Türkiye’s Exporters Assembly TIM, Trendyol sign strategic cooperation agreement

ISTANBUL

The Türkiye Exporters Assembly (TIM) and Trendyol on Wednesday signed a strategic cooperation agreement aimed at strengthening Türkiye’s cross-border e-commerce ecosystem.

The agreement, signed at a ceremony in Istanbul, was announced by TIM President Mustafa Gultepe and Trendyol Group President Caglayan Cetin.

Under the partnership, Trendyol will serve as TIM’s e-export partner, working to raise awareness about e-export opportunities, host training sessions, and provide collaborative projects across the country.

The protocol is expected to help all stakeholders embrace e-exports, contribute to the sustainable growth of Türkiye’s cross-border trade, and add value to the national economy.

“This partnership between TİM and Trendyol will open the door to a brand new era in e-exports,” Gultepe said. “Today, our country’s e-export journey enters a new phase.”

Gultepe said that while Türkiye’s e-export volume rose 27% last year to $6.4 billion, it still accounted for only 2.6% of total exports.

“That means we are still far behind our potential,” he said. “E-exports are no longer just for large companies — they now include individual entrepreneurs, producers, and designers. Even a small workshop in Anatolia can receive orders from Berlin or ship products to Riyadh. Today, over 600,000 businesses in Türkiye are engaged in e-commerce.”

Gultepe stressed the importance of adapting to this rapid transformation. “As TIM, we cannot afford to lag behind, instead, we want to establish mechanisms to manage this change. Our partnership with Trendyol is crucial in this regard,” he said.

Gultepe said the partnership would organize e-export meetings in all seven regions of Türkiye, encouraging participation from women entrepreneurs, young producers, and small businesses.

They also plan to raise awareness among the public through special e-export training for business journalists, develop systems to promote geographically indicated products worldwide, and establish experience zones at Türkiye Innovation Week to showcase how e-commerce platforms operate.

Gultepe also mentioned plans to collaborate with Türk Ticaret Bankasi to provide affordable financing for e-export.

“All of these activities were designed by listening to the needs in the field. We will carry Turkey’s production power to the world more effectively through digital channels,” he said.

Gultepe set export targets of $280 billion this year and $375 billion by 2028, emphasizing that fully leveraging e-export potential is essential to reach those goals.

“I believe that this cooperation with Trendyol will be highly productive,” he said.

'Global representation of ‘Made in Türkiye’ products should be strengthened'

Cetin, meanwhile, said that Trendyol had already helped more than 120,000 business partners enter export markets and that the collaboration would further boost Türkiye’s e-export ecosystem.

“With this partnership, we aim to enhance awareness of e-exports in Türkiye and strengthen the global representation of products marked ‘Made in Türkiye’,” Cetin said.

He added that Trendyol plans to combine its e-export capabilities with TIM’s experience to position Türkiye as a regional leader in e-commerce.

“This is the first time we are establishing such a comprehensive mechanism that aligns all elements of e-exports with shared goals,” he said. “We aim to reach every stakeholder in the e-export ecosystem and contribute to our economy.”

* Reporting by Mehmet Selcuk Guclu and Emirhan Yilmaz in Istanbul