TÜRKİYE’DEKİ SURİYELİ GİRİŞİMCİLER: GÜÇLÜKLER VE FIRSATLAR

Suriye’de başlayan iç savaş 4,9 milyonun üzerinde Suriyeli’nin ülke dışına gitmesine neden olan bir mülteci krizi yaratmıştır. Bu mültecilerin yaklaşık 3,5 milyonu Türkiye’de yer almakta ve ekonomik ve sosyal entegrasyona ilişkin acil önlemlere ihtiyaç duymaktadır. Ekonomik entegrasyon özellikle emek piyasasında yaşanan güçlüklerden ötürü oldukça sorunlu bir durumdadır. Ocak 2016’da Türkiye’deki Suriyeli mültecilerin çalışma izni sürecini kolaylaştıran düzenlemeye ragmen halen güçlükler devam etmektedir. Bu noktada girişimcilik Türkiye’deki Suriyelilerin entegrasyon süreci için önemli bir fırsat olarak ortaya çıkmaktadır. Buna ek olarak göçmen girişimcilerin bulundukları ülkede göçmenler kadar yerli vatandaşlara da iş yaratma becerilerine sahip olmaları, yatırımları arttırmaları ve ekonomik büyümeyi desteklemeleri bu alanı daha önemli kılmaktadır. Bu çalışma Türkiye piyasasında faaliyette bulunan Suriyeli göçmenlerin karşılaştıkları güçlükler ve fırsatları araştırmaya odaklanmıştır. Çalışmada İstanbul’daki 10 Suriyeli girişimci ile yarı-yapılandırılmış mülakat tekniği ile görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda Suriyeli girişimcilerin dil bariyeri, yüksek işletme maliyetleri, pazar fırsatlarına erişim güçlükleri, finansmana erişimi, vergi ve yasal düzenlemelere ilişkin bilgiye erişimi, kamu ve STK desteği eksikliği ve ayrımcılık gibi sorunlarla karşılaştığı görülmektedir. Öte yandan yüksek sayıda Suriyeli mültecinin yarattığı pazar fırsatları, iş kurma kolaylığı, sosyal ağlar ve kamu otoriteleri desteği önemli fırsatlar olarak görülmektedir.

SYRIAN ENTREPRENEURS IN TURKEY: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

The Syrian War has led to a refugee crisis due to which over 4.9 million Syrians have fled the country.Turkey holds over 3.5 million Syrian refugees which demands immediate attention for economic and socialintegration of these refugees. Economic integration has been very problematic due to a lack of labor marketintegration. Problems still exist after the legal changes in work permit processing for Syrians made inJanuary 2016. Entrepreneurship provides an alternative for economic integration of Syrians into Turkey. Inaddition, migrant entrepreneurs are able to provide employment opportunities to other migrants as well aslocals, increase investment, and boost economic activity. This study focused on finding the problems facedby Syrian entrepreneurs and the opportunities which are available for them in the Turkish market. Theauthors conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 Syrian entrepreneurs in different districts of Istanbul.The results show that Syrian entrepreneurs face many hurdles including language barrier, high businesscosts, transparency of market opportunities, access to finance, lack of knowledge about commercial andtaxation law, lack of governmental/non-governmental support, and discrimination. Opportunities for Syrianentrepreneurs include large Syrian ethnic communities, ease of registration, social networks, and at timesleniency by governmental authorities.

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