He played a major role in the establishment of a system reaching 15 million users in Turkey with the registration system of foreigners and the digitization of intercity permits. He is the founder of Migport, which aims to be a bridge between refugees and local entrepreneurs. Refugee Volunteer Information Sharing Network Migport is a project that aims to listen to the problems of immigrants and find solutions for them. Immigrants enter their problems anonymously into the system; the solution is developed by public institutions through another immigrant or a Turkish volunteer working on this network.
Well-known social entrepreneur and Migport founder Mr. Berat Kjamili’s interactive presentation on “The Place and Role of Social Entrepreneurship in the Future Careers and Social Cohesion Process of Young People” was followed with interest by the young people.
Berat KJAMIL:
When I came to Turkey from Macedonia to study at university, I realized how much of a foreigner I was. I waited in line in front of the Police Department to get a residence permit and at the end of the third day I was able to get a residence permit. Later, I thought that this system would not progress in this way and I founded the International Student Community at METU. We have laid the foundations of the e-residence system by coming together with student groups at other major universities.
Social entrepreneurship is about worrying. It is important to take risks in entrepreneurship. When starting a startup, we may have a lot of competitors at first, but this can be intimidating, but I think this is the best thing, because large institutions may not be able to notice the gaps. In this case, social entrepreneurs step in, realize the gaps and find solutions in line with these problems and create benefits. The world has changed now, the concept of social entrepreneurship is much more known and supported. We need to understand the difference our choices make. For example, are we using the products of a company that employs children? In this case, are we supporting child labor? Therefore, we should be careful about what we eat, drink, and wear. One of the cornerstones of social enterprise is to look at life more optimistically.
