Expat Interview with Onur Polat – The experiences of a Turkish internet marketer in Albania
By Lieke Van Leeuwen
After studying industrial engineering in Turkey’s capital Ankara, Onur Polat and his brother started up their own e-marketing business in which they provide their customers consultancy on online advertising campaigns.
Together they set up the website www.gazeteler.com, which now attracts about 250.000 visitors per day. After their business became a big success in Turkey, Onur is now examining his luck in Tirana.
What brought you to Albania?
“My brother did. Once the business in Turkey was such a success he decided it was time to try to repeat that success here, in Albania. One year later I made the decision to follow him. We still have our business in Turkey but we coordinate it from a distance.”
How did you experience the transition from Turkey to Albania?
“The transition from Turkey to Albania was not difficult, since our cultures are quite similar. We have a lot of common norms and values. In Turkey we see Albania as some kind of “brother”, we respect the Albanians. I myself, just like many others in Turkey, have some Albanian roots. I grew up with Albanian food like Byrek, which my grandmother used to make for me.”
How was the transition business wise?
“We work with many companies from around the globe. Since we are in online business we have a great mobility. Many times I get the question; “How many employees do you have?” but our business does not work like that. We work with contractors.
There is a low bureaucracy in Albania, which makes it easy to settle here and start your own business. A lot of Albanians came to Turkey to study and they learned the Turkish language. Therefore many people who work in governmental offices, or for example lawyers, speak Turkish, which made it very easy for us to find consultancy on legal issues.”
What can you tell me about online marketing in Albania? Is it done in a different way than in Turkey?
“Online marketing is an emerging market. At this moment there is nothing that has anything to do with online marketing in Albania yet. This meant a good opportunity for us to start our business here. On the other hand it means that there is no awareness among the people about online marketing, so that is our big challenge.”
How do you experience Albania?
“A special thing about Albania is that, to me, it is very peaceful here. I feel safe, and I think it is a good place to start a family and grow up your kids. Also, the people are very friendly. If my tap does not work everyone who lives in my building will come and try to help me. The only unfortunate thing is that it can be very hard to really get things going here in Albania.”
What holds the future?
“Well, I like to travel and explore. You never know what the future brings but Japan might be the next step for me.”
