- I heard that your blog was a finalist in the “Individual Blog” category of the Golden Spider competition. What is the Golden Spider competition, and what does it mean to you?
- Your blog has made it to the finals in the ‘Individual Blog’ category at the Altın Örümcek Awards.
Yes, the news is true. I’m delighted that my blog, where I share my knowledge and experiences as much as I can amidst my busy schedule and share the Pura Vida philosophy, has made it to the finals. It’s truly valuable to me that my efforts are being recognized and that they raise awareness.
Let me share the information about the organization on the Altın Örümcek website: The jury members of the Altın Örümcek Web Awards, Türkiye’s first and only independent web awards organization, determined the finalists by earning the highest scores in 29 different categories. Unlike jury evaluations, a public vote is held to determine internet users’ favorites. This vote will continue until 28 September. The web projects that receive the most likes in each category will be selected as the Public Favorite.
If you like my blog, let me tell you how to vote. To vote, visit https://www.altinorumcek.com/Halk-Oylamasi/ To choose the public’s favorites, you can start voting by logging in with your Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ accounts. You know who to vote for in the ‘Individual Blog’ category.
- We heard you received an incentive related to renewable energy. What is this?
I first entered the solar energy sector in 2011 with CSP (concentrating solar power) technology, which generates heat and steam. In 2013, I moved beyond CSP and into the electricity-generating PV (photovoltaic) sector. Within months of entering the sector, I noticed a significant gap. The PV panels, which form the brain of the system, needed to be manufactured in Turkey. However, this didn’t just involve the module process (colloquially, assembly) as everyone else did; all processes needed to be manufactured in Türkiye. I began working on this topic in 2013. I even named the project “100% Domestic Solar Panels for Energy Independence.” Two years ago, the Ministry of Economy (we’ve consulted with the Ministry of Energy, the YEGM) heard about our work and informed us that a project-based incentive system was about to be launched and that we needed to apply for such a strategically important project. We gathered our existing work and applied. This year, the ceremony was held in April, and in June, our incentive was officially published in the Official Gazette. I wrote two articles on the subject. You can find these articles at the following links:
http://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/enerji-bagimsizligi-icin-100-yerli-gunes-paneli
http://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/turkiye-enerji-bagimsizligi-icin-100-yerli-gunes-paneline-kavusuyor
As I mentioned in my last article, we will begin construction as soon as we complete the financial closing for this project. I anticipate this by the end of the year. I’ll share the good news with you here.
Finally, I’d like to emphasize that I have two major goals with this project. The first is to ensure Türkiye’s energy independence. The second is to create a global brand from our land. Fortunately, we will achieve these goals with the power of the sun, the source of life.
- What does TİDER’s membership in GFN mean?
GFN (Global Foodbanking Network) is an organization to which food banks worldwide are members or apply for membership. TIDER was initiated by GFN founder Bob Forney. During a visit to Türkiye at the time, he explained food banking to us. We established our association in May 2010 with food producers and retailers and their representatives who wanted to donate their products. Furthermore, we were established with the mission of being Türkiye’s umbrella organization for food banking. We embarked on our mission to ensure that social solidarity is properly implemented in our country, guided by the principles of transparency, impartiality, honesty, and sustainability.
This journey, which stretches back many years, culminated last year in our official membership in the Global FoodBanking Network, the world’s food banking network, following an intensive certification and institutional analysis process. As a result, TIDER, with its status as Türkiye’s umbrella organization in this field, will ensure that food banking in our country develops to international standards and benefits from global opportunities.
- Do you continue to use electric vehicles?
Yes, I’ve been stubbornly driving my electric car since 2013. I was one of the first in Türkiye to drive an electric car. Even though the battery in my old Renault Fluence malfunctioned at one point and it had to be repaired and maintained for eight months, I never gave up on it. The car, which had a range of 90 km (of course, I initially received the car with a higher range, and the battery’s range decreased over the months), had its range increased to 130 km after the battery was replaced. There’s not much change, but I still use my electric Renault Fluence in Istanbul. To give you an idea, I’d like to share the video I posted of my electric car in 2014:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIWVGhdb1Zc
Of course, after I achieve some of my business goals, I’ll reward myself with a nice electric and/or hybrid vehicle. As a life philosophy, I will definitely not switch to a vehicle that uses only fossil fuels. Everyone should know this. I recommend everyone to switch to an electric vehicle, or at least a hybrid vehicle. Of course, the most important point here is where you get your vehicle’s electricity. If you want to be sure, you can install your own solar power plant (SPP) instead of a grid and get electricity for free (this SPP doesn’t need to be high-capacity; you can build a cost-effective one). Let’s start with transportation as we build the new world.
I’ll be writing an article on electric vehicles later this year to provide you with more detailed information. Coming soon…
- What do you think about the current state of the Turkish economy? Have you taken any precautions?
Türkiye’s economy isn’t doing well. We all know this. We’ve entered a period where large companies, and even banks, are facing serious problems. The depreciation of the Turkish Lira, rising unemployment, the halt in industrial production, and the surge in bankruptcies (e.g., those filing bankruptcies) all reflect this current situation.
Everyone is experiencing difficulties in this period. There’s no indication that this situation will improve anytime soon. The current difficulties will likely deepen, and Türkiye will face a very serious economic crisis.
I remain optimistic. Despite everything, these problems will eventually end. The most important thing to do in this period is to avoid negative psychology and focus on the big picture. If we can achieve this, we will overcome the crisis with less damage.
Regarding Eko Group companies, I’ve undertaken four ventures since 2011. The total assets we’ve created far exceed our liabilities. We will certainly emerge from the current situation and move rapidly towards the ocean ahead. By ocean, I mean international achievements. God willing, we will achieve this.
In this process, I trust the asset size we’ve built through years of hard work, my years of crisis management experience (we overcame the Kentbank crisis), and, most importantly, the business skills and knowledge inherited from my grandfather and father, as a member of a family that has been in business for three generations.
Finally, I want to reiterate a point I’ve always made: My grandfather was a prominent businessman in and around Gaziantep. My father brought this to a national scale and achieved significant success across Türkiye. Now it’s our generation’s turn. My goal is to take this to an international scale and achieve significant cross-border projects.
- Many people are migrating from Türkiye to other countries. Are you prepared to do the same?
No, I didn’t. I made this choice between 1999 – 2000. Originally, I was considering staying in Canada. At the time, I was going to enter entrepreneurship by partnering with a friend who was starting a web hosting business. However, love for family and country eventually took over, and after working in the US for a while, I returned to Türkiye and first completed my military service. You can read the full story at http://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/15-yillik-is-hayatim-ve-gelecege-notlar.
Besides my Turkish citizenship, I have no other citizenship. Despite facing significant difficulties with visa applications, I have never considered obtaining a passport from another country, and I have no plans to do so.
From my perspective on life, I consider myself a global citizen; I can easily communicate with people wherever I go. At the same time, I am deeply attached to the land where I was born and raised. I have always stood up to anyone who criticizes our country and given them the necessary response. One of my greatest life goals is to honor the people of this country. For example, I want to create Türkiye’s first truly global brand.
Ultimately, this is our country, and I don’t plan on going anywhere. Unlike many pessimistic people I know, I believe everything will work out in the long run.
- What are your next processes and goals for TİDER’s Support Cloud solution, which you set out to develop a solution to food waste in Türkiye using technology?
The goal of the project is to reach every district in Türkiye. While we will include producers and retailers from across Türkiye in each region, we will also reach out to food banks in each district, support them with our consulting program, and make them members of the platform. Similarly, we will also meet with NGOs and municipalities interested in opening food banks to support them in their process.
We will be encouraging the establishment of high-standard food banks in every district of Türkiye, and the establishment of animal shelters (meaning farms where animals can be comfortable), and biogas plants in all provinces.
- Have you ever noticed searches related to “Serhan Süzer” on Google?
A friend asked me this question recently. I was curious and went ahead. I came across an interesting picture. Let me share the results:
Serhan Süzer married
serhan süzer spouse
serhan süzer girlfriend
How old is serhan süzer?
serhan süzer ekore
serhan süzer interview
serhan süzer Instagram
“serhan süzer” 2018
I’m constantly preoccupied with renewable energy, sustainability, circular economy, civil society, education, science and technology, sports, fintech, various startups, the Pura Vida philosophy, space and astronomy, food, agriculture, animal husbandry, health, and climate change. Isn’t it interesting that the topics mentioned above are the most frequently searched topics related to me?
Those still curious about my personal life can check out my answer to Question 9 in the “Frequently Asked Questions” section.
- What is the status of counterfeiting in Türkiye? Is there anyone imitating you?
Isn’t that possible? How? Creativity and research are practically nonexistent in Türkiye. I don’t know if it’s because of our education system, but somehow our people can’t visualize, can’t see the future, and try to do business by imitating what’s around them, not what needs to be done. The shrewd ones, however, immediately want to imitate something after seeing it succeed. They rush into it aggressively, without proper planning.
In my case, everything I do is copied in some way. This doesn’t bother me. Because if it did, I wouldn’t be sharing everything so openly on my blog.
On the contrary, I want my work to be imitated. I want people to be inspired by what I do and build similar models. I want this because I want goodness and positive living to spread through a multiplier effect.
There’s only one thing that bothers me: those who imitate my work, the models I describe, and build it for a malicious purpose or on unethical foundations. I can almost hear you saying, “Oh, come on, do these people really exist?” Unfortunately, they do. I’ve been seriously ripped off in this regard.
There are even those who mimic the model of the NGO TİDER (having personally obtained information from me) and establish companies to generate income through social assistance and solidarity.
- Do you expect to receive an award from the International Food Banking Network or similar platforms for the TİDER Support Cloud Project? Last year, TİDER received an award for its Support HR project and achieved global success. What do you think can be done to promote this platform, which will prevent waste, to the world?
The Global Foodbanking Network (GFN) launched its first innovation awards program last year. In this important selection, voted for by food banking professionals from all over the world, we were selected among eight strong finalists to receive this award. This is a significant achievement for Turkish NGOs. With this award, we have become a thought leader in the food banking field worldwide. Food banks from various countries are contacting us to learn about our structure and ask for our opinions. Of course, we expect this innovative model and the technologies we have developed to receive awards on these and similar platforms. We certainly don’t conduct our work with the goal of winning awards, but being recognized as a model that inspires other countries at such global events is a source of motivation, demonstrating that we are developing the right solutions. It also helps us lead the development of global solutions to alleviate poverty by introducing our model to other countries. It also boosts the motivation of all our stakeholders, encouraging them to contribute with greater enthusiasm. Therefore, we believe that receiving awards for our projects is crucial for the value it will add to our work and the momentum it will provide.
After achieving our goals in Türkiye, we have a long-term goal of expanding our model globally. Why shouldn’t Türkiye produce an organization like UNICEF, WWF, or Greenpeace, which is achieving significant global success? We believe that with our vision and dynamism, we can achieve this.
Tag: lifestyle
