need.

At the end of the educations, success is not being measured. That is

a big problem. If there are some targets and limits, that will take

enterpreneurs attention much during the educations. And they will

also be careful while listens to educators.

We are not supplying properly educaiton to enterpreneurs. For

instance, “ISKUR” only concerns to distribute supports &

incentives to people which were arranged in annual budget and

concern to make full of its annual support quotas. KOSGEB is also

aiming to give certificates, not focusing to make proper educations.

That is what we understand from educations.

Almost 10% people who attended the enterpreneurship educations

established their own job. That reflects educations’ low quaility at

all. No need to say much things about education subjected to

enterpreneurship.

Educations should also include business functions like cost

accounting, human resources, finance, etc. But there is not that kind

of education exist in entrepreneurship educations.


your training has

brought?

People can find answers how they can be enterpreneurs, and learn

which skills are important to be an enterpreneur in general way.

Supports & incentives are good and generous to be an enterpreneur

in Turkey.

Informations were told to enterpreneurs in educations are good and

fine as visitors mentioned. Especially for enterpreneurship issues

are really good and efficient in order to settle new business.



Page 52



possess?

Lack of feasibility plan is important needing for companies. If it is

not done properly, lots of enterprises cannot move forward in the

next steps. Entrepreneurs themselves should do a feasibility plan

with their own before their investment.

They need to make good researchings before investment. People

first should have infrastructural information about their sector.

Otherwise, they should not invest in any business. Unless they have

experiences or abilities, most of these enterprises will be closed one

day.

Planning is one of the most important things. Before everything, a

business plan should exist.

People must change their view of looking against to

enterpreneurship educations. They consider these educations as

only source of finance. That is not good thing.

Marketing ability is important to be a succesful enterpreneur. You

should answer to consumers’ needings.


of entrepreneurship

education be?

Educations should not be given to less than elementary or high

school graduated people. They waste time and money. Finally, they

are becoming unsuccessful. Most of the entrepreneurs have been

entering very small business such as cafeterias, small restaurants,

etc. These are what those people do usually.

Former entrepreneurs can visit educations and make conversation

with future entrepreneurs. They can also mention about figures and

facts in these educations. Experiences are very important in

business life. These kinds of activities during the educations might

be very useful and beneficial.

Educations should contain such internships, especially in finance

and account areas. Because these 2 titles are relevant to all sectors

and businesses. An enterprise without this knowledge cannot easily

be successful in time.

A consultancy service can be given to entrepreneurs besides

ordinary education. Because every people has got different skills

and personalities. You should separate people and increase

education quality in that way.

In Europe, some entrepreneurship projects are running in Malta and

Cyprus as pilot ones. They are successful in general. And other

countries are using the same models which were done in Malta and

Cyprus.

Educations are also needed to be given in fieldworks not only in

classes. Because experience is more important than paperwork.

These people who take entrepreneur educations can implement



Page 53

what they learn in educations.

Trainings must be relevant to their own sector. If subjects will be

separated, trainings will be much more beneficial. Especially goods

and services should be divided into 2 main areas.

People firstly fill in questionnaires before they are trained by

KOSGEB. Their planned sectors and invested sectors might be

different in time. If there is something happened like that,

KOSGEB should re-train these people.


the individual, the

society and the


about

entrepreneurship?

People should calculate the enterprise’s costs & sales correct before

they enter business life and during the business as well. False

mathematics will bring failure.

People can anticipate about business future, and they can plan to

establish new kind of business which sectors will be potentially

successful in the near future.

Society and government institutes can make benchmarking with the

EU and other countries. Due to strong and successful National

Agency, they can support people to create new projects for

entrepreneurship area.

The government should support young people more than elder

people. Because the future is teenagers. And new generations need

a job more than other people in order to survive. Both educationally

and technologically, young people are more be aware of our time.

The government can convince banks in order to reduce credit

interest rates. It’s around 20% at that moment (May 2018) in

Turkey, but it is around 2-3% in Greece even they are in economic

crisis. If government or banks are not letting entrepreneurs to take

credit, so who will let?

Especially for entrepreneurship projects, the government can

support institutions, enterprises, etc. in order to find international

partners in their projects. Because Turkish parties can not able to

find easily partners in Europe. (Especially for small chambers,

enterprises, institutions, etc.)

The government can reduce or apply 2 years of zero charges for

labour insurance, energy taxes, etc. to support enterpreneurs.

Otherwise, entrepreneurs start to earn money at least 6 months later.

Until that time, they consume their all capital in order to stand on

their feet.



Page 54

3. Comments and Suggestions

When the survey analysis and decisions of focus group meetings are evaluated, the

purpose of the entrepreneurship training programs should ensure actively participating of

people in the program and should explain the basic concepts of entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurs should determine a successful and applicable business idea, choose the type of

business, and establish its organization. S/he should provide the means of production, be

informed about the marketing, organization, and management of the goods and services

produced, and know the types of operations. Production management and planning of

production, marketing research stages, the financial resources of a business, should be known

by an entrepreneur. It is observed that establishing a business according to the business plan is

very important. Each entrepreneur should consider to interact with global world and social

networks in order to enlarge his/her businesses. Therefore, entrepreneurship trainings should

contain modules of foreign trade, e-commerce applications and social media marketing. As a

result, it is decided to prepare 10 different modules for entrepreneurship trainings;

1- Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Skills

2- Business Idea and Innovation

3- Businness Planning

4- Marketing and Branding Techniques

5- Promotion and Dissemination planning

6- Financial Planning

7- Risk Management

8- Export & Relationship Management

9- Business Plan

10- Attracting Funding



Page 55

ANNEX

Questionnaire about the Current situation and problems of entrepreneurship and

entrepreneurial training

Dear participants,

The University of USAK (Turkey) together with UCLL (Belgium), OECON GROUP

(Greece), DRPDNM (Slovenia), Usak TSO (Turkey) and KM GROUP (Turkey) had

developed this questionnaire as a part of the research activities for examination of the current

situation and problems of the entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial training in Europe, funded

under the project "Small Business Development Centre for Young Entrepreneurs » (2017-1-

TR01-KA202-046223) part of the program Erasmus + KA2, Development of Innovation.

Thank you for your participation!

А. Individual Information:

1. Entrepreneurship Activity (please select own of the following answers):

a. Planning to start a business;

b. Owned a business in the past;

c. New business owners;

d. Company owner with experience over 3 years;

e. Other: ……. (please specify)

2. Employment situation (please select own of the following answers):

a. Unemployed;

b. Self-employed;

c. Employed up to 5 years;

d. Employed over 5 years;

e. Student;

f. Other: ………. (please specify)

3. Country of residence: (to be selected from the menu)

HOW TO FILL IN THIS QUESTIONNAIRE

The Questionnaire is designed in a way that ensures the best - quick and easy filling. Most of the questions

can be answered by simply ticking in the boxes. Very little of the information required reports (additional

demand). When the questionnaire indicates "You", please answer on behalf of your organization.

"Organization" means your company, division or if you are in the main office , the group in which you

work. In the public sector this applies to specific local governments or agencies , government departments

and others.

This questionnaire has been adapted for use by both individuals and private/public organizations. The aim

of the study involves researching trends and problems of the individuals, companies and organizations face

in the field of business set-up, procedures and funding. Completed economic and personal information for

companies and dealers are not subject to formal tax study and will not be shared without the knowledge of

the participants. The information will be used to develop a survey of the current ssituation and needs of

entrepreneurial training in Europe and developing a curricula as part of the project activities.



Page 56

4. Place of birth: (to be selected from the menu)

5. City of residence: ……. (please specify)

6. Sex (please select own of the following answers):

a. Male

b. Female

c. Other

7. Age (please select own of the following answers):

a. From 18 to 25 years old;

b. From 26 to 32 years old;

c. From 33 to 42 years old;

d. From 42 to 55 years old;

e. Over 56 years old.

8. Family situation (please select own of the following answers):

a. Single;

b. Married or in civil relationship;

c. Family with children

9. Educational level (please select own of the following answers):

a. High school diploma;

b. University Degree;

c. Master Degree;

d. PHD Degree;

e. Other: …. (please specify)

10. What is the highest level of education of one of your parents?

a) High school diploma;

b) University Degree;

c) Master Degree;

d) PHD Degree;

e) Other: …. (please specify)

11. Did your family own or managed small business? (yes/no)

12. Self-Evaluate your skills in the table below (please select 1 as lower and 5 as

higher score):

Skill/Score 1 2 3 4 5

Communication and negotiation

Technical Competency

Creativity

Flexibility

Critical thinking

Leadership

Foreign Languages

Networking

Project management and planning



Page 57

13. Which of the followings do you see as the biggest obstacle to establishing your

own business in our country?

a. bureaucratic obstacle

b. undercapitalization

c. inadequacy of know-how

d. personal incompetence

e. taxes

f. education system

g. Other

14. Which of the following is your most important source of motivation?

a. Unemployment

b. be my own boss

c. Make more money

d. have a respectable place in society

e. use my talents freely

f. having a family run establishment

g. liking to take risks

h. Other

15. Is it necessary to prepare feasibility when establishing a business?

a. Yes, absolutely necessary

b. No, absolutely unnecessary

c. Yes, if you need to get a loan/grant

d. I do not have enough information about the subject

16. Work experience: how many years have you been working in your life?

a. Less than 1 year;

b. From 1 to 3 years;

c. From 3 to 8 years;

d. From 8 to 15 years;

e. Over 15 years.

17. Please specify your approximate monthly income: …………………………

B. Entrepreneurial Ecosystem:

18. Can you please indicate entrepreneurship support organization or business

network active in your country or region?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

19. Are you familiar with any programmes funding entrepreneurship start-up in

your region and country?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

20. Are the local and national infrastructure, laws and taxies appropriate to start

your own company? If No, can you please explain?

…………………………………………………………………………………………



Page 58

21. Do you believe that the university education is providing the appropriate

knowledge and skills for future entrepreneurs?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

22. Are you familiar with any supporting services for newly established

entrepreneurs in your region? If yes, can you please identify?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

23. Do you believe that the guidance from more experienced entrepreneur (in the

role of mentor) is helpful for newly established entrepreneur?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

C. Individual entrepreneurship approach:

24. Did you ever participated in entrepreneurial education or training courses?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

25. Are you planning to start your own business?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

26. What is your definition for innovation?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

27. Are there any innovations in your region that you know?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

28. Please rate the following competences based on their importance for future

entrepreneurs (1 (weak) to 5 (excellent)):

Competence Rate Competence Rate Competence Rate

Spotting

opportunities

Self-awareness

and self-efficacy

Taking the initiative

Creativity Motivation and

perseverance

Planning and

management

Vision Mobilizing re-

sources

Coping with un-

certainty, ambiguity

and risk

Valuing ideas Financial and

economic

literacy

Working with others

Ethical and

sustainable

thinking

Mobilizing

others

Learning through

experience

Thank you for your participation!



Page 59

References

IMAD (2017a). Spring Forecast of Economic Trends 2017, March 2017, Ljubljana, Institute

of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development. [Online] Available May 7th, 2017:

http://www.umar.gov.si/fileadmin/user_upload/napovedi/pomlad/pomladanska_2017/Spring_

fo recast_2017.pdf

Ministry of Finance – Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia (2017). E-tax

portal. [Online] Available May 7th, 2017:

https://edavki.durs.si/OpenPortal/Pages/StartPage/StartPage.aspx

Ministry of Public Administration (2017a). E-VEM contact point. [Online] Available

Available May 7 th, 2017: http://evem.gov.si/evem/drzavljani/zacetna.evem

Roberts, D., & Woods, C. (2005, Autumn). Changing the world on a shoestring: The concept

of social entrepreneurship. University of Auckland Business Review, 7, 45–51. Retrieved

March 29, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete.

http://www.oecd.org/industry/smes/SLOVENIA-country-note-2017.pdf

http://www.umar.gov.si/fileadmin/user_upload/napovedi/pomlad/pomladanska_2017/Spring_fo%20recast_2017.pdf

http://www.umar.gov.si/fileadmin/user_upload/napovedi/pomlad/pomladanska_2017/Spring_fo%20recast_2017.pdf

current situation and needs analysis report

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