In this series of Director Interviews, we asked our directors to answer a few questions to get to know them a little better. We speak with Ms Betül Kurtulus, FCI's Regional Director for Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and the Middle East in this edition.

What got you interested in the industry?

When I started the factoring industry in 1993, it was a new type of financing that had just taken its first steps, and it was fascinating.

How does factoring help businesses besides the financial aspect?

• Receivables as collateral, better collateral value compared to short term bank finance.
• Direct monitoring, greater collateral control
• Better knowledge of markets and sectors
• Low capital utilisation, low loss given default ratio (LGD)
• Cross-selling opportunities, portfolio diversification
• Risk-sharing with third parties (Insurance Companies, Correspondent Factors, etc.)
• Secure access to SME financing

How do you feel about the digital transformation in the industry?

Digitalisation is, of course, a necessity for every financial institution. The most challenging issue is how to choose the right technology? What technology do we need? Technology investments also require substantial budgets. The size of these budgets is directly related to the success of the projects.

My own experience is that technological changes do not offer the same opportunities for institutions in all dimensions. It is now necessary to add digitalisation experience to the features that we call must-have for senior levels in financial institutions because investment in technology is directly related to companies' success.

In this regard, software and technology companies need to be very close to their clients to have an agile relationship. The main concern of the companies is how to choose the right technology? The FI's resources, project cost, project management, and the SW references are essential. In most developing countries, local support is critical; language issues and local accounting adaptabilities are also other problems. Partnering with an SW company with Local knowledge gives market knowledge and new market trends. The wrong investment of SW or digital solutions can be easily turned into a never-ending story with an increasing cost.

You have a table of 5 for dinner; who would you invite, passed or living?

It would have to be my daughter, my husband, Elon Musk, Ataturk and Freddy Mercury.

What was your first car?

Renault R 9 1.4 Broadway

We want to thank Betül for letting us get to know her a little more and look forward to finding out more about our other directors in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!