Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Istanbul Ticaret Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, cilt.17, sa.34, ss.109-130, 2018 (Hakemli Dergi)
The Syrian War has led to a refugee crisis due to which over 4.9 million Syrians have fled the country.Turkey holds over 3.5 million Syrian refugees which demands immediate attention for economic and socialintegration of these refugees. Economic integration has been very problematic due to a lack of labor marketintegration. Problems still exist after the legal changes in work permit processing for Syrians made inJanuary 2016. Entrepreneurship provides an alternative for economic integration of Syrians into Turkey. Inaddition, migrant entrepreneurs are able to provide employment opportunities to other migrants as well aslocals, increase investment, and boost economic activity. This study focused on finding the problems facedby Syrian entrepreneurs and the opportunities which are available for them in the Turkish market. Theauthors conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 Syrian entrepreneurs in different districts of Istanbul.The results show that Syrian entrepreneurs face many hurdles including language barrier, high businesscosts, transparency of market opportunities, access to finance, lack of knowledge about commercial andtaxation law, lack of governmental/non-governmental support, and discrimination. Opportunities for Syrianentrepreneurs include large Syrian ethnic communities, ease of registration, social networks, and at timesleniency by governmental authorities.