In the first issue of 2014, I would like to evaluate 2013 both from our point of view and from Turkey's point of view and express my ideas on what kind of economic developments 2014 will witness... If I evaluate 2013 from our perspective, I can say that we had a very productive year. If I elaborate; As AKINSOFT, we maintain our presence not only in the fields of technology and informatics but also in the service sector.
Apart from AKINSOFT Konya and AKINSOFT Istanbul, we have managed to provide the best service to our target audience with our institutionalized solution partners in every province. With our Solution Partners joining our family from all over Turkey and other countries, we offer solutions to various sectors. In the past years, with the decisions we have taken, we continue to work with our qualified and more effective, professional Solution Partners. Apart from our Solution Partner structuring, we accelerated the robotics activities that we started in 2009 and shared AKINCI-2, the first commercial humanoid mobile robot produced in Turkey, with the public in the first quarter of 2013. Also in the first quarter of 2013, a good cooperation agreement was signed between AKINSOFT and Yandex Turkey.
In November 2013, we held our 9th Bonus Period Award Presentation and Holiday Organization in Antalya. We rewarded our Solution Partners who carried out successful works with an excellent 4-day organization attended by many Solution Partners from different parts of Turkey. 4 vehicles were delivered to their owners as the grand prize. Again, the Golden Keyboard Outstanding Achievement Award, which is one of the firsts of AKINSOFT and will carry success from hand to hand, was presented as the 1st prize of the 9th Bonus Period in its 3rd year. This beautiful organization was completed with a magnificent gala night and Nalan concert. If I evaluate 2013 in terms of the economy; Turkey's economy ceased to be a society living with the state economy after 1950. It was formed under difficult conditions with the work of society. Turkey gradually moved from being an agricultural country to becoming an industrial country, and we can see that many of our regions have become industrial societies. In 2013, the chaos within the countries, the coups, the countries destroyed by chemical weapons, the policies implemented by the FED, the process of closing shutters in countries with so-called strong economies, and the current political formations of the countries had dragged many countries into an economic crisis.
When we look at our beautiful country; while Europe was struggling with the waves of crisis, its reflections were inevitable in Turkey. We were able to leave behind our peace of mind, which was overshadowed by the Gezi Park events, with common sense, without causing major losses in our economy. Although the chaos experienced by politicians and businessmen in recent days and the upcoming elections may lead to a slowdown in our economy, there is an undeniable fact for Turkey in 2013; we managed to be one of the few countries in Europe that grew the fastest in the industry with 4%. Although the fact that the world's giants were unable to steer our economy is an indication of the moderation in our economy, the fact that we are the second-highest purchaser of smartphones is something we should not forget. Even though our energy needs continue to be met from abroad, the fact that we have started to build and operate our power plants and extract our underground mines to the surface is a big step forward. As a country, we have also signed huge projects in transportation. Unfortunately, the negativities in employment continue, and it is unfortunately not possible to achieve stable financial indicators in the public and private sectors. Despite the fluctuating global conditions, I believe that the Turkish economy is showing healthy growth.
The software sector is on its way to becoming Turkey's rising star. The number of domestic companies has exceeded 1600. The export figure has exceeded 1 billion TL. It offers opportunities to entrepreneurs and job seekers... As AKINSOFT, I can proudly announce that last year was one of our growth years, just like the other years we left behind. Keeping crisis management under control, and identifying and implementing the right strategic plans played a major role in our success. Our growth rate in employment and the increase in the utilization rate of our software, the increase in our intercontinental dealer networks day by day, our exports to 20 countries and our structuring in these countries, and the breakthrough we have made in the field of robotics are all indicators that last year was a productive year. Starting from the first days of 2014, we have been working at an intense pace. As AKINSOFT, we have made and put into practice our plans for this year with our Solution Partner organization. The market share in our sector is much higher than we think, and we believe that we will deserve the biggest share of that share with our disciplined work. In foreign trade, we aim to serve more countries and increase the number of our Solution Partners abroad to make the name of our organization and our country more known. As time passes by rapidly, technology and informatics are constantly renewing and changing. As AKINSOFT, we need to keep up with this speed and keep up to date.
We need to compete with time and produce for the future. We know that education is as important as production and service. As in the past years, we will continue our seminar programs in 2014. In addition, these days when unemployment is becoming a bigger problem every day, AKINSOFT Family is expanding every year with our human resources policy that we carry out to provide employment to our young people. I would like to underline that our R&D activities intensified in 2014 when we plan to contribute more to the national economy. It is the investments and productions made in technology that strengthen the country's economy. We continue to invest and work on robot technologies. We are about to complete the existing infrastructure for our robot factories. In 2012, with the addition of the CNC Lathe Machine purchased in 2013, in addition to the Vertical Process CNC Machine, the work of our robots, which we plan to start mass production in 2015 with our slogan "1 to 2015", which we call the vision of the country, has gained momentum... And are you ready to meet AKINCI-3? We want to see a producing Turkey. We have determined our technology-oriented road map that will strengthen our competitiveness in global economies. We are working and producing for a Turkey with a strong economy. If I look at 2014 in terms of the economy, I foresee that the increases in the first days of the year and the 5% increase in the minimum wage in the first months of the year may lead to contractions in production, and as a result, there may be an increase in the unemployment rate. As we follow from the agenda, the negativities in the public sector and the government. However, until the local and presidential elections in 2014, the markets will remain flat and with low momentum. It is inevitable that developing, growing, and strengthening countries will go through these pains. No matter how much negativity is experienced, I believe that the Turkish economy will show positive developments with the combative and solution-producing spirit of the strong Turkish nation.
In 2013 and 2014, along with urban transformation and infrastructure works, transportation investments, developments in the field of education, positive relations with our border countries, our production attacks in the defense industry, acting with the awareness of what branding means in the products produced, will positively affect the Turkish economy this year as well. We follow both in our social life and in the press that the steps taken in bringing individuals with qualified labor force to our country and in reverse brain drain have yielded positive results. The quality and achievements in the health sector have attracted and will attract thousands of patients to our country for treatment. As a country, we rank 2nd in exports with our record production in the food sector. One of Turkey's advantages in exports is that it is not based on exhaustible energy resources, and with industrial production, labor force, mines, and world reserves in our country, it may be a year in which we can get positive results in the market share.
Research shows that 3.6 trillion dollars were spent on information technologies in the world last year and that these expenditures will reach 3.7 trillion dollars in 2014. In the Turkish economy, the lack of the necessary investment and service in high technology was one of our most important development problems. In recent years, the state's focus on this issue has led to growth in the field of informatics and technology. If you ask if this is enough, of course, it is insufficient. It is obvious that technology plays an active role in the country's economy. Countries with strong economies are the best proof of this. In direct proportion to this, countries should draw their economic policies on informatics and technology so that they can achieve real results.
As AKINSOFT, I would like to underline my sentence once again: "It is the investments and productions in technology that determine the economy of countries. We continue to invest and work on robot technologies." Our robot factories will become the vision of our country as well as ours. I wish our country's economy to have a year with a high growth rate, where technological developments make us happy so that we can spare time for ourselves and look at technology more warmly. See you at the openings and production of Robotic Factories, which are the vision of the country...
AKINSOFT Chairman of the Board Özgür AKIN
Computer Engineer Msc