Turkish entrepreneur sees magic in his life story at Huaqiangbei

Seref Yigit (left) introduces his products to a customer.

To most people, Huaqiangbei is the "Silicon Valley of China" or "China's No 1 Electronics Street". But, in the eyes of Seref Yigit, founder of Sino-Turk Power Strip, the famed street is more than that - it's a synonym for "good quality" that helps promote his products all over the world.

His company is located on the eighth floor of SEG Electronics Market and specializes in producing smart USB power strips, which are exported to 48 countries, including Turkey, India, Mexico, Egypt and Malaysia, with the largest number of orders coming from India.

"Anything can be done within two days in Huaqiangbei. Actually, many of my clients know Huaqiangbei more than they know Shenzhen. They trust the quality of the products produced here," said Yigit, adding that, "for example, when one of the clients knew my company is based in Huaqiangbei, he immediately paid me a deposit of $50,000 because he believed I would definitely deliver him the goods".

When asked for the reason, the 36-year-old said: "This is the rule here. Huaqiangbei has zero tolerance for cheaters and the people here won't cheat."

After three years of growth, his company has expanded with a steady number of clients. "It's always difficult to find the first client. But once you have one client, you'll have one hundred. It's difficult in the first year, but after these years, people come to us," Yigit said, beaming with pride.

Having majored in information systems in college, Yigit designs the module for the power strips and have them processed in a factory in Chaozhou, eastern Guangdong province, where most of the population are Chaoshan people, who are famous for doing business.

A businessman himself, Yigit enjoys working with Chaoshan people. "They're very traditional and clever. Most of them uphold integrity but, at the same time, they are very shrewd so I have to keep a clear mind when working with them," he said.

To guarantee the quality of his products, he goes to Chaozhou every month to check on them. Before each shipment, he also conducts spot checks on the products.

Yigit is married to a woman from Sichuan, and they have a 9-month-old son. His wife once opened a restaurant serving Sichuan and Turkish cuisine in Huaqiangbei but had to close it down due to poor business.

No one would ever imagine the successful businessman used to work for the Turkish Embassy in Beijing before settling in Shenzhen.

Yigit graduated from Beykent and Bahcesehir universities in Istanbul with a bachelor's degree in global politics and information systems. After graduation, he pursued his further studies in Hungary, where he graduated with a master's degree in political science.