Editorial Policy

Istanbul Africa publishes country profiles, sector pages, trade tables and articles for two kinds of readers: African businesses that buy from Turkey, and Turkish businesses that sell into Africa. This page explains how that content is made, so you can judge how far to rely on it.

1. Who is responsible

The content is published under the responsibility of Burak Unal, founder of Istanbul Africa. Before founding the practice he was a financial services consultant at Oliver Wyman; he holds an MSc in Finance from the London School of Economics and a bachelor's degree in management from Boğaziçi University, and is a Chevening Scholar. His LSE thesis studied the development of Kenya's textile industry and its impact on the balance of trade. Country and sector profiles carry a "Reviewed by" line naming him; articles with a named author carry a byline.

2. Sources

• We prefer primary and official sources: national statistics offices, customs and standards authorities, central banks, ministries of trade, and international bodies such as the International Trade Centre (Trade Map), UN Comtrade, the World Bank and the African Development Bank.
• Our own Africa Economic Report (2019) is the source of the country fact sheets and trade tables. Its figures reflect data to 2017 and are labelled as such wherever they appear.
• Where we describe how a trade works in practice (documents, payment terms, inspection), we describe common practice, not legal advice, and say so.

3. Dates and figures

Every article shows its publication date, and an update date when it has been substantively revised. Figures carry the year they describe. A figure without a year is a figure you should check before relying on it; tell us and we will fix it.

4. Advice, not brokerage

We are an advisory practice. Our articles explain how trade between Turkey and Africa works and where it goes wrong; they are not an offer to carry, clear or finance goods. When an article mentions a company, a port or a product, it is for illustration and is not an endorsement.

5. Languages

Most content is published in English, Turkish and French, adapted for each audience rather than translated word for word. If language versions disagree on a figure, the cited source decides.

6. Corrections

If you find an error, email info@istanbulafrica.com with the page address and what is wrong. We check every report, correct what is wrong, and update the page's date when the change is substantive.

7. Independence

Our opinions on markets, products and routes are our own. We do not publish reviews or ratings of named suppliers, and we do not invent figures, clients or testimonials.