They let Turkish entrepreneurs in different countries determine and evaluate some important criteria in each country that are crucial for successful establishment, in other words, opportunities and obstacles.

The countries surveyed were Sweden, Denmark, England, Holland, Germany and France.

The factors they evaluated were:

• The process of starting a business
• Society's view of business 
• Response from authorities 
• Taxation 
• Laws and regulations for business 
• Funding opportunities
  

This report is based on interviews with Turkish entrepreneurs in the different countries.

The entrepreneurs have several years of experience as well as a large number of employees. They are active within the restaurant, transportation, travel agents, textiles and food business.

Swedes and Englishmen receive the best judgments by companies overall.

Companies in Denmark and England do not feel that it is particularly difficult to obtain bank loans. Companies in Germany, by contrast, have bad experiences and give Germany the worst judgment in the comparison.

Sweden obtain be a better judgment than Germany but worse than Denmark and England.

Perhaps not so unexpected, taxes and fees are the major obstacles for the businesses in all countries. Taxes and fees, in other words, receive the worst judgment in the study out of all these factors.

Laws and regulations in most countries are perceived as difficult and cumbersome and as a barrier to entrepreneurship. England is the only country where companies have more positive perceptions and approve the laws and regulations.

Initially, business financing is perceived as a problem in all countries. However, this is no longer the case when the companies grow and have established a well-functioning dialog with the banks for example. In this case, Denmark and England receives the best judgments.



                                                                                       Cecilia Helland