The region’s largest e-commerce fair, WORLDEF ISTANBUL, held for the 12th time this year, was organized at Istanbul Yenikapı Event Area on May 15-16-17, 2025. The fair brought together global e-commerce brands. WORLDEF CEO Omar Nart spoke to an AA reporter about the fair and the e-commerce ecosystem.
Omar Nart: We will organize the WORLDEF RIYADH event in October
He stated that WORLDEF was held in Dubai for the first time last year and that this year, for the first time, the “WORLDEF RIYADH” event will be held in Riyadh in October. Nart added that they will organize the second edition of WORLDEF DUBAI in February next year. He emphasized that the structure established between these three central cities is important for Turkish e-commerce and retail brands.
Omar Nart stated that they have established a strategic e-commerce triangle between Istanbul, Dubai, and Riyadh to facilitate the expansion of Turkish e-commerce brands into cross-border markets, and said: “Last year, we brought together 35 Turkish manufacturers with international buyers in Dubai. In October, we expect to see much greater interest in Riyadh. While planning these events, we adopt a multinational and multi-participant approach. This year as well, we aim to bring companies with high cross-border sales potential into these markets.”
“We want to facilitate exports with systems supported by digital infrastructure”
Explaining that the events are designed with a multinational and broad participation approach, Nart stated that they want to facilitate exports of Turkish brands with systems supported by digital infrastructure. Nart added:
“When you engage in traditional exports, there are difficulties such as opening a showroom in the respective country and associated costs. But in e-commerce, when you enter major platforms and establish the right infrastructure quickly, you have the opportunity to make a rapid start. Therefore, we provide service provider infrastructure at these events to all stakeholders, enabling this rapid start.”
“The financial dimension of e-commerce will be addressed with FINTECHX”
Nart stated that with WORLDEF’s new event “FINTECHX”, they will address the financial dimension of e-commerce and noted that they expect participation from more than 20 countries at the event to be held in Sapanca on September 24-25 this year. Nart said:
“E-commerce has two channels: one is logistics, the other is fintech. We see a significant gap in the fintech field. In e-commerce, you must be able to collect payment before delivering the product. The purpose of the event is to connect local fintech companies with cross-border business partners. The event will also serve as a platform that brings together potential customers and service providers.”
“Artificial intelligence has opened the door to a new era in e-commerce”
Stating that the impact of artificial intelligence on the sector was among the most discussed topics at the event, Omar Nart emphasized that the technology is transforming customer experience and operational processes. Omar Nart noted that artificial intelligence, which can be defined as a major revolution, is shaping business processes with both its advantages and disadvantages, and made the following assessment:
“Artificial intelligence doesn’t like people. A job that ten people would do is now done by one person. Many tasks such as customer service, content management, data entry, and social media can now be managed by one person. For example, we recently conducted AI-supported phone calls in a project. People realized it was artificial intelligence in only one out of a thousand cases.
The AI bot called, chatted, made appointments for some, and sent calendar invites to both parties. It was artificial intelligence that did all this. Those who requested information received a message via WhatsApp or SMS. In other words, what we would normally do with 50 people, we completed in 2 days with AI, and the results surprised me greatly.”
Stating that artificial intelligence will reduce the need for human labor in the future, Omar Nart said: “Now, we are talking about human-free factories and dark production areas. The concept of Agentic AI is on the rise. In the coming years, we will see unicorn or decacorn companies managed by a single person. Those who use artificial intelligence will gain an advantage over those who don’t.”
“Türkiye has a significant advantage in cross-border e-commerce”
WORLDEF CEO Omar Nart emphasized that cross-border e-commerce offers strategic opportunities for Türkiye and stated the following: “For example, Galina Express is among us. They came from Northern Iraq. The Iraqi market needs Turkish brands, and as Galina, they joined this event to take on this mission. It’s the same in Azerbaijan. On the other hand, there is also a strong expansion in the Balkans, in countries such as Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece. Again, 100 tons of shipments are made daily from Türkiye to Riyadh. These are door-to-door delivery operations. When you look at it, 10-15 years ago, this could hardly have been imagined. At this point today, intermediaries, wholesalers, and distributors are significantly being eliminated.”
“E-commerce will become the mainstream of trade”
Omar Nart emphasized that the global e-commerce volume is expected to reach 8-9 trillion dollars within the next five years and stated that 2-2.5 trillion dollars of this will consist of cross-border e-commerce. Omar Nart said: “There are serious risks for brands that do not adapt to this process. Traditional retail is shrinking. E-commerce will become the mainstream of trade.”
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