Challenges of rural SMEs in Ankara, Turkey

Abstract

Every year, rural areas are experiencing dramatic demographic loss due to the added value they cannot create and a lack of integration with the industry and services sector established in urban areas. Ankara is one of the most prominent regions of Turkey in terms of advanced technology and per capita regional added value. However, the same success was not achieved in the peripheral districts of Ankara. The aim of this study is to determine the current situation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in rural areas that are involved in the production and operation and to identify areas for intervention by identifying the challenges they encounter. In-depth interviews were conducted in the study with business founders and inheritors (78% and 22% respectively). As a result of the study, 93% of rural SMEs consider that businesses operating in rural areas have serious problems. The biggest obstacle in front of entrepreneurship was found finance, followed by technical staffing and administrative and legal obstacles. In order to get over these obstacles, what is most needed to be addressed is finance, machine-equipment support, marketing and promotional support. One of the most important components that will lead to added value increase in rural areas is export. 82% of the companies that participated in the survey stated that they do not export. Therefore, it is necessary to develop export-oriented industrial production in rural areas. As a result of this study, it has been found that the institutional capacities of rural enterprises are very low, and there is a need for a support mechanism in order to improve that capacity. There is also a need for efforts to accelerate the transfer of technology produced in the urban areas to the agriculture, tourism and service sectors in rural areas.