- US$ 50 million investment to Yapi Kredi for on-lending to small companies led by women
- Financing aims to narrow the gender funding gap
- EBRD focused on promoting inclusive growth and resilience of Turkey’s economy
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a US$ 50 million loan to Yapi Kredi for on-lending to women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey under the EBRD’s flagship Women in Business programme. The financing aims to strengthen the role of women-led SMEs in the Turkish economy and promote inclusive sustainable growth.
The financing is made available through Yapi Kredi’s existing Diversified Payment Rights programme, the collateralised funding structure that the bank uses to raise long-term funding. Yapi Kredi issued around US$ 560 million, attracting a range of investors active in the Turkish market, including the EBRD.
The Women in Business programme is supported by a risk-sharing mechanism through the Turkish Credit Guarantee Fund (KGF) and the Ministry of Treasury and Finance. The European Union is also providing grants to fund the technical consultancy that will help Yapi Kredi to develop more products and services dedicated to women-led businesses.
The new investment is part of the €600 million in financing dedicated to Turkish women entrepreneurs and announced by EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso earlier in 2021. Since 2014 the Women in Business programme has helped more than 20,000 women entrepreneurs in Turkey to reach their full potential by providing them with credit lines as well as advisory support, training, mentoring and access to business networks.
The EBRD is a major investor in Turkey. To date, the Bank has invested more than €14.7 billion through 361 projects in various sectors of the country’s economy, with 94 per cent of those investments in the private sector